2009 TDF stage 17 - Bourg-Saint-Maurice Le Grand-Bornand 169.5 km

[doctorSpoc]

Wow the Schlecks did it! Riis is the man... so much for the Astana juggernaut.. Alberto attacking was a huge tactical mistake.

now that is racing.. big risk taking and effort!

 

[limerickman]

Wow the Schlecks did it! Riis is the man... so much for the Astana juggernaut.. Alberto attacking was a huge tactical mistake.

now that is racing.. big risk taking and effort!

where did sastre finish?

 

[jhuskey]

Ou est Sastre?

Definitely not his year in Le Tour. As far as Kloden, he has always played second except the one year that Ullrich was ousted directly before the race.
He does te job he gets payed for and unfortunately it is getting late in his career to find a team leader position with a pro tour team.

 

[limerickman]

Definitely not his year in Le Tour. As far as Kloden, he has always played second except the one year that Ullrich was ousted directly before the race.
He does te job he gets payed for and unfortunately it is getting late in his career to find a team leader position with a pro tour team.

thanks.

I thought today might be Sastre's day.

Imagine if he had stayed at Saxo?

 

[slovakguy]

Definitely not his year in Le Tour. As far as Kloden, he has always played second except the one year that Ullrich was ousted directly before the race.
He does te job he gets payed for and unfortunately it is getting late in his career to find a team leader position with a pro tour team.

not thinking that klodi could be a team's top rider, just thinking that lance might have helped drag klodi over the line.

 

[doctorSpoc]

where did sastre finish?

way back 7:47 back... he actually started the festivities attacking 2-3 times at the bottom of the Col de Romme but just didn't have it.. Schlecks brought him back.. then he dropped out of the front group.. then he flatted on the Col de la Columbier.. then he must have just given up.. tough tour for him.. he tried.. he just didn't have the legs...

 

[jhuskey]

not thinking that klodi could be a team's top rider, just thinking that lance might have helped drag klodi over the line.

Not in the pecking order of the team I guess.
Lim, Sastre finished well back but I am not sure how far.

 

[David_Zen]

Astana still in a good position to posibly sweep the podium. It's going to be close. How much time do you think Kloden, Lance, and Wiggins can make up in tomorrow's TT?

 

[doctorSpoc]

Results
1 Fränk Schleck (Lux) Team Saxo Bank 4:53:54
2 Alberto Contador Velasco (Spa) Astana
3 Andy Schleck (Lux) Team Saxo Bank
4 Vincenzo Nibali (Ita) Liquigas 0:02:18
5 Lance Armstrong (USA) Astana
6 Andreas Klöden (Ger) Astana 0:02:27
7 Bradley Wiggins (GBr) Garmin - Slipstream 0:03:07
8 Christophe Moreau (Fra) Agritubel 0:04:09
9 Christian Vande Velde (USA) Garmin - Slipstream
10 Rémi Pauriol (Fra) Cofidis, Le Credit en Ligne 0:06:10
11 Christophe Le Mevel (Fra) Française des Jeux
12 Maxime Monfort (Bel) Team Columbia - HTC 0:06:12
13 Roman Kreuziger (Cze) Liquigas
14 Rinaldo Nocentini (Ita) AG2R La Mondiale
15 Vladimir Karpets (Rus) Team Katusha
16 Jurgen Van Den Broeck (Bel) Silence - Lotto
17 Sandy Casar (Fra) Française des Jeux
18 Mikel Astarloza Chaurreau (Spa) Euskaltel - Euskadi
19 Stéphane Goubert (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale 0:06:15
20 José Luis Arrieta Lujambio (Spa) AG2R La Mondiale 0:06:19
21 Sylvain Chavanel (Fra) Quick Step 0:07:01
22 Sébastien Minard (Fra) Cofidis, Le Credit en Ligne 0:07:47
23 Matthew Lloyd (Aus) Silence - Lotto
24 Sylvain Calzati (Fra) Agritubel
25 Carlos Sastre Candil (Spa) Cervelo Test Team
26 Ryder Hesjedal (Can) Garmin - Slipstream
27 Alexandre Botcharov (Rus) Team Katusha

Schlecks dust Astana off of the podium.. Andy should be able to keep his 2nd but Frank will likely have to fight for his 3rd place.. maybe loosing it in the TT then gaining it back on Ventoux

General classification after stage 17
1 Alberto Contador Velasco (Spa) Astana 72:27:09
2 Andy Schleck (Lux) Team Saxo Bank 0:02:26
3 Fränk Schleck (Lux) Team Saxo Bank 0:03:25
4 Lance Armstrong (USA) Astana 0:03:55
5 Andreas Klöden (Ger) Astana 0:04:44
6 Bradley Wiggins (GBr) Garmin - Slipstream 0:04:53
7 Vincenzo Nibali (Ita) Liquigas 0:05:09
8 Christian Vande Velde (USA) Garmin - Slipstream 0:08:08
9 Christophe Le Mevel (Fra) Française des Jeux 0:09:19
10 Mikel Astarloza Chaurreau (Spa) Euskaltel - Euskadi 0:10:50
11 Roman Kreuziger (Cze) Liquigas 0:10:52
12 Rinaldo Nocentini (Ita) AG2R La Mondiale 0:11:38
13 Carlos Sastre Candil (Spa) Cervelo Test Team 0:11:39
14 Sandy Casar (Fra) Française des Jeux 0:11:52
15 Vladimir Karpets (Rus) Team Katusha 0:12:08
16 Stéphane Goubert (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale 0:15:29
17 Jurgen Van Den Broeck (Bel) Silence - Lotto 0:17:23
18 Alexandre Botcharov (Rus) Team Katusha 0:19:20

