ian dewar - circling the world on two wheels

Just when you thought ONE Transportation Bill wasn’t enough…

Chairman Mica doesn't want the Feds to pay to include cycling or walking in Transportation projects

Last week the House Transportation Bill - H.R. 7 The American Energy and Infrastructure Jobs Act – made it’s way out of committee after only four days of discussion.  The proposed legislation strips all dedicated funding for cycling and walking from the federal budget and eliminates two key infrastructure programs that support cycling – Transportation Enhancements and Safe Routes to School.  An amendment to the bill presented by two Republican members of the committee (Petri R-WI and Johnson R-IL) failed to restore funding during the mark-up period. 

• More information on the Transportation Bill
• More information on the failed amendment

Now the bill passes to the full House of Representatives for debate before a final vote expected in late March / early April.   The floor debate is scheduled to start next week and will certainly continue for the month of February.

Meanwhile over in the Senate the Committee on the Environment and Public Works continue to work on their version of a proposed Transportation Bill MAP-21.  The America Bikes coalition expressed concern when the bill was proposed about the cuts to dedicated funding to biking and walking and concern about the ability of states to opt out of these programs and funnel all money to highway construction.  One key part of MAP-21 is that Transportation Enhancements, Safe Routes to School and the Recreational Trails programs are all combined into one funding source called “Additional Activities”.

• America Bikes Respond to MAP-21

This week Senators Cardin (D-MD) and Cochran (R-MS) introduced an amendment to the Senate Transportation Bill that increases local involvement in decisions and allows funding to go to local governments.  The main benefit of the Cardin-Cochran Amendment is that it maintains state and local government access to the Additional Activities funding.

So what does this mean for cycling advocates and more important everyday cyclists who want safe streets and improved access to bikes?  It means less money available for our local governments to work with to improve our local infrastructure. It means less Safe Routes to School funding to continue to improve the options for our kids to walk or bike to school.  It means cutting dedicated Bike & Ped staff from state DOTs. 

Today more then ever we need to voice our support for programs that maintain funding to cycling project and we need to voice our concern about programs that do not.  To send a message to your Senators and your House Member please use this League of American Bicyclists Action Alert. 

Neither of these bills are done deals yet and our elected representatives need to know that their constituents care about these issues. This isn’t a Democrat vs. Republican issue, it’s a public safety and transportation use issue.  For perspective the National Household Travel Survey and the Federal Highway Administration data makes this issue clear.  In 2011 cycling and walking represented 12% of all trips in the United States.  Biking and Walking accidents represented 14% of all transportation fatalities.  Yet Biking and Walking projects received only 1.6% of federal transportation funding.

This isn’t an issue of choosing highway funding over bike and walking funding.  It’s an issue of proving support and safe transportation options for all users.

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Step One into the Abyss… or Round One of a Heavyweight Bout?

Today the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee starting discussion on the American Energy and Infrastructure Jobs Act, the new Transportation Bill designed to cover all federal transportation funding for the next five year.  You can read it HERE if you have time for 847 pages…  or you can read the assessment of League of American Bicyclists HERE.

As we discussed in yesterday’s POST there are some major problems in this bill for the people who work on developing cycling and walking infrastructure in this country.  Two of the biggest programs that fund biking and walking projects ::  Transportation Enhancements and Safe Routes to School :: have been eliminated.  This is not good news to anyone who hopes for improved bike facilities or who want to bike or walk to school or work.

Today Rep Tom Petri (R-WI) introduced an amendment to re-instate funding for Transportation Enhancements (TE) and Safe Routes to School (SRTS).  It was co-sponsored by Rep Timothy Johnson (R-IL) and Rep Daniel Lipinski (D-IL) and presented to the whole committee.  Take a look here at what Rep Peter DeFazio said today about this bill.

Are you as shocked as I am?  The statement starts with the confirmation that when asked WHO HAD READ THIS BILL – not a single member raised their hands.  I would like to quote him “Not even the chairman has read the bill”. He’s angry and he should be.

