Tuesday, July 24, 2007

Vino sucks!

Thanks for pissing on a fun Tour, Al. I wonder how many team sponsorships you have crushed for next year. You are probably not the only one doping, but you are the dumbest one.

I love some of the quotes today.

Eric Boyer, Team Manager, (Cofidis):

"I feel sick. I hope that Vinokourov won't be a coward and deny everything. He said that he worked with Ferrari just for training plans. He always told us what a brave guy he is, that he is stronger than the pain, that the French ride behind everyone else because they are lazier. Now we see that he is a big bastard. These practices discredit all of cycling again."
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Linus Gerdemann (T-Mobile Team):

"This is naturally very bad and I feel like Vinokourov has made a fool of me,...
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Marc Madiot (Team Manager, Fdjeux):

"A surprise? Not really!"
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On a bright note, my fantasy team has moved up to 4th place and is kicking some arse. Thanks to Mr. Kazakh Doper, though, I know longer have Kloden earning points. Burn in hell, Vino!

Let's hope Contador puts some of this nastiness on the back burner with a storming ride through the mountains. The finish will be a good test. The first time I rode the Marie Blanque, that sucker dished out some suffering. The first 4-5 kms are not difficult at all but the last 4km are consistently in the 10-11% range. The way I remember the mountain was a lot like Ventoux in the sense that it is steep and doesn't really have hairpins. It's pretty much a straight shot. If it were closer to the finish I could see those last km's being a good place for a pure climber to lay some hurt on a challenger.

The descent is longer, twistier, and more gradual and empties onto a plateau, before descending again into the valley. The road from there is a dead straight road to the base of the Col d'Aubisque. I believe the town at the base is Laruns. You roll through town and make a left turn to start the climb.

The first few km's really suited my riding style. The grade was just right for me. You then hit the town of Eau Bonnes(?) The town is small and has a few hotels and shops. The road through town is short but steep, turns left and flattens out and then starts going up again. The climb on the whole is pretty steady in grade. Typically about 7%. There is a brief section about halfway up with a sign that says something like 12%. More than anything, the sign scares you, because you are back to the more gradual grades soon enough.

From that point, if you look up and are not familiar with the climb you can be tricked into thinking the summit is closer than it really is. There is a hotel about 3km from the top. Down below it looks like it would be the top but once you are there it keeps on going. The weather on top of the Aubisque often seems to be foggy so if you like watching the guys finishing in the fog you might have the chance Wednesday. If the sun is out, you can have some pretty scenery for the TV cameras.

I will be interested in seeing how and when Contador makes his move on Rasmussen.

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