Who's to know?
Who was to know?
People ride, people ride
Ride, Ride, Ride, Ride, Ride
Number 9, Number 9, Number 9, Number 9
Ride! Ride!
Who was to know?
People ride, people ride
Ride, Ride, Ride, Ride, Ride
Number 9, Number 9, Number 9, Number 9
Ride! Ride!
Strangely enough those lyrics from Lennon and McCartney kept running through my head today. And they couldn't have been more appropriate for what happened today on Stage Number 9, Number 9, Number 9 of the Tour.
Photo: Roberto Bettini/www.bettiniphoto.netWho was to know...that a young Columbian, Mauricio Soler, from the last team to be invited to the Tour, Barloworld, would win today's stage in such a spectacular fashion; having chased down an early break and then soloing to victory, in the Alps no less.
People ride, people ride...as in the favorites. The final Alpine stage saw all the favorites ride and ride and ride their teammates and each other into the ground. All the heavies revealed themselves in one form or another. On one end of the spectrum we saw Alberto Contador (Discovery Channel) come to fore as a more than realistic contender (or Conta-ten-dor as it were) for not only the podium but for the Tour crown.
While on the other, Alexandre Vinokourov's (Astana) injuries finally were revealed under extreme pressure. The odds on favorite to win this year's Tour was reduced to tears by the knowledge that the golden goose has flown. With the time gaps that a healthy Vinokourov would have great difficulty to overcome, it definitely spells the end for an injured one. A year's worth of frustration, from having been excluded from last year's event, has cruely been compiled with all the frustrations of this year's Tour.
Results
1 Mauricio Soler (Col) Barloworld
2 Alejandro Valverde Belmonte (Spa) Caisse d'Epargne
3 Cadel Evans (Aus) Predictor - Lotto
4 Alberto Contador Velasco (Spa) Discovery Channel Pro Cycling Team
5 Iban Mayo Diez (Spa) Saunier Duval - Prodir
6 Michael Rasmussen (Den) Rabobank
7 Levi Leipheimer (USA) Discovery Channel Pro Cycling Team
8 Kim Kirchen (Lux) T-Mobile Team
9 Andreas Klöden (Ger) Astana
10 Carlos Sastre Candil (Spa) Team CSC
11 Christophe Moreau (Fra) AG2r Prévoyance
People ride, people ride...as in the favorites. The final Alpine stage saw all the favorites ride and ride and ride their teammates and each other into the ground. All the heavies revealed themselves in one form or another. On one end of the spectrum we saw Alberto Contador (Discovery Channel) come to fore as a more than realistic contender (or Conta-ten-dor as it were) for not only the podium but for the Tour crown.
While on the other, Alexandre Vinokourov's (Astana) injuries finally were revealed under extreme pressure. The odds on favorite to win this year's Tour was reduced to tears by the knowledge that the golden goose has flown. With the time gaps that a healthy Vinokourov would have great difficulty to overcome, it definitely spells the end for an injured one. A year's worth of frustration, from having been excluded from last year's event, has cruely been compiled with all the frustrations of this year's Tour.
Results
1 Mauricio Soler (Col) Barloworld
2 Alejandro Valverde Belmonte (Spa) Caisse d'Epargne
3 Cadel Evans (Aus) Predictor - Lotto
4 Alberto Contador Velasco (Spa) Discovery Channel Pro Cycling Team
5 Iban Mayo Diez (Spa) Saunier Duval - Prodir
6 Michael Rasmussen (Den) Rabobank
7 Levi Leipheimer (USA) Discovery Channel Pro Cycling Team
8 Kim Kirchen (Lux) T-Mobile Team
9 Andreas Klöden (Ger) Astana
10 Carlos Sastre Candil (Spa) Team CSC
11 Christophe Moreau (Fra) AG2r Prévoyance
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