After another strong statement from Rep. DeFazio about Safe Routes to School:

 

What happened after this passionate statement?  The committee voted 29-27 against the amendment.   Against a strong partisan environment in congress today three Republican members voted for the amendment.  Representative Tom Petri (R-WI) and his colleagues Timothy Johnson (R-IL), and Frank LoBiondo (R-NJ) are the first step in making the commitment to keep cycling as a component of transportation as a bi-partisan issue.  Thank you.

If the statements coming out of congress today aren’t shocking enough to you – Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood said today It’s the worst transportation bill I’ve ever seen during 35 years of public service.”  You can read his whole interview with POLITICO HERE.  Some other juicy quotes include “This is the most partisan transportation bill I have ever seen”, and “… it is also the most anti-safety bill I Have ever seen. It hollows out our No. 1 priority, which is safety…”

What is the next step here?  The Transportation Committee will vote on the bill and move it to the house.  At that point all representatives vote on it.  If you care about biking and walking in America you should contact your Representative.  You can do that by CLICKING HERE and sending an email.

You can attend the National Bike Summit to make your voice heard and meet your Representative.

You can join your local Bicycle Coalition and learn more about what is going on in your own community.

Finally on the same day that Congress seems to believe that American people do not want more access to bikes the Washington DC Bike Share has announced an extension due to overwhelming demand.  Figure that one out?

No Joke :: The future of bicycle funding is in jeopardy

Today is a key day in the future of bicycle funding in the United States.  The House Transportation Committee has released their proposed version of the new Transportation Bill and it’s very unfavorable to cyclists and walkers.   This bill is over two years late and continues to focus on cutting costs.

Over the past 20 years the federal government has grown the support for cycling and walking related transportation projects.  Currently biking and walking represent over 12% of daily trips in America, but receive only 2% of the funding toward transportation infrastructure.  Since 1992 the growth in funding has been tremendous, as has the growth in Bike / Ped projects.  Riders and walkers have responded in kind with a 40% increase in cycling from 2000 to 2009 according to the League of American Bicyclists.

 

What does this all mean to cyclists?  If you commute by bike and use a bike lane you’ve benefitted from this work.  If you ride on a separated cycling / walking path you’ve benefited from this.  If you lock you bike up outside school, work or your home you’ve benefited from government spending on cycling.  The touch points for cyclist and the safety of our streets continue to grow and without the support of our government we risk losing that benefit. 

As cyclists we should care about safe streets, better ways to cross busy freeways, better access to our schools, workplaces and homes. We should look at the work the League of American Bicyclists and Bikes Belong are doing and offer our support.

The first step in continuing to make our cities and town safer for cyclists is to tell your member of congress that you support this.  When cycling and walking receives less then 2% of all funding and the Transportation Committee want to cut that we know we are in for an uphill fight. 

Take a simple action and write your local elected official.  Here is a link from the Bike League to help.  Make a start and let your voice be heard: TAKE ACTION.

Follow Bikes Belong and get updates by signing the People for Bikes pledge.  We love bikes and support this mission. So should you.  Take the pledge at: www.peopleforbikes.org

Cross Country Cyclo Cross

In cyclocross there are three levels of UCI races.  In order of importance it goes World Cups, C1 then C2.   Results and points are important because they dictate where you start for each race.  The more points the closer to the front.  The World Cup hasn’t started yet so C1 races are the most important.   There are only 10 C1 races in the USA and this weekend there were two on the same day – crazy I know.  The second stop of the USGP series had a C1 (Saturday) and C2 (Sunday) in Fort Collins while on the East coast the long running Providence cyclocross festival had the same C1 (Saturday) C2 (Sunday) schedule.

With some money on the line for USGP overall the vast majority of top US cross racers headed West to Fort Collins – leaving at lot of points available in Providence.

