Lance goes out on top

Bill C said:

The TT course and it's tight turns, some 180 degrees, suited Lance
better than Jan, but it was a hell of a ride from both of them. I
called it as Jan winning by a few seconds, it ended up with lance
winning by 23 seconds. I think they both finished the race off as the
champions they are.

With Jan pulling back a third of his deficit over the last few k's--
@12 seconds (?). Didn't look from the quick glimpses of OLN coverage
that LA's earphone was telling him to slow down, did it?

Rasmussen, a 64oz Big Gulp of Have a Bad Day Cola. Maybe something a
little wider in the rubber dept. next year? A little more practice on
the TT bike? --TP

Yep, I think they all went as hard as they could, including Lance. The
result IMO is just what we'd expect on this course with Lance and Jan
in their best shape.
I'm not sure what to make of Rasmussen other than he was a bundle of
nerves and self destructed after the first crash.
Basso did a lot better ride than I expected, next year is going to be
really interesting. This year Basso and Lance worked together. I'm
really interested to see how Basso makes decisions next year against
Jan. I really doubt that he can do it by himself.
I hope the chief monkey, Magilla, got that so he can throw that up
next year totally out of context, and with a total lack of
comprehension.
Bill C

Bill C said:

Yep, I think they all went as hard as they could, including Lance. The
result IMO is just what we'd expect on this course with Lance and Jan
in their best shape.
I'm not sure what to make of Rasmussen other than he was a bundle of
nerves and self destructed after the first crash.
Basso did a lot better ride than I expected, next year is going to be
really interesting. This year Basso and Lance worked together. I'm
really interested to see how Basso makes decisions next year against
Jan. I really doubt that he can do it by himself.

Maybe Rabo will sign Vino and he'll buzz around Jan like a deer fly and
drive him nuts while Basso sprints up the mountains.

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Quoted message said:

Bill C said:

The TT course and it's tight turns, some 180 degrees, suited Lance
better than Jan, but it was a hell of a ride from both of them. I
called it as Jan winning by a few seconds, it ended up with lance
winning by 23 seconds. I think they both finished the race off as the
champions they are.

With Jan pulling back a third of his deficit over the last few k's--
@12 seconds (?). Didn't look from the quick glimpses of OLN coverage
that LA's earphone was telling him to slow down, did it?

Rasmussen, a 64oz Big Gulp of Have a Bad Day Cola. Maybe something a
little wider in the rubber dept. next year? A little more practice on
the TT bike? --TP

My guess is that his pretour training didn't include planning for a scenario
where he'd have to defend a podium spot in the last TT against Jan Ullrich.

trg said:

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Quoted message said:

Bill C said:

The TT course and it's tight turns, some 180 degrees, suited Lance
better than Jan, but it was a hell of a ride from both of them. I
called it as Jan winning by a few seconds, it ended up with lance
winning by 23 seconds. I think they both finished the race off as the
champions they are.

With Jan pulling back a third of his deficit over the last few k's--
@12 seconds (?). Didn't look from the quick glimpses of OLN coverage
that LA's earphone was telling him to slow down, did it?

Rasmussen, a 64oz Big Gulp of Have a Bad Day Cola. Maybe something a
little wider in the rubber dept. next year? A little more practice on
the TT bike? --TP

My guess is that his pretour training didn't include planning for a scenario
where he'd have to defend a podium spot in the last TT against Jan Ullrich.

My guess was that he'd never had any pressure on an ITT finishing time,
other than making the cut.

Bill C says...

Quoted message said:

The TT course and it's tight turns, some 180 degrees, suited Lance
better than Jan, but it was a hell of a ride from both of them.

You got that right, Bill. Great stuff.

Quoted message said:

I called it as Jan winning by a few seconds, it ended up with lance
winning by 23 seconds.

This one I predicted from the start. It was very Lance to go out this way.

Quoted message said:

I think they both finished the race off as the champions they are.

This was a very good Tour for Jan, especially considering his two crashes. No
telling how truly excellent a Tour he could have had if he'd avoided them. I
for one have had more than enough over the last few years of hearing
commentators being hypercritical of him, his diet, his lack of commitment, etc.

I hope he comes back strong next year and wins it.

Mad Dog said:

Bill C says...

Quoted message said:

The TT course and it's tight turns, some 180 degrees, suited Lance
better than Jan, but it was a hell of a ride from both of them.

You got that right, Bill. Great stuff.

Quoted message said:

I called it as Jan winning by a few seconds, it ended up with lance
winning by 23 seconds.

This one I predicted from the start. It was very Lance to go out this way.

Quoted message said:

I think they both finished the race off as the champions they are.

This was a very good Tour for Jan, especially considering his two crashes. No
telling how truly excellent a Tour he could have had if he'd avoided them. I
for one have had more than enough over the last few years of hearing
commentators being hypercritical of him, his diet, his lack of commitment, etc.

I hope he comes back strong next year and wins it.

Could be too late. With a healthier Valverde, an even more experienced
Basso and possibly better team support for Rasmussen, plus any other
up-and-coming, I feel the sun is rapidly setting on Jan's chances.

Richard Adams says...

Quoted message said:

Could be too late. With a healthier Valverde, an even more experienced
Basso and possibly better team support for Rasmussen, plus any other
up-and-coming, I feel the sun is rapidly setting on Jan's chances.

Sure, I realize that. But having the matching bookend would make a nice pair,
even with the No-Lance asterisk folks would put on the second.

Richard Adams said:

Mad Dog said:

Bill C says...

Quoted message said:

The TT course and it's tight turns, some 180 degrees, suited Lance
better than Jan, but it was a hell of a ride from both of them.

You got that right, Bill. Great stuff.

Quoted message said:

I called it as Jan winning by a few seconds, it ended up with lance
winning by 23 seconds.

This one I predicted from the start. It was very Lance to go out this
way.

Quoted message said:

I think they both finished the race off as the champions they are.

This was a very good Tour for Jan, especially considering his two
crashes. No
telling how truly excellent a Tour he could have had if he'd avoided
them. I
for one have had more than enough over the last few years of hearing
commentators being hypercritical of him, his diet, his lack of
commitment, etc.

I hope he comes back strong next year and wins it.

Could be too late. With a healthier Valverde, an even more experienced
Basso and possibly better team support for Rasmussen, plus any other
up-and-coming, I feel the sun is rapidly setting on Jan's chances.

IMHO Rasmussen is a looooong shot. Remeber he got 6min over the field in
the breakway. Tht will never hapen again, in the TDF at least. He is a
decent climber, but Jan is better. Basso is another issue, though. He
had a pretty good time trial, in the end.