CyclingRevealed's First Impressions '06
Stage 2, July 3rd, Obernai to Esch sur Alzette (Lux), 228.5 km
David and Goliath
As one of Europe's smallest countries, Luxembourg has provided cycling with a disproportionate number of great champions. The first was François Faber who became the first foreigner to win the Tour in 1909 (he was also second in 1910). Sadly he met his demise during WWI in 1915 when serving in the trenches at Carency near Arras . He received a telegram saying that his wife had given birth to a daughter. Cheering he jumped up for joy and was immediately killed by a German bullet.
In 1927 and 1928 the great Nicolas Frantz reigned over the Tour. In fact he still holds the record for the most consecutive days in the leader's jersey which he achieved in 1928 where he claimed five stage wins and wore the jersey for all 22 days. However during that Tour he received two serious threats to his jersey from Touriste Routiers (see CR's July 06 feature article).
Perhaps the most famous of all Luxembourger riders is the late, great Charly Gaul. Known as the “Angel of the Mountains”, Gaul ranks alongside Federico Bahamontes as the greatest climber of all time. His illustrious palmares includes winning the 1958 Tour.
Today Luxembourg is not lacking in talent. CSC is home to Fränk Schleck and his brother Andy Schleck. Kim Kirchen rides for T-Mobile and Benoît Joachim rides for the Discovery Channel. Of these riders only Fränk Schleck has made it into this years Tour and considering his results this year and the nature of today's route he will be wanting to win in his home country.
Starting in Obernai today's route was far from easy as it traced its way across the Vosges Mountains before crossing the Marne Valley . Two Cat3 climbs and three Cat4 climbs favored aggressive riders and made life very difficult for the sprinters. This hilly region twice played a pivotal role in WWI. In 1914 the British were forced to retreat to the Marne after attempting to resist the attacks of six German divisions. In July of 1918 allied forces foiled a German advance across the Marne and the resulting developments created “the turning of the tide” and the eventual end of the war later that year.
Robbie McEwen Stage 2 winner and now leader of the Points competition
[ Image ©: CyclingRevealed.com ]
The much anticipated break materialized at km number one. David de la Fuente (Saunier Duval) and Aitor Hernández (Euskaltel-Euskadi) probably hoped for more support to come up to them but they plugged away until finally being caught after almost 200kms under very hot sun. Once caught the race again became a confusing melee. There was no real clarity in the organization of the sprinters teams and out of the chaos Matthias Kessler (T-Mobile) took a flyer with just 6km to go. It was touch and go as he put in a tremendous effort but he was swamped with just 200m to go. Robbie McEwen took a clean victory over Tom Boonen with Thor Hushovd third and Oscar Friere fourth. Hushovd's time bonus enabled him to reclaim the Yellow Jersey from George Hincapie who now lies in fourth place at 10 seconds.
Eisel, Stage winner McEwen, Hushovd, and Boonen in the photo [ Image ©: www.gazzetta.it ]
The first week of the Tour usually belongs to the sprinters but normally a pattern amongst the teams quickly emerges. This year with Armstrong gone and the shock waves created by the Spanish drug scandal, the bunch seems to be having a hard time creating an identity for itself. We can be sure that some of the team directors are struggling to focus on the race at hand as they also attempt to retain the support of their sponsors and deal with important riders now accused of drug use.
However what we can see now is an amazing collection of American riders with a real chance to become the new Tour champion. Hincapie has demonstrated great form and aggressive riding and his team looks capable of supporting him for the big prize. Meanwhile Liephiemer, Landis and even Julich are poised to grab the lead assuming that their time trialing and climbing legs are on top form. It's a very long way to Paris and it is a sure bet that the rest of the bunch does not want to see yet another American winner. We are seeing a great and very unpredictable race unfolding.
Luxembourg measures just 51 miles by 32 miles, but this David of a country slayed the Goliath of Europe in its reception of the Tour today. The home boy did not win but we will see much of Fränk Schleck in the coming weeks as part of the CSC juggernaut.
Hushovd take Yellow back! [ Image ©: www.gazzetta.it ]
Tomorrow : the race continues north across Luxembourg, through Belgium and into the Netherlands for a hill finish in Valkenburg. This could be one for riders like Erik Dekker or Peter Weening hoping to shine in front of their home crowd. Esch sur Alzette (Lux) to Valkenburg (Hol), 216 km. Come back here for our report.
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