USGP thoughts

A cold wet muddy day saw Ryan Trebon take the win – no real surprise there – he’s great in the bad weather and with Nationals this year in January in Madison, WI the more practice he gets racing in the bad, cold weather the more a favorite he has to be.  Not surprising the top 10 was full of mountain bikers with Geoff Kabush 2^nd, Chris Shepard 6^th, Troy Wells 7^th and ex US National mountain bike champ JHK finishing just outside in 12^th.  J-Powers did better then expected with a strong 3^rd place Saturday and Tim Johnson and Christian Heule did worse.  Heule did crash hard last weekend so is obviously still not back up to speed.  Other surprisingly bad races came from Brian Matter (19), Chris Jones (21) and Tristan Schouten (27).   The ride of the day Saturday was definitely U-23 rider Yannick Eckmann who finished 5^th overall… crushing the other U-23s  Zack McDonald and Cody Kaiser by 1 minute and 3 minutes respectively. 

Sunday was back to fast dirt – again a bit more like a dirt crit and as usual J-Powers took to the front and if he hadn’t had a slight crash with 5 to go would have been long gone.  As it was he chased back from about 10-12 sec down to catch Trebon and take the win.  Trebon was 1sec back and way clear of the rest.  No real surprised on Sunday except Tim Johnson is still struggling with the fast start of these races.  He was was back in about 15^th place after one lap and took the whole race to claw back to 4^th only to get passed by Schouten on the final lap for a 5^th place.   Chris Jones was back in his element – dirt crits – and did what is expected from him. Launch off the front by lap 3 and get caught 2 to 3 laps later.  He hung on for a top 10 finish and shouldn’t be counted out for a podium at any dry fast races coming up.

Providence thoughts

It’s hard to get excited about a race that is missing all the top cross guys but as expected the race was still extremely well run and provided some exciting east coast racing for guys who either can’t afford to fly west or don’t care about USGP overall points.  Plus a bunch of Canadians came down to mix it up in preparation for their National Championships in only three weeks.

Justin Lindine won both days – and is in a good position with UCI points when they re-set after next weekend for the 2011 / 12 season.   A couple of Canadians – Evan McNeely (on Saturday) and Derek St. John (on Sunday) picked up podium finishes.  Nice to grab a few UCI points before Nationals.

Next Weekend

The first UCI World Cup of the season is next weekend in Plzen Czech Repulic and after today’s Belgian domination at the first SuperPrestige look for a very, very, very fast race as they try to take Stybar down in his home country.  A few American’s are heading over (J-Pow, Tim Johnson maybe and Jamey Driscoll) its going to be a tough day out there for them based on how the Belgians rode today.

Here in the USA there are more UCI races with Spooky Cross in Irvine, CA and Granogue CX in Wilmington, DE.   Those are all C2 but expect Trebon to get some easy point in the west and probably Lindine back est.

Here are my thoughts on the top 10 guys in the USA right now…

USA Cyclocross Power Rankings after three weeks:

1. Ryan Trebon – he got caught on Sunday by J-Pow on the fast dry conditions, but when the weather gets rough there is no one better in the USA
2. Jeremy Powers – clearly the man to beat on fast dry conditions.  If the rest of the season stays dry he’s going to win a lot more races
3. Geoff Kabush – strong results in Fort Collins with 2^nd in the mud and 3^rd in the dry conditions
4. Jamie Driscoll – solid performances in all races with a pile of 4^th, 5^th and 6^th place finishes
5. Tim Johnson – terrible day on Saturday but a 5^th place finish on Sunday shows he’s continuing his way back up to the front
6. Yannick Eckmann  - Awesome result for the U-23 rider in the mud on Saturday to finish 5^th in the Elite men’s race
7. Zack McDonald – also U-23 and finished ahead of Eckmann on Sunday.  Consistently top 10-15 in Elite races
8. Christian Heule – had a bad crash last weekend and a 9^th place finish on Saturday before dropping out Sunday
9. Ben Berden – a long time pro in Belgium who’s spending this season racing in the USA.  Lots of podiums on the east coast and now racing with the rest of the top guys.
10. Tristan Schouten – had a very bad Saturday race, but bounced back for 4^th place on Sunday.  Couple that with some good results back East and he replaces his fellow Wisconsinite Brian Matter as my 10^th best guy right now.

Check back later in the week for a look at women's cyclocross right now in the USA...

