Tour de France 2003

Counting down to the Tour de France 2003.

Wednesday, July 9, 2003

18 days to go Stage 4 today, the team time trial from Joinville to Saint-Dizier, and Pena takes the yellow...   Deja vu   After the runaway success of our new correspondent Silvio Berlusconi, we have decided to appoint another full-time correspondent on German affairs. Please welcome Stefano Stefani. Ok, so I know absolutely nothing about the Tour de France (what's new? - ed) but it is a true world event and I thought it would be educational, both for me and my readers, to find out something about it and to join in the excitement. So, basically, if you do know anything about the sport of cycling or the Tour de France, I suggest you point your browser elsewhere for the next two and a half weeks. (just tell me what's new please? - ed)   No return   Gerhard Schroeder has cancelled his Italian holiday after discovering that the Tour de France is not in Italy. A top aide has contacted the hotel to ask them to send back the chancellor's towels. So let's jump in the saddle and find out all about this great event over the coming days. This map gives a good overview of what's lies over the handlebars. So let's literally enjoy this tour of France as we look at the locations, the sport, the spirit and the pedal pushers... 8:38:18 PM    comment []

Thursday, July 10, 2003

17 days to go There's a good photo here from today's stage 5. At 196.5km today's route from Troyes - Nevers is one of the longest stages in the race. And judging from the photograph it must have been a nightmare if you were trying to get to work in Nevers today. It's clear from the various race reports that the Italian Alessandro Petacchi won today's stage but there seems to be a lot more to this cycling lark than I had imagined from my jaunts along Berkshire's less than extensive cycle tracks. Many reports, like this one, include a profile of the altitude and gradient of the route. So it seems that the hilliness of each stage is of crucial importance (breathtaking insight - ed). But just read this extract from the report if you think it's so simple: once again the battle for the Green jersey will be probably more evident than that for Yellow. A day for the GC contenders to shelter in the peloton and avoid accidents, the breakaways to try and make good their escape and the sprinters teams to dig deep for their man Translating that little lot will probably occupy the next 17 days of our countdown. Let's start with the jerseys. Now, like most of you I suspect, I have heard of the Yellow jersey - that's for the race leader, right? But what about the Green? Well our extensive research has revealed that there are in fact numerous significant jerseys doled out during the race... Yellow Jersey Worn by the race leader. Green Jersey This is worn by the leader in the Points Classification. (I will try to explain this once I have figured it out and hopefully before the end of the race ) Polka Dot Jersey Leader in the King of the Mountains classification. White Jersey Best young rider (Souvenir Fabio Casartelli). Amazing, n'est-ce pas? And apparently there used to be a Red Jersey and Combination Jersey as well but these were abolished as part of a simplification policy! Haven't the French ever heard of a finish line?   Favourite injured   Tour de France favourite Lance Armstrong has suffered a serious back strain in the run up to the race. Apparently he had just packed his jerseys and tried to lift the case on to the back of his bike. Oh and by the way, I've also discovered that the Tour de France is a team event as well as an individual one. I never knew a bike race could be this complicated - but then I suppose I do struggle to even mend a puncture. More on the remarkable science of cycle racing tomorrow... 7:57:09 PM    comment []

Friday, July 11, 2003

16 days to go Alessandro Petacchi won today's sixth stage. That's the 4th stage he has won now, and so he is not surprisingly the holder of the Green Jersey by a considerable margin. However, as we learned yesterday the overall leader is decided based on time rather than points - and so the wearer of the Yellow Jersey is Victor Hugo Pena of Columbia. Pena is with the US Postal Service team, so he must get plenty of cycling practise all year long. Mind you, having seen our postwoman's antics on a bike, I'm surprised he hasn't caused a major pile up yet. Other teams in the event include English Bobbies, paper boys and petty thieves. Sadly, we also have to report a decline in the levels of sportmanship following deliberate sabotage by one of the teams of another's equipment.  British Interest Sad to say the leading Brit in the race is Scotland's David Millar, currently standing in 52nd place. You would think we would be able to find a more successful rider with tenuous links to Britain to claim as our own. And with a name like Armstrong, 5-in-a-row champion Lance would seem like a prime candidate. If only we could find a photograph of him showing his true colours back in the old country... 9:47:56 PM    comment []

