Reach for your recovery drink of choice, grab a little massage if you can, load up on carbs tonight, and get ready for the ultimate showdown for final Tour glory tomorrow to be contested in 41 kilometers contra la montre. I’m talking about the fans, not the riders, obviously. Because these last two days have nearly killed us.
This is anyone’s time trial. At 41km, it’s just long enough for Cadel to pull one out, and it’s just short and hilly enough for Andy to retain enough of his lead. Sure, Evans will certainly beat the Grimplette, but by how much? In last year’s final ITT, Andy almost pulled out the upset, until the wind kicked up and the youngster’s sit up and beg TT position had him more sail that sailor. It’s hilly enough to give the climbers a chance of staying in it, and the long descent to the finish will play to the fastmen against the clock.
Will his new Maillot Juane play Redbull to Andy and give him wings? Or will the scent of Yellow drag the Cadelamonster to his prize? Both Andy and Cadel know what it’s like to stand on the second step of the podium. Neither wants to stand there again. And both riders are different men than they were the last time it happened. Both have been hardened by the bitter taste of defeat that lingers long on the tongue.
I, for one, can hardly take it any more. Vive le Tour.
You know the drill, get your picks in by 5am Pacific tomorrow morning. Good luck.
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@frank
Our PM tried it when we won the Americas Cup!
What a gutsy effort from cadel not to give up on grand tours after the last few years. Such belief in himself in the face of so many doubters (me included.)
30 years ago the first non- euro put on a yellow jersey. His name was phil Anderson
Massive Sunday on the piss coming up!
I'm gonna say it one more time: the Tour is for the best rider on all terrain. You can have one weakness if you're good enough at another discipline. But you can't have two.
Andy, Fränk: if you want to win the Tour ever, you're going to have to learn to descend and/or TT. All it takes is practice.
Sweet - podium!
Oh, yeah, CADEL WON IT!!! I"M ACTUALLY SHOUTING THIS OUT LOUD AS I WRITE THIS IN CAPS!!!
Hooray! I haven't felt this happy since I was a kid on Christmas morning!
And the results for the TT, which i almost forgot about...
[vsp_results id="8975"]
[/vsp_results]
@Erik
24 carat Gold.
AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH YESSSSSS!
Wow, I'm actually speechless I'm so excited.
WOW
(yes I'm from Australia and have cheered Cadel for years, I thought he'd get Carlos but the wait has been worth it)
You little ripper Cadel! Talk about an iron will, that was an astonishingly strong mental effort, forget about the TT'ing.
Still chances to win his bike (raced in the Worlds and Lombardy) and help kids with Cerebral Palsy at the same time - check out Cyclingtipsblig.com entry on 21 June.
Yeeeaaahhh!!! See you up on the mountain at Kingkake this summer Cadel...
@Marcus
Good call Marcus - Phil was the beginning of the Anglo invasion.
Big celebration time.
I don't want to be too charitable to the Schleck fellas here after a less than stellar time trial, but give credit where credit is due and don't take away too much from the brothers Grimp. 16th and 17th at 2 minutes out in the final TdF TT obviously didn't cut it, but it's also not terrible in the way folks are making it out to be. Should they work on the TT skills (and mental approach)? Yes. Does it stand in stark contrast to other yellow Jersey TTs of the recent past? Yes. But as this a horrible display of te anti-V? I don't think so.
The bottom line here is that the Schlecks didn't lose the tour as much as Cadel simply won it. He won it in the time trial, sure, but he also won it yesterday on Alps D'Huez and especially the previous day in his one-man assault on the final climb. Reclaimed 2 full minutes from Andy, with a full host of favorites in tow. Pure V. Yes the Schlecks are weaker in the TT, but the real difference here was how Cadel was able to hang with their strength in the mountains, then recover and dominate contre le montre. Chapeau to Good Cadel.
@Abdu Whereareyou
Sorry a bit pissed and a lot excited..
That would be Cyclingtipsblog.com (damn auto correct) and July 21 posting.