You wanna see some FAST cross action – check out this: 

Superprestige 2011-2012 from jef cleemput on Vimeo.

World Cups and Superprestige are live on Sporza online (www.sporza.be) – check www.cyclingfans.com for dates and times.

 

 

USGP Madison Cyclocross

Madison Wisconsin kicked off the National USGP series with a double-header of racing.  Perfect September cyclocross weather greeted racers on Saturday and classic cyclocross rain and mud rolled in Sunday.   With almost all the major US cyclocross racers in attendance this race solidifies the kickoff to the season. 

Men’s Race Summary

Who looked great:

Ryan Trebon (9 of 10) is definitely for real this season.  After driving the case for almost an hour at Cross Vegas we knew Trebon was in good shape, but after riding away from Jeremy Powers and two time world champion Bart Wellens he proved he is fit, serious and ready for this season.  First on Saturday and third on Sunday prove he’s just as good in dry fast conditions as he is in wet, muddy ones.

Bart Wellens (9 of 10) is a two time world champion for a good reason.  He’s also consistently one of the top Belgian cyclocross racers in a country that has a lock on the top of the UCI standings.  That Bart only won three of the five UCI races he did on his USA tour is a testament to the quality of racing in America today.  When he won on Sunday in the mud it was proof that when conditions are bad the Belgians excel.  The huge efforts he made on Saturday chasing down Jeremy Powers opened the door for Trebon’s win – but an off-result for Bart still put him in second place.  Not a bad trip to the USA for him.

Who looked great on Saturday:

Jeremy Powers (6 of 10) is going all-in on cyclocross this year.  His road season was simply a prep for this fall and he’s made it clear the National Championship is his goal for January 2012 with an eye on 2013’s World Championship in Louisville, KY.  On Saturday his attacking style may have cost him the race as he went to the front every time they pulled back an attack.  He still finished a solid 3^rd on the back of a Wednesday night win and 4^th last week at Cross Vegas. On Sunday he was never in the race.  He’s going to have to get better in the mud if he wants to compete in the World Cups and rest of this season.

Jamie Driscoll (7 of 10) was consistent both days hovering just inside or outside of 5^th place.  He finished 5th and 6th and was definitely solid on both days in the fast dry and slow mud.  Driscoll is also all-in on cross this year and should be set to take some solid wins later this season as race conditions worsen.

Who looked great on Sunday:

Jonathan Page (6 of 10) finally put together a good race on Sunday.  After a terrible CrossVegas and Saturday race in dry fast conditions Page immediately went after Rob Peters' lap 1 attack in the rain on Sunday and rode a technically perfect race.  His results will be better in muddy and sandy European races then American dry and fast races like last year’s USGP races.  Bend in December and nationals in Madison should favor him.  His speed is still off – he lost time on the flats and made it back in the technical mud sections. He’ll need to get that back up to contend in Europe and at nationals.

Rob Peters (7 of 10) put in a huge attack mid race on Saturday and to start the race on Sunday – trying to losen things up for Bart – by the mid-point of both race the top five were Peters, Wellens and Heule (all Euros), Jonathan Page (huge Euro experience) and only Trebon left of the regular American cross racers.  Peters couldn’t maintain either of his huge attacks on Saturday or Sunday to win – but with 4^th place finishes each day he’s solid for the rest of the season.

Christian Heule (6 of 10) rode really well Sunday in the rain and mud, but was completely out of the race Saturday.  He’s been travelling a lot since his 2nd place finish at Cross Vegas – so the incredibly fast start Saturday may have been a shock to him.  It’s a rude awakening mistake that he won’t make again.  No matter what the conditions in Fort Collins in two weeks look for Christian to be ready.

Who’s having a rough start to the season:

Tim Johnson (6 of 10) looked good at Cross Vegas until he crashed and chased back to 5^th place on Saturday after the early speed put him into trouble. 

Todd Wells (5 of 10) has had some bad luck so far this season – a tough 10^th place at Cross Vegas and a broken chain on Saturday put him into last place at the end of lap 1.  He chased back through more then 40 guys to finish 20^th but with a limited season this year to focus on making the Olympic mountain bike team next year Wells is going to only have a few more chances to notch some wins this season.

