For those of you who are still interested in the outcome of this year's Tour de France, Alberto Contador (Discovery Channel) may be the reluctant Maillot Jaune on the road, but he may not make it to Paris with it on his shoulders. When Michael Rasmussen was still participating, the talk centered around how much time the climber needed to put on his closest competitors before the final ITT. Well that ITT is here, and the climber may be different, but Contador hasn't had much, if any, of an opportunity to put time into Cadel Evans (Predictor-Lotto) or his teammate Levi Leipheimer (Discovery Channel), who sit at 1.53 and 2.49 in arrears, respectively.
Saturday's 55.5km ITT from Cognac to Angoulême, is relatively flat and fast. This course will certainly favor Evans [who finished second to an allegedly doped up Vinokourov] and Leipheimer [who has won 3 ITT this year], but with the way Kid Contador has been battling, he's sure to go down swinging.
However, the greatest battle all the riders now face may not be with each other or with the parcours of the final "race of truth," but with their willingness and ability to focus after the drama and series of expulsions over the past few days. If Contador feels as undeserving of the Maillot Jaune as he did yesterday after Stage 17, then he's already been knocked out.
The doping controversy, we all hope, is gone from this year's Tour, and the drama shifted back to the road where Discovery Channel Director Sportif, Johan Bruyneel, is certainly a candidate for its focal point. With Rasmussen gone, and with all of Bruyneel's focus on Contador's chances to win the overall, how will he deal with the very real possibility [though slim in probability] of Levi Leipheimer winning the Tour? And we haven't even mentioned the drama of securing a sponsor for next year, even with two of his riders on the podium and his team winning the team competition.
On The Road
For those who lost all hope in professional cycling some time ago, or who may have just undergone the pain of seeing this beautiful sport's most chaotic race to date, then its time to go and mash on the pedals yourself. As usual, below is a list of races in specific areas of the country.
Our featured race this weekend is the Dave Babcock Memorial Weekend in Omaha, NE. Its a stage race that has something for everyone. It kicks off with the Douglas County Road Race on Saturday morning, followed by an afternoon time trial in Elkhorn, and a crit in downtown Omaha on Sunday.
As the Omaha area was my former stomping ground during my formative collegiate years, I am all too familiar with the routes. If you're in the area make sure to go out and support the racers, and if you're racing make sure to razz the chief referee, our friend of the blog, Sean Weide (Director of Communications for Toyota-United) if you have a [legitimate] disagreement with being pulled or with one of his calls.
To find results and photos of most of the races, check out Truesports.com
07/27/2007
13th Delaware Classic
Delaware, OH
Madison of the Americas
Trexlertown, PA
07/28/2007
Prudential Integity One, REALTORS Grand Prix
Granville, OH
Diamond Valley Road Race
Woodfords, CA
Porcupine Chalk Creek Road Race
Coalville, UT
Chris Meerman Memorial Downtown Allentown Criterium
Allentown, PA
Dave Babcook Memorial Weekend
Omaha, NE
Great Grandview Heights Criterium
Lancaster, PA
07/29/2007
The International Tour de 'Toona - Points Race
Altoona, PA
Peter Teeuwen Memorial Time Trials
Chesapeake, VA
Rum Village Criterium
South Bend, IN
The Buckeye Criterium
Columbus, OH
JBN Bicycle Race
Easton, PA
Velo Allegro Deluge Criterium
Long Beach, CA
Southbay Wheelmen Baxter Time Trial
Palos Verdes, CA
For those who have been utterly enraptured by the good and bad of the Tour, you most likely didn't realize that there's another tour race still going on in the US, the Tour de 'Toona.
After Stage 3 the Women's GC has Kori Seehafer (TEAm Lipton) holding on to a slim lead over Felicia Gomez (Aaron's).
Standings:
1 Kori Seehafer (TEAm Lipton)
2 Felicia Gomez (Aaron's)
3 Alison Powers (Colavita/Sutter Home)
4 Christine Thorburn (Webcor Builders)
5 Katheryn Curi (Webcor Builders)
The Men's standings haven't really changed much since the TTT, with Health Net presented by Maxxis and Toyota - United dominating the top.
Standings:
1 Karl Menzies (Health Net - Maxxis)
2 Rory Sutherland (Health Net - Maxxis)
3 Chris Baldwin (Toyota-United)
4 Caleb Manion (Toyota-United)
5 Chris Wherry (Toyota-United)
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