With a couple of category 4 climbs and a 194.5KM journey to the Alps, stage 14 is going to shake out a few riders I bet.
We'll probably see a little larger rift in the field as some of the sprinters realize their chance is gone for glory with Cavendish slamming home win after win. Teams will look at Columbia and realize that team glory is going to have to come in second place because Columbia now has a ton of money and a bunch of wins.
My guess for this stage is the predicted winners will take over unless the entire peloton is surprised by a major breakaway.
Stage 14 will either go to Menchov, Evans, Vandevelde or Valverde. They're going to have to start battling because anything can happen with Alpe d'Huez around the bend.
If it's not a major name in this stage, it's gonna be someone like Kim Kirchen or Damiano Cunego. I've been wrong 13 times in a row, let's keep up my perfect record.
By the way, tomorrow and Sunday I'm covering events for the Boston Globe. I will get to my recaps and commentary at some point before the weekend is over, but I urge you to catch some of the British Open and the Tour de France on TV and I'll see you back here in earnest on Tuesday.
MONDAY IS A REST DAY. SUNDAY and TUESDAY are the ONLY days the Tour is in a country other than France this year. And only for the end of one stage and the beginning of another. The country is Italy. More on that before the weekend is over.
Showing posts with label boston globe. Show all posts
Showing posts with label boston globe. Show all posts
Friday, July 18, 2008
Tuesday, July 8, 2008
So much of it is luck
If you look at Denis Menchov and the stuff written about him before this year's Tour de France, you would think he'd be in the catbird seat for a podium finish.
Well, we're three stages into the 2008 event and Menchov has hit a bump in the road that has put him pretty far back in the overall standings.
Think about it. Had Menchov not been caught up in a crash in yesterday's stage 3, he'd be right up front with Valverde and Evans and the other big names that are less than two minutes behind the leader.
What's going to happen in today's time trial is a likely fall from the front by Romain Feillu of France. Even with his 1:45 lead, I'm guessing that Valverde, Hincapie and even Menchov will leap over this little Frenchman.
After looking at the stats, Menchov is at 2:30 to the leader which means he's at :45 to Valverde and that's going to be tough to make up. Even though we're only a few stages in.
Well, I'm about to watch today's time trial stage and will be back after I find out what happens.
*By the way, cycling is on the minds of people everywhere. I wrote about it on my regular blog and Bella English wrote about it in the Boston Globe this past weekend.
Well, we're three stages into the 2008 event and Menchov has hit a bump in the road that has put him pretty far back in the overall standings.
Think about it. Had Menchov not been caught up in a crash in yesterday's stage 3, he'd be right up front with Valverde and Evans and the other big names that are less than two minutes behind the leader.
What's going to happen in today's time trial is a likely fall from the front by Romain Feillu of France. Even with his 1:45 lead, I'm guessing that Valverde, Hincapie and even Menchov will leap over this little Frenchman.
After looking at the stats, Menchov is at 2:30 to the leader which means he's at :45 to Valverde and that's going to be tough to make up. Even though we're only a few stages in.
Well, I'm about to watch today's time trial stage and will be back after I find out what happens.
*By the way, cycling is on the minds of people everywhere. I wrote about it on my regular blog and Bella English wrote about it in the Boston Globe this past weekend.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