Geoff Kabush (5 of 10) rode well enough for top 15 in Vegas and top 10s both days in Madison but isn’t anywhere near the CX form that saw him winning races last year.  He’ll need to get his starting speed back up to content in future races as he’s been on the chase from the start in both wet and dry races so far this year.

Who’s missing:

Chris Jones from Rapha-Focus hasn’t started his season yet. With his fast starts and road fitness he should be a good rabbit to take some pressure off Jeremy Powers in dry races – but his wet racing skills aren’t the best and he’ll need to have top fitness to stay away from a fast starting Trebon this year. 

USA Cyclocross Power Rankings after three weeks:

1. Ryan Trebon – fast when it’s dry, faster when its wet
2. Jeremy Powers – good when dry, terrible when wet
3. Jonathan Page – good when wet, terrible when dry
4. Christian Heule – good in Vegas, flat race on Saturday, better on Sunday
5. Jamie Driscoll – solid performances in all races, good attack in Vegas
6. Tim Johnson – bad luck has seen crashes in 2 of 3 races
7. Todd Wells – good fitness but doesn’t have the fast snap of the front 3-4
8. Geoff Kabush – consistent top 10 but never in the top 5
9. Yannick Eckmann  - the top U23 rider on Saturday and 2nd best Sunday in Madison
10. Brian Matter – local boy and Chequomegon 40 mtb winner had a great pair of races with the big boys in Madison. Can he keep it up all season?

Here's a cool video from Sunday's USGP!

 

USGP Barriers on Saturday

 

 

NOT ALL BIKES GO FAST

Check out what's going on in Chicago right now!!!!  Building bike lanes one mile at a time.

Emanuel checks bike paths off the list

But the mayor still has miles to go

by Lauren Chooljian Aug. 24, 2011

In his transition plan for the city, Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel said he wanted to plot out two miles of protected bike lanes by his 100^th day in office. It’s part of his larger goal of making Chicago part of a "world-class" bike network--a goal he announced before he stepped into his City Hall Office.

"I announced in the campaign that we're going to do 25 miles of bike lanes a year," Emanuel said. The Mayor said he wants 100 miles of these lanes before his first term ends.

The new lanes put bikers directly between the curb and a parking lane divided by plastic barriers. The Mayor promised the city would select a pilot location--emphasis on the select--for the first two miles of the project. The transition plan outlines that locations would be selected based on "high community demand and cycling activity combined with sufficient physical room to create protected lanes."

see the rest here:  http://www.wbez.org/story/emanuel-checks-bike-paths-list-90943#

 

CAN ONE TEAM HANDLE THIS MANY JERSEYS?

The BMC free-spending summer continues as Andy Rihs and Jim Ochowicz seem to sign any athlete that’s available.  Gilbert confirmed what was reported in Equipe over a month ago – a 3 year deal with BMC.  This comes on the heels of Thor Hushovd’s 3 year deal.  Rumor also says they have Tejay van Garderen already signed (presumably to another three year deal).   

The team has wisely combined some veterans with the best young talent coming out of the United States – they now have future TT and classics contender Taylor Phinney and now future GC contender Tejay both locked up for when their current crop starts to fade… But are there enough races to win to keep this crew happy?  Cadel has already complained about how Thor can’t take his support at the TdF as he want’s 100% support in his title defense…

Next year’s teams are starting to become clearer even as the third Grand Tour of the season builds to it’s start tomorrow.  With the demise of HTC there are a lot of good riders available – also as Omega Pharma and Lotto split the future of half that team is still unknown. Will they join antoher team like Leopard-Trek or Vacansoleil?  Both have been rumored to be getting some Belgian Lotto money – or will they try and run their own team?  And who controls the contracts of the riders who still have agreements?  No one knows and the UCI seems unwilling to offer any help.