 

[limerickman]

way back 7:47 back... he actually started the festivities attacking 2-3 times at the bottom of the Col de Romme but just didn't have it.. Schlecks brought him back.. then he dropped out of the front group.. then he flatted on the Col de la Columbier.. then he must have just given up.. tough tour for him.. he tried.. he just didn't have the legs...

thanks for the detailed description, doc.

Didn't see the stage live today.........so I appreciate the update, if not the result!

Thanks

 

[Klodifan]

Astana still in a good position to posibly sweep the podium. It's going to be close. How much time do you think Kloden, Lance, and Wiggins can make up in tomorrow's TT?

Had AC not attacked I would agree with you. Now it will be much for difficult for LA and AK. I predict:

1. AC
2. AS
3. LA

 

[doctorSpoc]

thanks for the detailed description, doc.

Didn't see the stage live today.........so I appreciate the update, if not the result!

Thanks

basically it went something like this... Astana making fast tempo on Col de Romme to stop attacks.. Sastre attacks.. couple times marked by Schlecks, Contador and Kloden... Wiggins goes but gets dropped out of that group, Armstrong dropped too... Wiggins pulls and pulls and pulls loosing ground all the while.. Vande Velda makes it up and helps out.. Schlecks and Contador & Kloden still pulling away all the time... Contador has a chat with Klodie (looks like he nods and says he's good to go) attacks near the top of the Col de la Columbier.. Kloden gets dropped?? Contador sits up.. doesn't take another pull for the whole race (Schlecks look pretty upset about that, but why would he?) Armstrong attacks the 2nd group just before the top of the Col de la Columbier... gets away from the others... Nibali finds a time machine some where on the way down and makes it back to Armstrong.. they catch Kloden near the end... they drop Klodi... Frank takes the honors, Contador 2nd, Andy third... Nibali over Armstrong (didn't contest really)..

 

[jhuskey]

Astana still in a good position to posibly sweep the podium. It's going to be close. How much time do you think Kloden, Lance, and Wiggins can make up in tomorrow's TT?

One minute to 1:30 maybe.

 

[thebluetrain]

LA put :20 on AS in Monaco
:56 on FS.

 

[thebluetrain]

I think it will be a 4 way fight for 3rd between LA, AK, FS, and BW. Ventoux will decide it.

 

[nonns]

Yeah but there's an ITT and then there's Ventoux. Whatever is made up in the TT could be lost on the slopes of the Ventoux. In fact the Ventoux could cost the likes of Bradley Wiggins and LA as much as the Col De La Colombiere today. This could be especially the case as the likes of LA has to put his all into tkaing time out of Andy Schleck and then hold him on the Ventoux. I still think that third for LA is a possible. Interestingly in many ways this race nullifies the advantages the ITT gives. I guess getting the balance right between climbers and TTspecialists is really difficult. Winners should be able ot come from both disciplines.

I'll take a wild stab and say LA might make up the time gap on Andy Schleck but lose it again on the Ventoux.

My podium forecast is
Conti
A.Schleck
LA

anybody else care to take a wild guess?

 

[Andrija]

Besides great ride by Schlecks I have to notice very bad move by Contador... He only helped Schlecks to get rid of Kloden and gain substantial time gaps before TT. Maybe that's exactly what he wanted, although he says Kloden approved the attack.

 

[thebluetrain]

I dont think LA can make up enough time in the TT to be close enough to AS. He is 1:30 back on AS and :30 back on FS. Even if he does make up most of that 1 1/2 minutes, he wont stay with AS on Ventoux. If he makes up 1 min(which he did on first TT) on FS, he will have maybe 30 seconds on FS going into Ventoux. He has proven he can climb with FS, AK, and BW. He cant stay with AS or AC.

I see him marking FS on Ventoux.

Interestingly, AC can now help both LA and AK on Ventoux. He wont have to attack cause he will already have +3 minutes on AS. He can just stay in the group and suport them. Of course Saxo will have their strategy with the 2 Schlecks.
I'm thinking LA and FS are going to fight for 3rd. I think LA has ridden very conservatively on the climbs. This is because of his ability to accelerate on the last half of the climbs. Just my opinion and prediction. Totally inductive.

 

[nonns]

harumph sounds like cobblers to me. He looked desparate when Klod didn't follow. I think he's a little bit of a hot head and is desperate to prove he's the new LA.

He needs to calm down a bit as he's in the lead

 

[david_heisel]

It's may be tough for the Schleks to hold off Wiggins and Kloden in the TT, but even if they lose a two or three minutes, Ventoux will sort it all out for them.