CyclingRevealed's First Impressions '06

Rest Day, July 10th, Air Transfer to Bordeaux

No Rest for the Wicked  

A week before the start in Strasbourg everyone was anticipating a very different Tour de France this year without Lance Armstrong in the race. Ivan Basso and Jan Ullrich were the natural choices to battle it out for the Yellow Jersey. Then, on the eve of the Tour, the ugly details of 'Operacion Puerto' broke. Most shockingly Basso and Ullrich were directly linked to the scandal and their Tour was over before it began. So far about 30 riders have been named and the result played havoc with many teams and their planned Tour line-ups.

If the details from Spain are correct, there are still about 20 riders to be identified publicly as having links to Operacion Puerto. Some of those riders are said to be still riding the Tour. If so then not only are those riders not resting easy on rest day, but also they must be having troubled days and sleepless nights each and every day. Between now and Thursday (when the race enters Spain) we may see a series of strange retirements due to ‘stomach pains' or other ailments! [Note: this is a CyclingRevealed prediction, watch for it to unfold Tuesday and Wednesday]

On Thursday, Stage 11 is an incredibly difficult day of climbing through the Pyrenees and into Spain . While most riders will be fearful of this coming challenge they will breathe a sigh of relief when the finish line greets them atop the mountain at Puerto de Beret. If any riders linked with Operacion Puerto are still foolishly in the race on Stage 11 they can be guaranteed that their welcome will come in the form of the ‘Guardia Civil' (Spanish police). For that reason we can be assured that on this Tour rest day there will be ‘no rest for the wicked'.

 
'Operacion Puerto' welcoming committee; the Guardia Civil (Spanish police)!

Additional Rest Day Thoughts: Since the 1950's Tour history has been dominated by a series of exceptional champions. Jacques Anquetil won the first of his five Tours in 1957 and his last in 1964. Eddy Merckx claimed his five Tours between 1969 and 1974. Bernard Hinault took over between 1978 and 1985 and then Miguel Indurain had a run of five straight wins between 1991 and 1995. The Armstrong era lasted an unprecedented seven years from 1999 to 2005. Between these legends of the sport the Tour has been blessed with other great champions including Greg Lemond who, had he not been slowed by his hunting accident, could well have won more than his three Tours.

A common denominator with each of these champions is that they imposed their supremacy on the race in an emphatic way. Looking at the latest example, Armstrong, he arrived at the 1999 Tour after battling a near life-ending case of cancer. He did not feature on any list of pre-race favorites. That started to change rapidly on day one when he won the Prologue time trial. Eight days later he pummeled the field in a tremendous display of power with an emphatic win in the 56.5km individual time trial. This performance put him in the Yellow Jersey (which he held to Paris ). The very next day any remaining doubters were put in their place when Armstrong dropped all of the best climbers including Zulle, Escartin and Virenque on the mountain top finish at Sestrieres.

Thus far in 2006 we have not seen any commanding performances (with all due respect to Gonchar's TT win). The GC fight remains as intriguing as it did after day one. Few people can predict the final podium with any degree of certainty. For seasoned race watchers this is new territory. Even if you go back to 1903 it is hard to find a Tour as open as this year's. One would think that with over a century of race history just about every combination of Tour had been played out. This is why the Tour and cycle racing in general holds such an allure.

It is hard to say if this year's cast of characters includes the next great Tour champion. Since Anquetil Tour history has shown that there is about a four to five year gap between each truly great champion. However just as Armstrong broke the myth that no mortal could win more than five Tours, who is to say that we will have to wait up to five years to see the next Tour dominator.

In a recent statement Andy Rihs, manager of the Phonak team, stated that the perverse effect of the high profile drug related scandals that have plagued his outfit (Hamilton, Perez, Camenzind), Phonak has reaped huge commercial benefit. Despite being in the media limelight for the wrong reasons, the extensive exposure of the company logo has created a dramatic increase in brand awareness and product sales. From that point of view Phonak's investment in its sponsorship has paid off handsomely. Rihs of course would have much preferred that the success was due entirely to their race results. As Phonak closes out their final year of sponsorship maybe they will finally get that recognition through a Tour win by Floyd Landis.

No teams were hit harder than CSC and T-Mobile by the tidal wave of revelations to come from Operacion Puerto. Both teams have put on a brave face and come out fighting. CSC looked to be on track for good results until Bobby Julich crashed out of the race in the time trial two days ago. He was to have been a key support rider for Carlos Sastre as well as a potential podium contender. Now their prospects look fairly slim. T-Mobile on the other hand has demonstrated that they are much more than a one-horse team. They currently hold the Yellow Jersey (Gonchar), have won two stages (Gonchar and Kessler) and lead the team competition. Gonchar may not be able to retain his lead when they hit the big mountains but Andreas Kloden (2nd on GC in 2004) is waiting in the wings.

Whatever the outcome of this year's Tour, the winner will be a worthy champion. The race is fiendishly hard and every rider wants to shine in this showpiece of our sport. Like it or not, Le Tour is the pinnacle of our sport and every rider wants to leave their mark. Contrary to popular opinion in the wake of the recent revelations from Spain, road-side crowds have been turning out in record numbers. Public support for the Tour is as strong as ever and for the sponsors (and potential sponsors) that is what counts.

Tomorrow: Will Torpedo Tom beat Rockin' Robbie in Dax? Bordeaux to Dax, 170 km. The last flat stage before the Pyrenees Mountains. Come back to CyclingRevealed.com for our daily impression.

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