Again the season has started to wind down and the future of the sport is very much unknown.  However a clear pattern of free spending billionaires with their teams is starting to become clearer.   All the top teams heading into next year will have some sort of private money or a single Super-Fan spending his companies marketing dollars to allow him to hang out with pro cyclists…

 

The Vuelta – yes it’s still important…

Does this man look like a Grant Tour winner?

So you might be excused for not knowing the Vuelta starts tomorrow…  a quick look at Velonews today has stories on Junior Track racing and a women’s stage race in Aspen as higher priority then the Vuelta preview story.  And no news today – the day before the race.  I think the US media has made their choices clear. 

So why is the Vuelta actually important – turns out if you do some research the winner of the World Championship road race for the past ten years has always ridden the Vuelts – and in almost all years has won a stage there too…  So a guy like Thor Hushovd who will miss out now as team politics boils up at the end of season will have to use races like the Tour of Britain and GP Ouest France to get ready… Not exactly optimal preparation.

Also the Vuelta is usually the first grand tour for many young racers – there are always empty slots on most teams in the 7, 8 and 9 positions… this will be Taylor Phinney’s first attempt at three weeks of racing.  I predict he won’t finish – but will issue a lot of humorous tweets about how hard the racing is and how he almost missed the time cut… again.

So if the Vuelta is the stepping stone to future grand tour success how many Vuelta winers have gone on to win other grand tours?  Actually not very many.

In the last 20 years a grand total of three winners have won Grand Tours after their Vuelta win – Tony Tominger took three Vueltas from ‘92-‘94 and won the Giro in ’95. Denis Menchov won in 2007 and won the Giro in 2009.  Alberto Contador won in 2008 and won the Tour in 09, maybe ’10 and the maybe the Giro in ’11.

More often the Vuelta is the consolation prize for riders who couldn’t get it done at the Tour.  Ulrich won in 1999 after missing the Tour.  Roberto Heras never did much at the Tour and once he signed with US Postal as a worker for Armstrong he had the Vuelta as consolation.  Menchov, Vinokourov and Valverde are all riders who never quite managed to be real contenders at the Tour but won the Vuelta.

This year three Tour potentials who crashed out; Bradley Wiggins; Jurgen Van den Broeck and Janez Brajkovic are back to try and salvage their season (and get some UCI points) with success in Spain.  Add to that a list of climbing Spaniards and climbing Italians and the race is shaping up to look like the flight for 10^th place at the Tour looked.  Exciting but ultimately missing the highest level of racing.

Tomorrow’s TTT starts the race – almost all the climbing favorites will lose time as Lampre, Euskaltel and Katusha aren’t known for their TT prowess.  Look for Wiggins and Sky to win the stages with Garmin, Radio Shack, HTC, Saxo and Rabobank rounding out the top 5.  Wiggo won’t want to keep the jersey – but should do everything he can to look good. This is going to be his best chance for race leadership – next year in the Tour he’ll be so blown out by the Schleck-mountain express that he’ll need these fond memories.

Predictions:

Vuelta Stage 1:  16km TTT in Benidorm

Winner: Team Sky

Red Leaders Jersey: Bradley Wiggins

To get ready for Vuelta here's a clip of Jan Ullrich putting the hurt (on himself) in the '99 Vuelta - plus it's got a great sound-track!

 

 

TREMENDOUS TOUR-INATION

TdF update July 20 - Stage 17

What a fantastic finish to an extremely difficult day – racing in the rain is never fun, but racing over treacherous roads at high speeds with the stage win and then the Tour on the line makes for high drama.  Today’s finish into Pinerolo did not disappoint. 

What more can be said about Thor – it’s more like the Thor de France after another dominating day in the mountains for the big God of Thunder.  He rode today almost exactly like he rode on Friday into Gap and that’s a trick he might not be able to pull a third time on the peloton.  Talking transfer rumors he continues to increase his contract value for next year – all the talk of him going to a French team – he may have just priced himself off the French market with his performance in the Tour.  Hopefully the rift between the Garmin guys and the Cervelo guys can be mended and JV can come up with the money to keep him on the Slipstream program – he would be a huge loss.

