Who will win the Tour de France?

Did somebody jump from 5th or 6th place to second overall?

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Aslan is not a Tame Lion

Yes. Armstrong. Yet surprisingly, he is still five minutes down cos of that brave performance by the mailot jaune.As for Ullrich, he didn't crack, he self- destructed, losing 2'30" to Lance. I must say - he looked tired and heavy on his bike, and for todays stage alone, a far cry from that guy who won it all those years ago.Remember Riis? Jan looked all too similar to Bjarne Riis after he won his tour and then looked over the hill the next year. I mean, Ullrich was really struggling today. I hope this stage improves his fitness though, as he usually gets better after a few bad days.

How did the 13th stage go?

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Aslan is not a Tame Lion

How did today's time trials go?

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Aslan is not a Tame Lion

And the results are in! Officially: It looks as if though Lance is the first six time winner, but we have one more intense day tomorrow, with the toughest vertical climbing day of the Tour. I see that probably Armstrong and his climbers will take the day at a measured pace and let anyone who dares to attack burn themselves out. Overall, The top five look like this: Jan Ullrich is undoubtedly a powerhouse and would himself be a 4 or 5 time Tour winner were it not for Armstrong. I do not believe the doping rumors UNLESS the entire peloton is involved, but I think that the secret to Mr. Armstrong is his fanaticism plus the Carmichael training. Soon, all serious tour riders will train the same way, and we may never again see a five or six time winner as the cyclists at the top will achieve parity....OLE,OLE,OLEThis message has been edited by Phatboy, 07-21-2004 12:34 PM

I agree. He really powered up L'Alp d'Huez today, yet he's just too big to beat the law of physics. Because if you weigh more, then your power to weight ratio is not going to be as good as a lighter/smaller rider. I think Lance is about 5'9", but Jan is 6'1"- and just powers up the climbs like Indurain did. Unfortunately for Jan, Armstrong didn't come along during Indurain's Tour wins. This message has been edited by mike the wiz, 07-21-2004 05:49 PM

Three minutes is not all that great a lead if there is an accident.

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Aslan is not a Tame Lion

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So you can understand why I wonder why people/commentators, are all snake fascinated with Lance, when he really has won five - and it really has become boring to watch.

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Also, you're in Germany - you have a duty to support Jan - or I'm phoning Germany and telling them to put you on the bus home!

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In Germany they only support the teams or atheletes that win...as soon as they lose they are ripped in the media (like with their soccer team in the EM). Thus, when Ulrich did not peform well in 98, they ripped him apart. With Armstrong, since he is not German and wins they either make excuses why they did not win or claim that Armstrong must be doping (since presumably how could a non-German win otherwise?)...because of that attitude I support Armstrong...not because I think he is a great guy. Hell, Iban Mayo or Ivan Basso winning would have been just fine...just not Ulrich or Kloeden.Don't see how I would make it home from Germany in a bus

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To be honest though - Lancey boy pisses me off. You have to look at this from my point of view (or you die )I've been waiting for a Jan win since '97. It's cruel on me to wish anything other then a Jan win!!

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Then you should give Jan a call...the German media certainly is not his fan anymore....but then Ulrich is smart...he moved to Switzerland ..in fact almost all the major sports stars and celebrities from Germany live in Switzlerland......hmmmmmmmI'll grant you this..I hope this is Armstrong's last tour..he wins, breaks the all time record and retires...then the tour will get interesting again since there is nobody else who is dominant so anything can happen.

This was an interesting bit of info that I picked up. Why can't Ullrich shed a bit of weight and up his cadence? With his natural talent, he would become the premier rider of the peloton! Indurain, by the way, had a fast pedalling style.This message has been edited by Phatboy, 07-25-2004 03:01 AM