*** OFFICIAL Lance in France with Tight Pants thread ***

[Drac]

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As usual Lance's team is extremely strong, one thing that has changed is Ullrich's team has improved. If Oscar Sevilla and Vinokourov are riding for him he will be tough to beat as the Discovery Channel team may not be able to isolate Lance's foes in the mountains. They may not be though as both those guys could have personal ambitions.

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I don't think Ullrich is the top dog on that team anymore. He thinks he is but I think Vinokourov is a better overall rider. It will help Lance if they continue to support Ullrich and not Vinny.

[jdl22]

Armstrong apparently didn't think he deserved yellow today:
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This is the Tour de France and anything can happen. One thing is almost certain in July; Lance Armstrong will wear the yellow jersey. But this was something that almost didn’t happen today. In a sympathetic gesture for Dave Zabriskie, the rider who lost the overall lead because of a crash at the end of the team time trial, Armstrong refused to don the coveted jersey at the start of the stage.
He didn’t believe he’d earned the right to wear yellow because of the unfortunate circumstances that surrounded his inheritance. In the neutral zone, Lance wore his Discovery Channel jersey but the race organizers insisted that the peloton stop at the site of the official start. They had to coax Armstrong into yellow. He eventually succumbed to their wishes and racing got underway, albeit five minutes after the expected departure time.

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[namknils]

I saw the interview this morning with Lance, he had said that out of respect for tradition and David Z he wasn't going to wear the yellow jersey, but if they kept it today that he would wear it tomorrow.

I also read that the race administrators threatened to DQ him if he didn't wear the jersey, that was how they had to "coax Armstrong into yellow."

I was kind of bummed when DZ fell yesterday because I was really interested in the finish. It would have been really close if he didn't fall.

[jdl22]

[ QUOTE ]

I'd be surprised if they did defend it. If there's a breakaway of non-contenders from lesser teams, Discovery ought to let them go. Get a French rider out front and make his team do a lot of the work, just like last year.


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It appears that you're right. I figured due to lack of powerhouse sprinter team (see Fassa the last couple years) that the sprinters' teams wouldn't step up, looks like they're doing the job together though. I don't think Bruneel would mind Lance losing the jersey anyway if it's to a breakaway by a noncontender.

[Macdaddy Warsaw]

I just wanted to say that I was watching the coverage of OLN and they showed Lance in the middle o the pack and when he noticed them filming he made a face and then said "Where's the sun?" in French.

I love this man.

[Arnfinn Madsen]

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
As usual Lance's team is extremely strong, one thing that has changed is Ullrich's team has improved. If Oscar Sevilla and Vinokourov are riding for him he will be tough to beat as the Discovery Channel team may not be able to isolate Lance's foes in the mountains. They may not be though as both those guys could have personal ambitions.

[/ QUOTE ]
I don't think Ullrich is the top dog on that team anymore. He thinks he is but I think Vinokourov is a better overall rider. It will help Lance if they continue to support Ullrich and not Vinny.

[/ QUOTE ]

Today Vinokourov again showed that he has the capacity to accelerate fast with good timing, something Ullrich seems to lack.

[kyro]

[ QUOTE ]
I just wanted to say that I was watching the coverage of OLN and they showed Lance in the middle o the pack and when he noticed them filming he made a face and then said "Where's the sun?" in French.

I love this man.

[/ QUOTE ]

Ou est le soleil?

6 friggin years of French and I'm not even sure if that's right. What a waste.

[jgunnip]

Did anyone else see that spectator moon the breakaway man on the last climb? gotta love the french sense of humor.

[Drac]

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Did anyone else see that spectator moon the breakaway man on the last climb? gotta love the french sense of humor.

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Good thing it wasn't a fake moon. Big fines for that.

[[censored]]

Armstong still held onto his 1:00 overall lead although his discovery teammates fell behind and for some reason this is bad.