Onto Contador – finally we had some great racing today among the favorites – and just as Schleckette has been predicting someone will crack – too back it was actually him.  Finally we saw some separation among the big favorites – and it was Cadel who comes out on top.  He is absolutely flying right now and today’s result has to give him a ton of confidence getting ready for three incredibly hard days.   Contador and Evans were clear winners today.  Andy Schleck was the biggest loser – but actually Frank might be considered a winner too – even though he lost time and dropped to third.  Now with over a minute up on his brother they can stop riding hand in hand and Andy can get on the front and take some pulls for him.

Andy's potential to win the Tour is over.  Unless there is a stratospheric collapse by Cadel Evans and by Contador he's lost too much time today - and ultimately he has no-one to blame but his own descending skills for this year's Tour loss.

Tomorrow will be very important for the riders behind Cadel & the Schlecks.  Contor and Sanchez both took time back on everyone but Cadel today and the other top GC guys will want to try the same thing.  Look for Basso and possibly Tommy D to try a little attack tomorrow.  I doubt it will lead to anything but it’s a shot.  Also look for Andy to put in a big attack on the final climb to Cote de Pramartino.  He and Frank haven’t given up the dream of a Schleck 1-2 in Paris no matter what they say to the press.  You can tell that from the way they ride. 

Stage 17:  Gap to Pinerolo

Rough. Rough. Rough. There’s no way about it – this will be a really hard stage.  Look for a big breakaway again with some good names in it – but overall the Schlecks need time – so expect them to explode the peloton on the climb to Sestrieres and then Andy to attack on Pramartino.  He’ll want to gap his brother and the rest to get himself back in place for his not-so-secret Alp d’Huez attack plan.  I don’t think it will work – Contador is getting stronger and rides well in the rain – a bad day tomorrow will work in his favor.  He won’t like the hard pace Leopard-Trek pushes early but he’ll hang on.  In fact I would guess even when Andy puts his 100% attack in that Contador is able to go across with time.

Tomorrow I think the winner will come from a break again – so it’s super hard to guess – I expect a few FdJ guys to be up there and maybe even David Moncoutie and Sylvain Chavanel – tomorrow is their last reach chance for a stage win.  Voeckler should keep the jersey.

Winner: Sylvain Chavanel

Yellow: Thomas Voeckler

Green: Mark Cavendish

Polka-Dot: Jelle Vandendert

VOECKLER MANIA – LE NOUVEAU POULIDOR...

 

TdF July 18 – Rest Day Wrap-up

Or the new Badger! Every newspaper in France today has a story about Thomas Voeckler.  He’s  either the next Bernard Hinault or he’s the new Romain Poulidor – a new great champion – or an eternal-almost-gonna-make it.  But either way Voeckler has energized a new passion for the Tour de France among the French commentators and journalists.  The fact that there are established cycling experts willing to say “yes, Voeckler can win the tour” is a key change in even the last three days.  That’s what a ride up the Plateau de Beille in the company of giants will do for you.

I showed this in yesterday’s blog but it’s so good it should be shown every day – this is a guy with a suitcase full of courage as Phil Liggett likes to say.  Look at his battle from 2004 and then look at the video below – his battle from Thursday.  He’s a dude who knows how to suffer – and even if (when) he gets dropped in the Alps there will no one doubting his legitimacy in at the front of the Tour de France.

 

VIDEO -  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M-5bt7Yjn3Q

 

VIDEO - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EE6uSDzGozw

Watch his jump when Andy attacks.  That’s confidence.

Voeckler Quotes

Here's what's being said today about Tommy V and his chances to take this jersey all the way to Paris.

Equipe - Front Page - "WE WANT TO BELIEVE IN HIM... the idea is starting to form that Thomas Voeckler is not done with impressing us"

Bernard Hinault - "Yes he impresses me.  At plateau de Beille he didn't win the final yellow jersey, but he fought. With the jersey on his back he does not neglect it, he respects it. It makes to happy to see him at the front. I'm staring to like him"

Bernard Thevenet - "For me it was Luz-Ardiden when he surprised me, at plateau de Beille it was a non-race.  He's progressed in the mountains and has much more experience - when he responds to attacks he does not panic"

Bjarne Riis - "We made a mistake letting him get away.  He is going to be a fighter and has a strong team with him"

But on the topic of can he win the Tour. Lance already said maybe but of the French Bernard Hinault is of course the most vocal.

