TdF Analysis: Stage 5 - Another day, another sprint
As predicted, the finish of today's 183 km stage provided all the excitement. There was the usual small breakaway about 30 miles into the course and the group managed to lead the peloton for much of the rest of the way, but they were inexorably reeled in and caught well before the finish, setting the stage for the usual frantic sprint for the line.
Today's sprint went to Australian Robbie McEwen, by centimeters over Tom Boonen, the Belgian rider who has already collected two stage victories in this year's race. McEwen did a good impression of an NFL wideout after catching a TD pass, beating his chest with both hands as he cycled past the finish, a gesture apparently aimed in the general direction of the race officials who stripped him of a third place finish in an earlier stage, deeming him guilty of head-butting another rider (and you didn't think cycling was a contact sport?).
Despite the drama in the finish, none of the overall race leaders changed position, so Lance Armstrong will wear yellow for the start of tomorrow's 199 km stage. It's interesting to note that he tried not to wear the yellow jersey for today's start, in an attempt to honor the tradition of not taking up the leader's jersey the day after the previous wearer lost it due to a fall (as did American Dave Zabriskie in yesterday's team time trial). But the race director issued an ultimatum to Lance -- wear it today, or miss the start tomorrow -- and Lance, being the intelligent guy he is, got dressed.
Tomorrow's stage could get a little more interesting, as it has four category 4 climbs (the easiest of the categories), with the longest coming only 13 km from the finish. These are not the killer climbs that make or break most riders, but they will present some tactical opportunities if a team wants to probe the resolve of any of the overall leaders. The weather could also become a factor, as the forecast is for a slight chance of rain early in the stage and possible thunderstorms near the end.
Oh, and here's a bit of trivia to end the day: the heaviest rider in this year's race is Sweden's Magnus Bäckstedt, who weighed in at a whopping 209 pounds (he's also about 6' 4" tall). In the cycling world of stage races, that's the equivalent of a 400 pound offensive lineman. Don't look for him to be a factor in the mountains, unless he gets started downhill and can't stop!
Technorati tag: Tour de France
Bryan, I think everyone was well-served by this minor episode. Zabriskie got some well-deserved additional recognition, Armstrong reinforced his image as someone who respects the Tour traditions and his competitors, the fans got to see yellow, the Tour director got to flex his bureaucratic muscles and...most importantly...the bloggers got something to write about!
Posted by: Eric at July 7, 2005 06:36 AMAbout the publisher
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After the stage, Lance said that he understood the reasoning behind him having to wear the yellow. Many people line the bike route, trekking 3 1/2 hours just to see that yellow jersey roll by. It was a class act of him to make the gesture. But it was also a justifiable move by the race director to make him wear it. Certainly, they are aware of the impact Lance wearing that yellow has on their tour.
Posted by: bryan at July 6, 2005 11:00 PM