CyclingRevealed's First Impressions '06
Stage 7, July 8th, Saint Gregoire to Rennes, 52 km ITT
"No More Hiding"
In 1989 Greg LeMond appeared at the Tour de France time trial in Rennes sporting a pair of clunky tri-athlete bars clamped on to his bike. Never before had such a contraption been used by a Tour rider. LeMond was the target of much amusement to the European peloton and media crew. The laughing soon stopped when Greg won the TT and everyone started to realize that Greg was on to something important. On the final stage of the 1989 Tour into Paris , which was a time trial, Greg again brought out his radical choice of equipment. Today that ride ranks as the most dramatic performance of any Tour and with it he clinched the Tour by just 8 seconds from an incredulous Laurent Fignon. LeMond's approach to time trialing changed the face of the discipline for ever and now ‘aero bars' are standard equipment.
This year when Floyd Landis unveiled his ‘praying mantis' time trial position many laughed at the ungainly looking posture. The laughing soon stopped when Landis proved to be unbeatable in the Paris-Nice.
With all of the major pre-race favorites expelled from the Tour, this time trial promises to be one of the most fascinating for very many years. The Tour does not have an obvious leader or primary opponent like Armstrong vs. Basso or Armstrong vs. Ullrich. Instead there are a whole host of names that could potentially come to the fore. Hincapie, Landis, Leipheimer, Julich, Evans, Savoldelli, Karpets, Gonchar, Moreau and Menchov are probably the main contenders to win and/or claim the Yellow Jersey today. It is also possible that a time trial specialist like Zabriskie, Rogers or even Millar could steal the day and the ‘golden fleece' . One has to look far back in Tour history to find such a wide open race as this. Meanwhile Boonen, McEwen, Hushovd and the rest of the sprinters will take a back seat doing no more than is necessary, for tomorrow they have another chance to shine.
No matter who wins today the GC contenders will now begin to separate themselves from the pretenders. Astoundingly the pre-race list of favorites is predominantly English speakers. This of itself is a clear comment on the development and integration of nations that pre-Greg LeMond were considered rank outsiders to the classic European elite racer establishment.
The time trial is known as the ‘race of truth' . With no pacing or help of any sort a rider is completely on his own. While Tour domestiques will be required to ‘soft pedal' and save their strength to help their team leaders later in the race, those with GC pretensions will be riding at 100% effort. There is no hiding. You either have it or you don't. And the whole world will know it.
Drama. With about 125 riders finished it was now time for the favorites to start under grey skies but on dry roads. One of the first to go was Bobby Julich who at full speed mis-judged a corner, came down hard and broke his wrist. It was a sad sight to see him lifted into the ambulance as the news was relayed back to everyone following. For CSC the loss of Julich is yet another serious blow to their Tour campaign and now Carlos Sastre must be their new leader.
Meanwhile Leipheimer appeared to be having something of a melt down losing a lot of time at the intermediate time checks. Landis was adding to the consternation as it was reported that he had experienced mechanical trouble. For the Americans the day was turning sour.
One by one most of the top GC riders finished with disappointing times. Even the specialists like Zabriskie and Rogers failed to deliver the goods. Pre-race favorite Serguei Gonchar (a former World TT Champion) won the day and with it the Yellow Jersey. Floyd Landis was second and now should be considered as the overall GC favorite. Behind him on GC Andreas Klöden (T-Mobile), Vladimir Karpets (Caisse d'Epargne-Illes Balears), Cadel Evans (Davitamon-Lotto) and Denis Menchov (Rabobank) look to be the most realistic contenders for a final podium position. For George Hincapie his dream of a Tour win looks to be no more than a dream now as he languishes in 17 th place two and half minutes back.
We finished the day with as much uncertainty as before the race started. Elevated expectations, pre-race nerves and bad luck created unexpected results. The race of truth is the great equalizer and today was a reality check for many. There was no more hiding.
Tomorrow : a hilly route of 177km across Brittany from Saint Meer le Grand to Lorient, 177 km. Come back to CyclingRevealed.com for our daily impression.
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