Saturday, July 12, 2003

15 days to go Well, what do you know - just 4 days into this countdown and I'm starting to get into the Tour de France. It's bloody hot here in England today and I nearly passed out while cutting the grass. So take a look at today's route and try to imagine what it must be like sprinting up and down all those hills. Mind you, it's probably nice and cool at that altitude I guess it's obvious from all those hills but just to make sure that you are all keeping up - today's stage 7 is the first mountain stage. So that means that the winner, Richard Virenque, gets to wear the Polka Dot Jersey as reigning King of the Mountains. But wait a wee minute - he has also shot to the top of the overall standings which means he gets the Yellow Jersey as well. He is going to be sweating tomorrow. Meanwhile, Alessandro Petacchi will certainly not be sweating. After 4 wins in a week in the sprint stages, today he packed it all in as soon as the first hill came into view. Was this just typical Italian petulance or had he heard that Gerhard Schroeder was in the crowd up ahead?  Scot finishes 8th Scotland's David Millar finished a highly respectable 8th in today's stage. I heard his sister on the radio today. She is also his manager. Mmm - this all sounds a bit Rudeski - I wonder if she is doing any television commentary.  Brit languishes in 52nd British rider David Millar is way off the pace in this year's Tour de France... Oh sweet satisfaction and revenge. By the way I've discovered that you can watch highlights on ITV. Some of the programs are on obscenely late but if you can get ITV2 it's not quite so bad. I will try to catch some of it as it should help with my understanding of what's going on. 4:30:09 PM    comment []

Sunday, July 13, 2003

14 days to go Cycling's leading member of the Armstrong clan has hit the front today and seized the Tartan Jersey. He actually finished third in today's stage which was another 219km of mountain terrain from Sallanches to L'Alpe d'Huez and said that he found it tougher than expected. This may give some hope to the other riders who have been fixated on Lance's posterior for the last 5 years. Richard Virenque is still sporting his fashionable polka dot number despite finishing well down the field in today's stage. It seems that Virenque is one of the few hundred cyclists who have been suspected of using drugs. No wonder he keeps seeing all those polka dots. The Basques Euskaltel-Euskadi are currently leading in the team event. The team names are quite amusing. It looks like they may be commercial sponsors as opposed to sporting teams but I have to say I have hardly heard of any on them. Another sign that this is a continental event not widely followed in Britain. I mean how can they have a cycling event without a Raleigh team.   Free breakfast   As sponsorship reaches new levels in the Tour de France, riders for new team Brioches la Boulangere have hit on the winning idea of distributing breakfast to spectators as they go. Apart from the US Postal Service team (I wonder what the market for US stamps is like in France), the only team I recognise is CSC. Now this could actually be the name of a frogs legs manufacturer for all I know but it is also the name of a large IT company which brings it into my sad world. Actually, if you follow that last link you will see that it is their team in the Tour de France. Funny, if you visit their UK site there's no mention of le Tour. But they do get in a major plug for the Royal Mail - there really must be a hell of a lot of money in stamps. 9:02:08 PM    comment []

Monday, July 14, 2003

13 days to go The roads were melting in the heat today as stage 9 claimed Joseba Beloki who retired with multiple fractures. No wonder I always tell the kids to wear their cycle helmets. Armstrong retained the yellow with a 4th place. But the biggest result for him today must be the forced retiral of Beloki who was one of his main rivals. All Armstrong's hard work last night in the bicycle sheds with wire clippers has really paid off. Today's real hero was Kazak, Alexandre Vinokourov who came home first - 36 seconds clear of the pack. He is riding for Team Telekom. Another advance in the cause of pigeon freedom - they've finally moved communications on to bicycle in Kazakhstan.   Armstrong's escape   As the saying goes, there's no such thing as a free breakfast. And Lance Armstrong nearly paid in full when he almost collided with a brioche left in the road by another team. There are plenty of close-ups of sponsors logos in these photos from today's stage. But there are also a couple of excellent shots showing the scenery, which is both a fantastic backdrop to the race and a superb advert for gear manufacturers. I wish I was there... 3:07:37 PM    comment []

Tuesday, July 15, 2003

12 days to go ok, seven days into this countdown and not only am I getting into this event, I'm ready to kick out against convention and tell it like it is. It's a colour thing really. Superstar Lance Armstrong finished a feeble 45th today but he still keeps hold of the Yellow Jersey. I like to see competition, a battle of wills and the determination to cross the finishing line first at all costs. So basically, I'm starting to value the Green Jersey more that the Yellow. Now I'm sorry if this is Tour de France heresy but I'm just not prepared to hide behind some politically correct yellowness.  French sport not included I was listening to Talk Sport today. Now I know the Tour is French but it still is sport, right? And it is, well, kind of, a major world sports event - right?? But not a mention on a radio station dedicated to sport. Plenty of reaction to the amazing recent performance of the British weather - but the only French item included was an advert every 5 minutes for the Renault Kangaroo (they must be a real menace on the roads for le Tour riders) But credit where credit's due, the BBC's sport radio channel Five Live did have a Tour de France report this evening. A full report on every bone broken by Joseba Beloki, an update on Tyler Hamilton's collar bone. I switched off before their feature on the medics who are the real heroes of the Tour de France...  Dutch spam (and other sausages) I received an unusual e-mail today. Very unusual in fact. No mention of penis enlargement, no herbal miracle weight loss pills. Not even a plea for help from a desperate Nigerian. It seemed to be telling me about a useful Tour de France browser sidebar but when I clicked on the link and found that the page was all in Dutch I knew I had hit upon a rich vein of porn. 9:20:06 PM    comment []

