Vino wastes no time
"How can you tell when they are coming?" We are standing 50 meters past the King of the mountain sprint line on top of the first obstacle of the day-the Col de la Madeleine. A guest in our tour group is quizzing me on how we'll know the riders are coming because there is an endless stream of media cars and motorcycles. "You'll hear the crowd," another guest replies.
I'm thinking about the severity of this climb and sure it would not be an easy ride up even though it is early in the stage. I'm also thinking about Vinokourov, my roommate during the 2001 Tour de France. Yesterday was a tough finish on a stage that seemed suited to the goals and form he brought to this year's Tour. But it wasn't to be. I figured he'd probably attack today. The crowd cheers and here come three riders. First is a Phonak rider then the distinct colors of the Kazak national champion. "Allez Vino" I yell only inches from him ... today I'm rooting for an old friend.
The group is next with the Discovery team in control. Reading the faces of the riders I see a grimace I know all too well. The ride to the top of La Madeleine was no Sunday stroll. The pack is small ... around 40 riders. We stay to see the rest summit and begin their descent.
A quick change of venue and we are watching the race in a bar three miles down the mountain. The breakaway is on the Col du Telegraphe and Vinokourov is ahead with the Phonak duo of Pereiro and Botero. They are clearly working hard. The Discovery Team is controlling the time gap and are still seven strong. Time to get on the road to make a rendezvous to meet another group. One last glance and Vinokourov is now pouring on the pressure at the base of the Galibier. Upon arriving at the meeting point, the guests announce the race is over.
I ask "who won?" but I already know.
Another day checked off for Lance and his Discovery Team. They brought the gap down to a minute and change keeping Vinokourov at bay on the overall. After the shuffle of Stage 9 there are no major changes apart from Christophe Moreau slipping past Ivan Basso by a few seconds to occupy third place overall.
Le quatorze Juillet: The French will be on the attack. Look for an attempt by Laurent Brochard or maybe one of the Cofidis strongmen -- Sylvain Chavanel and David Moncoutie -- who've been very quiet so far in this Tour.
I'm thinking about the severity of this climb and sure it would not be an easy ride up even though it is early in the stage. I'm also thinking about Vinokourov, my roommate during the 2001 Tour de France. Yesterday was a tough finish on a stage that seemed suited to the goals and form he brought to this year's Tour. But it wasn't to be. I figured he'd probably attack today. The crowd cheers and here come three riders. First is a Phonak rider then the distinct colors of the Kazak national champion. "Allez Vino" I yell only inches from him ... today I'm rooting for an old friend.
The group is next with the Discovery team in control. Reading the faces of the riders I see a grimace I know all too well. The ride to the top of La Madeleine was no Sunday stroll. The pack is small ... around 40 riders. We stay to see the rest summit and begin their descent.
A quick change of venue and we are watching the race in a bar three miles down the mountain. The breakaway is on the Col du Telegraphe and Vinokourov is ahead with the Phonak duo of Pereiro and Botero. They are clearly working hard. The Discovery Team is controlling the time gap and are still seven strong. Time to get on the road to make a rendezvous to meet another group. One last glance and Vinokourov is now pouring on the pressure at the base of the Galibier. Upon arriving at the meeting point, the guests announce the race is over.
I ask "who won?" but I already know.
Another day checked off for Lance and his Discovery Team. They brought the gap down to a minute and change keeping Vinokourov at bay on the overall. After the shuffle of Stage 9 there are no major changes apart from Christophe Moreau slipping past Ivan Basso by a few seconds to occupy third place overall.
Le quatorze Juillet: The French will be on the attack. Look for an attempt by Laurent Brochard or maybe one of the Cofidis strongmen -- Sylvain Chavanel and David Moncoutie -- who've been very quiet so far in this Tour.
4 Comments:
It would seem like the T-Mobile team would have had Vino pull back after it seemed obvious Discovery was going to just "pace" behind -- then attack later on the last climb -- would this have helped to conserve his energy?
What was striking was the lack of assistance his T-Mobile team could give him. It was all they could do to hang on to the pace set by Discovery. Do you think T-Mobile know who their number #1 rider to support is ?
I'd like to know what the point of Vino's attack was, other than personal victory. How did he help the team with his efforts? It seems that he still hasn't accepted that, at least for the time being, Jan Ullrich is his captain. So far in the Tour, I haven't seem him do anything to further the team's stated goal of putting Jan in yellow.
The point of Vino`s attack was to win a stage! If a team does not have overall victory possibilities, their strategy turns to winning a stage. Not every team has Disco`s philosophy of sacrificing everything for the overall victory. Besides, don`t forget that Vino also gained close to 1 minute in the overall. It was perfectly good team strategy to send Vino up the road.
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