HomeDiariesLe Tour de France 2009 - Stage 15: Pontarlier > Verbier, 207.5km
We finished in Verbier today, but first, a little diversion; I’ve always admired Bradley Wiggins as a pursuiter, but as a roadman, he’s never cut the mustard; the cycling saddo’s bible, ‘Velo‘ doesn’t lie:
’03: # Tour de L’Avenir, prologue.
’05: # Circuit de Lorraine, time trial,: # Tour de L’Avenir, stage.
’07: # 4 Days of Dunkirk, prologue,: # Dauphine Libere, prologue,: # Tour du Poitou Charentes, stage,: # Duo Normand.
’09: # De Panne, time trial,: # Tour of Qatar TTT.
Contador stamped himself all over the race and his team today.
It’s not bad, but it’s not amazing – today was amazing; he dropped Lance and was driving in front of Nibali and Schleck.
I thought that maybe the Head’s sedate progress through the Pyrenees had been responsible for his exalted GC position – but no, today was a death race with the absolute best on the planet.
Alberto Contador; any man that can win the three biggest stage races in the world is special – today he put a line under, boldened and italicised the word ‘special.”
The thing about what we do is that you don’t see much of the race on TV; but I believe that Lance was big enough to admit that he didn’t have it and that the skinny man from Madrid is the best – respect to you too, Mr. Armstrong.
We had around 1:45 to drive from the digs in Dijon, to the start.
During the drive I began to rough out the piece about Lance’s bike, on the BlackBerry.
Driving the course is always fun, but you have to be paying attention all the time and make sure that you take sufficient pictures to support the piece.
I write most of the words as we go.
At the foot of the Verbier climb they halted all traffic not directly involved with the race; we could have chosen to take the cable car up, but I’ve done that before, at the Giro, a few years ago – getting of the hill was terrible.
We settled for walking up a bit, taking some pics, then watching the finale on the TV in a little outdoor bar.
By the time we reached them, I had the day’s piece and the Armstrong bike piece filed.
The words are only half the battle, though – the pictures have to transferred on to the laptop, culled, edited, labelled and sent, then the “label holders” have to be inserted into the text.
And, of course, there’s always the pallava to get on-line to send the images.
I can’t imagine how it must have been in the old days; photographers had to develop their pics in the bathroom and arrange for couriers to collect and deliver them – I guess we have it easy, when I think about it.
The wi-fi wasn’t too much of a struggle and the guys that run the place are helpful, so again, “musn’t grumble!”
Rest day today; we’re working our way towards an interview with the Schlecks, this morning – wish us luck!
Breakfast calls.
* * *
Al Hamilton
“Casi Hincapié”
That’s the headline in AS this morning, nearly Hincapié; the American missed it by five seconds. Winner Ivanov. : It has been eight years since the Russian champion won in 2001 in Aix le Bains.
Poor old, popular, likeable George.
Hincapié “Una lástima no ser lider” – ‘it’s: a pity I’m not the leader’ is a bit of an understatement. But you have to feel sorry for the man who was so close. He said;
“it’s a pity I didn’t get the yellow jersey by only 5 seconds. It was hard work in the break to get the gap on the peloton, Garmin and Ag2r didn’t give me anything”.
“Rocky” is now how AS sees Lance Armstrong, at a hotel on a crossroads in Vosge a man with no less than 40 guards making a imaginary police cordon.
Lance Armstrong is the mysterious person waiting, dressed in a grey sweat top with the hood pulled over his face; it’s Rocky Armstrong. “They will never find anything ever” that’s what Lance has to say to the UCI, referring to the dope controls.
Mother and father (and uncles and aunts) of Alberto Contador are at the race to see their son take the race in Verbier. Paqui and Francisco have made the trip from Pinto, near Madrid, to see Alberto, as you would expect from a mother she said he (Contador) “has no rivals”. Aunty Esther sums it up with “Contador, El Mejor”, The Best!
Before the stage to Colmar we heard Evans and Schleck say they were going to attack and nothing happened. Well they are both saying it again about today’s stage to Verbier. Andy Schleck says “we have a plan” lets see.
Oscar suffered from pellet wounds after being shot with an air rifle!
“The Tour is exposed to lunatics…” those were the words of Tour director Pescheux after the incident of Oscar Feire and Julian Dean being shot.
The police are questioning two 16 year olds who had an air pistol. The Tour is guarded by 55 moto police and a total of 25,000 police covering the 3,459 kilometres of road and over 1,000 other members of safety organisations.
The back page of AS thinks team Columbia were the big losers yesterday, no points for Cavendish and no yellow jersey for Hincapié”.
Marca opens with the abandonment of Tom Boonen, maybe he shouldn’t have started?
Also top stories are the declassification of Cavendish for irregular riding in the sprint. Alberto Contador is quoted saying “today things will change, there cant much more possibilities for movement, this is a very beautiful stage”:
So there you have it, let’s hope something happens today!
Ed and Martin, our top team! They try to do the local Time Trials, the Grand Tours and the Classics together to get the great stories written, the quality photos taken, the driving done and the wifi wrestled with.
We had a feeling that Quintana would find it very hard to continue in this Vuelta – whilst the man is hugely talented he’s not at the level he was in the Giro and to make up three minutes on Messrs. Contador, Rodriguez and Valverde was never going to be easy. His morale was in his boots anyway but then fate intervened, down he went on the stage from Pamplona and the Media can stop asking daft questions about imaginary feuds in the Movistar camp.
The Giro in Belfast. ‘Joy and Pain, Sunshine and Rain,’ went the song by Frankie Beverley and Maze back in 1980. Joy and sunshine – well, at least no rain - for big Svein Tuft and the GreenEdge loco; but for Dan Martin and Garmin it was all rain and pain. Tuft is one of the nicest men you’ll ever meet, the original Gentle Giant – a beast of a man on a bike, off it he’s polite, friendly, gentle and laid back. In my book, one of the ‘Good Guys’ - happy birthday, sir!
It wasn't a great first night, sparse crowds, lack lustre chases and I seemed to spend the whole day gittering about to little effect; but we're set up, the hotel is great, the boys are all relaxed and it's Friday - so maybe we'll get a better crowd. The Copenhagen Six Day 2011 is 'old school' - long chases are what Six Days are all about say the organisers; I'm not so sure.
"What’s he playing at, riding like that in the valley? He’ll get eaten up on the climb" as the winner De Gendt on the Passo dello Stelvio climbs... so said our friend Vik. Even Sean Kelly didn’t think it was a good idea. Dave and I weren’t so sure – De Gendt is a hardy pup.
The wee small hours of Wednesday morning, heading north out of Berlin, en route Rostock, the ferry across the Baltic and Denmark for the Copenhagen Six Day. I wish I could say that Berlin had an epic finale - but I can't, it was dire. Processional, flat, uninspired with no tension, no theatre, no drama.
The alarm goes at 03.45, and it's almost painful. Davie arrives bang-on 04.45 and we're off to Glasgow in the Peugeot, the roads are a bit slippery and Dave makes things more interesting by driving with dipped head lights all the time; even when there's nothing coming in the opposite direction.
Here at VeloVeritas we're always banging on about riders getting themselves across the North sea to Flanders, so when one actually does, such as Dougie Young, it's only right that we should pay a bit of attention.
This year Marcin Bialoblocki has turned his attention to the 100 mile TT distance, winning the national title before setting out specifically to break competition record in Norfolk, last Sunday, bringing the record close to the scarcely believable 3 hours 10 minutes barrier with a 3:13:37 ride; that’s 31 miles per hour average on a course with 42 roundabouts.
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