Wednesday, July 16, 2003

11 days to go No rest for the wicked. Or so they say, but how come all those evil pill poppers and corporate moguls are sunning themselves on the Cote D'Azur today. While other more angelic types are spending hours in the car just getting to work. I would consider beating the traffic by cycling to the office if it wasn't over 50 miles away.  Kiss of Death In a shameless headline grabbing stunt, Brit David Millar has boldly pronounced that Lance Armstrong is finished. I don't know why these sports people never learn to keep their mouths shut as they always end up eating humble pie in the end. Mouth shut. Humble pie. Messy.   Bad brioche   Lance Armstrong narrowly avoided angry protesters during yesterday's stage. Apparently, they had been given a dodgy brioche by one of the competitors And why do they think that just by spouting off a few sound bites that Lance is finished or posturing that Armstrong has lost his bottle they can attract everyone's attention. It's pathetic.  What's a peloton between friends I have to admit that for several days of this countdown, before I became a Tour de France expert, I was bluffing a little and had no idea what a peloton was. I don't know how I carried it off so convincingly But anyway this useful page clears up that one and many other pieces of tour jargon. Mind you, when you really think about it, all it is, is a web page translating a few French words - so maybe I should have gone the whole hog in my efforts to serve and pointed you here instead. Just try peloton and you will see why informed commentators are speculating that the US postal team have been planted in France to search for those WMDs. Enjoy your rest day... 8:35:58 PM    comment []

Thursday, July 17, 2003

10 days to go There's hope for us all. As Tour de France rookie Juan Antonio Flecha shocks the cycling world by winning today's stage. Mind you, there were 130 riders who finished within 42 seconds of him. So it wasn't exactly a walkover. Considering the length of the stages, I have found it surprising how close the finishes are. But then I guess it's a platoon thing. David Millar was one of the 130, coming 75th in today's fairly flat journey from Narbonne to Toulouse. He is now up to 19th overall which is a surprisingly elevated position and BBCi readers have voted him the second most likely to upset Lance Armstrong in tomorrow's time trial. Mind you, given Britain's passionless love affair with le Tour, I wouldn't pay too much attention to that. After all, the number one choice was Chinese rider No One.  Time Travel So stage 12 tomorrow is an individual time trial. This is the first one of these, so needless to say I had no idea what it was all about. But as far as I can fathom, it a fairly short stage (a mere 47km) where each rider sets off alone instead of all together. No doubt this means that there is likely to be a wider variation in finish times which could make it very important for the Yellow Jersey. Should be exciting... 9:42:21 PM    comment []

Friday, July 18, 2003

9 days to go 1997 winner Jan Ulrich seemed to be back at his best today with a superb win in the time trial. He beat Armstrong by over a minute and a half which is a remarkable achievement. But Lance is still hanging in there at the top and I don't get the feeling he's going to give up easily. Endurance is one thing you've got to have in the mail business. Our man Millar came in 7th in the time trial. Great, but he was nearly 4 minutes off Ulrich's pace. And these guys can travel a hell of a long way in 4 minutes.   Stiff little fingers   A mysterious hand injury seems more likely to say Hasta La Vista to Armstrong's chances this year than any of his competitors. It's always great to see real sportsmanship, in a world where it is increasingly rare. Tyler Hamilton is bravely fighting on, determined to finish the race despite breaking his collar bone in two places at the end of stage one. And this moving tribute from ex-champion Stephen Roche really brings a tear to the eye. 9:40:25 PM    comment []

Saturday, July 19, 2003

8 days to go Carlos Sastre of the CSC team was a full minute clear of the pack in today's stage. And it was a good day altogether for Team CSC with Tyler Hamilton coming in 10th. But no change at the top, although Ulrich has cut Armstrong's lead to just 15 seconds. Not much after 55 hours of racing. And the mind games have really kicked in too. Yesterday Armstrong tipped Ulrich for the title, but it didn't seem to have the desired effect.  Pair of knees Today was the first of 4 stages through the Pyrenees. With genuine geographical flair I referred to them earlier today as the "Western Alps". Fortunately my understanding companion was there to put me right, in characteristically forthright style. It was only at the end of today's stage that they really hit the mountains - but the next few days are up and down all day. And then it will be back on the flat as they head north along the Pacific coastline.  Broadcasting par excellence I was listening to BBC radio this morning. Britain's national radio always lives up to its reputation for fair and unbiased reporting and this was another fine example. It went something like this: Although seemingly unaffected by the double-break in his collar bone, Tyler Hamilton is having a disappointing Tour this year... Brave Briton David Millar will be battling up the Pyrenees today despite having developed a nasty chest cough. I didn't catch the name of the correspondent, but I think it may have been ex-champion Stephen Roche. Meanwhile on Sky News, they were showing exclusive footage of Lance Armstrong uncovering that Iraqi nuke at the European Parliament on the Strasbourg stage of this year's Tour. 8:06:07 PM    comment []