Bernard - "When we see what's waiting in the Alps - I don't think so. The triple HC day is too hard. Even if it's impossible anything can happen.  That's why we race."

But if you leave the final word to the man himself - Thomas Voeckler says "I estimate I have zero chance to win the Tour."  That's ok - stranger things have happened on the Tour de France roads.

It's incredibly refreshing to watch the Tour this year with less of a cynical eye.  The media is only starting to ask the right questions about why the speeds are lower, why the attacks are shorter and why the mix at the front isn't always the same.  The riders are still exciting and the racing has been unpredictable day after day.  What's next for the final week?  

Tour de France in the Alps

Get ready for a big four days of suffering.  The final push to Paris will start with a long up-hill slog to Gap with only one categorized climb - expect there to be some attacking on that climb.  Probably Sammy Sanchez, maybe Vanendert again, it would be a good spot for a Schleck attack (probably Frank) and maybe David Moncoutie trying to salvage his Tour.

The main focus on the day will be for the boys to try and not get too tired for Wednesday and Thursday's super-stages. The big teams will try to offer as much rest as possible and will protect their guys.

Honestly a guy who should give a dig tomorrow would be Levi Leipheimer.  I can't even remember the last time I saw him on TV here at the Tour.  He lost a ton of time on Saturday and can't be considered a contender anymore.  His team doesn't have a GC rider and they all ride for each other anyway.  Come on Levi - save your tour and your reputation and give it a shot... Lance did last year over the Aubisque and you can too...

I'll pick a winner tomorrow morning - so for now - he's a video of Levi attacking - I had to look hard to find it.

   

Even this isn't exactly a dramatic attack... come on Levi. Do it. Attack.

MANX MISSILE XIX WINS!

TdF Blog Day 17 – Limoux to Montpelier

Today’s blog is a bit late – 18 hours of travel from San Francisco to France with a few minor interruptions (lost reservations; lost luggage) will put things a bit behind schedule. 

Cavendish and HTC totally destroyed the field again yesterday – that’ll show me for betting against a guy who’d already won 18 stages of the Tour… he’s killing it and his team is like a TGV getting him to the front.  I hope Sky can keep Renshaw from signing with Greenedge if they want to get the same results out of Cav that HTC does. 

What else is there to say about an HTC sprint win – they did a great job with Europcar to control the peloton and set up the win.  Look at the final km here and tell me this isn’t textbook peloton control.  Even though Farrar complained quite a bit after – his team did a great job to get him in position – he doesn’t have the speed to come over Cav. No one does. They only way to beat him now is to isolate him and force him to either start his sprint early because he has no lead-out men left, or get the jump on him when he has no support left.

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There is no stopping Cav when he's got the lead out dialed!

Voeckler Mania! 

Instead of a bunch of notes from today it’s all Voeckler today in France!

Today’s Equipe said on page 2 “Voeckler en jaune a Paris?”  - and followed with a sub-headline – Solid Leader at the exit of the Pyrenees – the Frenchman showed he has the strength to defend his jersey”

If you compare the look on his face to the face of Contador at the finish yesterday you can see who’s riding into the Alps with the most confidence.  Voeckler will be up against three VERY hard days with the hardest two back to back on Thursday and Friday.  But he’s got all of France and all of cycling talking about him.  Even Lance Armstrong got into the prediction game and said he thinks Voeckler could win the Tour if he kept up to the top of Plateau de Beille with the leaders. 

Tomorrow’s rest day blog will focus on the last week and the contenders – who’s ready for the Alps and who’s about get a Michelin-starred dinner of pain…

To get ready for the rest day – check out this video of Voeckler in 2004.  Lance Armstrong was right when he was quoted saying about why Voeckler could win, “Lastly, the dude knows how to suffer.”

Ya think he learned A LOT from that day?