Thoughts on Stage 12

John Newton said:

6) Ulrich looked poor. He had a cold sore during the prologue and I wonder
if he has been ill at all

ullrich always has a cold sore.

John Newton said:

POSTAL THOUGHTS

1) Beltran is not riding well. He went away quickly today (Noval seem to go
away quickly too)
2) Hincapie was extremely impressive - climbed better than most of the
climbers

Be careful with this -- he was amazing, but he could stick with the lead group
longer because he knew he didn't need to save anything to make it to
the summit any time soon. So you can't compare him to, for example,
Hamilton.

Quoted message said:

3) Azevedo was great. Makes JB quick selection of him after Heras left
rather brilliant
4) Armstrong looked good, but maybe not as dominant as in the past

Agreed.

Quoted message said:

OTHERS

1) I wonder how much sleep Tyler is getting and if that is affecting his
ride

Maybe he got cold.

Quoted message said:

2) Phonak looks to have a really strong team even without Tyler
3) Basso looked really strong. CSC has great depth with Basso, Sastre,
Julich, Voight giving them many options
4) Mayo may have peaked before the Tour

He showed amazing form too early -- remember Carmichel's claim you can
only hold a peak for at most 7 weeks. History is consistent with this.

Quoted message said:

5) Heras did not appear to be ready - mabye should have raced more before
the Tour
6) Ulrich looked poor. He had a cold sore during the prologue and I wonder
if he has been ill at all

Maybe he got cold.

Quoted message said:

7) Botero's form is well off what is was a few years ago

... to say the least.

Quoted message said:

8) Kloden was rather impressive, but I don't know about his time trail
ability

Well, he has won at least one:

http://www.cyclingnews.com/results/archives/jul97/rpr97.html

But more recent results have been mediocre.

Quoted message said:

There is a long way to go, but Armstrong is in a great position. I think
CSC may have several options to attack Postal.
Mayo is far enough back, he can escape for a stage win and Armstrong can let
him go.
If Postal continues to drive the peloton, I think they will burn out
Armstrong's help before stage 17.

John Newton said:

2) Phonak looks to have a really strong team even without Tyler

I wonder if they've got a alternate leader though, with Sevilla finishing
with the Ullrich group (Santos Gonzalez perhaps).

Quoted message said:

7) Botero's form is well off what is was a few years ago

Understatement of the century (I wonder if the Telekom management have
made a cost benefit analysis of the money they spent hiring him from
Kelme including the buyout).

In article <[email hidden]>,

gym gravity said:

John Newton said:

6) Ulrich looked poor. He had a cold sore during the prologue and I wonder
if he has been ill at all

ullrich always has a cold sore.

clubbing & ecstasy -> sex with skanks -> cold sores

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Quoted message said:

POSTAL THOUGHTS

1) Beltran is not riding well. He went away quickly today (Noval seem to

go

Quoted message said:

away quickly too)
2) Hincapie was extremely impressive - climbed better than most of the
climbers
3) Azevedo was great. Makes JB quick selection of him after Heras left
rather brilliant
4) Armstrong looked good, but maybe not as dominant as in the past

Don't read too much into todays results. The Tour was not going to be won
today. I'm Sure Postal wants to go into Stage 17 with some strong climbers -
no need to burn them out so early. Azevedo and Rubiera finished with
Ullrich, but didn't need to ride any harder. The rest need to save their
legs for tomorrow. Look for Azevedo to get a rest and Beltran to do more
work on Saturday.

Quoted message said:

OTHERS

1) I wonder how much sleep Tyler is getting and if that is affecting his
ride
2) Phonak looks to have a really strong team even without Tyler
3) Basso looked really strong. CSC has great depth with Basso, Sastre,
Julich, Voight giving them many options
4) Mayo may have peaked before the Tour
5) Heras did not appear to be ready - mabye should have raced more before
the Tour
6) Ulrich looked poor. He had a cold sore during the prologue and I

wonder

Quoted message said:

if he has been ill at all
7) Botero's form is well off what is was a few years ago
8) Kolden was rather impressive, but I don't know about his time trail
ability

There is a long way to go, but Armstrong is in a great position. I think
CSC may have several options to attack Postal.
Mayo is far enough back, he can escape for a stage win and Armstrong can

let

Quoted message said:

him go.
If Postal continues to drive the peloton, I think they will burn out
Armstrong's help before stage 17.

A lot of young riders put in great performances today but I doubt they'll be
able to hold their form over the next week. Mancebo and Basso could be the
biggest threats right now.

-T