Sunday, July 20, 2003

7 days to go Up and down they rode from Saint-Girons to Loudenvielle. And Gilberto Simoni crossed the line in first place. Polka dot prince Richard Virenque was in third, just a whisker behind the winner after another magnificent performance on the mountain climbs. Vinokourov was sixth with both Lance Armstrong and Jan Ulrich 43 seconds behind him. This leaves Armstrong, Ulrich and Vinkourov all within just 18 seconds of each other at the top of the overall standings - with the next man nearly 4 minutes off their pace. Tyler Hamilton shook off his shattered bones once more and was 17th today. But poor David Millar ran out of kleenex part way through and spluttered his way into oblivion in today's stage. In fact we're not sure whether he will actually be finished in time for tomorrow's start.  Aussie Rules It is two Australians, Baden Cooke and Robbie McEwen, who are battling it out at the top of the Green Jersey standings, with Stuart O'Grady making it 3 Aussies in the top 5. Now these guys just love to compete and they have now brought that special Australian brand of sportsmanship to the Tour de France. Thor Hushovd, in third place, must be quietly hoping in his pensive Scandinavian way that Bruce and Bruce finally do for each other on one of those massive and dangerous descents. 10:07:26 PM    comment []

Monday, July 21, 2003

6 days to go Armstrong won today's stage which means he now holds the Yellow Jersey. The "now" was added for dramatic affect as it been quite some time since the Yellow Jersey strayed far from the Armstrong clan. And it was a good win for Lance today, coming in 40 seconds ahead of Mayo & Ullrich, and gaining more that 2 minutes on Vinkourov. So he is now 1:07 clear of Jan Ullrich in the overall standings and must be very pleased with his day's work. Especially since he suffered a fall in the closing climb of today's stage. It seems that his brake lever got entangled in a spectator's bag but incredibly he stormed back after this mishap and won convincingly. At the end of the race he said "After the crash I had a big rush of adrenaline". So I wonder what was in that bag.  Not quite Aussie rules Some reports have picked up on the fact that Armstrong owes today's victory to brittle-boned compatriot Tyler Hamilton. Apparently, after the man in yellow came a cropper, Hamilton slowed down the pack to wait. With echoes of British Parliamentiary procedure, Hamilton cited some ancient tradition that when the yellow jersey has a problem you wait for him. Let me run through that again - they waited for him! Sportsmanship or collusion - I leave you to be the judge.  Kilted protester mars Stage 15 A lunatic protester in a kilt disrupted today's stage of the Tour de France by running up a mountain against the stream of cyclists speeding in the other direction. He was covered in white placards with bright yellow protests written all over them, and staggered erratically from one edge of the road to the other. A tragedy was only narrowly avoided. In today's other tour news, Scot David Millar overslept after finishing yesterday's stage only hours before today's start. He was only half awake and still suffering from a streaming cold as he dashed up the hill to the start, tucking several (soiled) kleenex tissues about his person. 7:38:47 PM    comment []

Tuesday, July 22, 2003

5 days to go Following yesterday's revelation that Tyler Hamilton had slowed down the peloton to wait for Lance Armstrong to recover from his fall, other riders have tried to get in on the act. Some reports have credited Jan Ullrich as the man responsible for this selfless act of sportsmanship. But is it really sportsmanship - or stupidity? And David Millar also sacrificed his chances of a really good finish in the stage: I had manoeuvred myself into an excellent position, lurking purposefully in 108th place, and was just waiting to make my move when word filtered back that Lance was down. It just isn't right to attack when the Yellow is in trouble, so I had to bide my time and unfortunately before I heard that he was back up again the race was over.   Medical waste   A spectator at stage 15 of the Tour de France was shocked to discover medical waste had been dumped in his bag. Police have asked a cyclist in a Yellow Jersey who was seen in the vicinity to come forward as soon as possible  Talk talk Spurred into action by the harsh spotlight of our previous criticism, this morning Talk Sport had a special feature on the Tour de France. They mainly focused on that controversial topic of whether le Tour is popular in Britain or not but I felt their special live coverage was somewhat dampened by the fact that today was a rest day. 9:41:25 PM    comment []

Wednesday, July 23, 2003

4 days to go This was the last mountain stage and from now on it is flat all the way into Paris. And although Richard Virenque only came in 59th today, I'm going to put my neck out on the line and predict that he will be this year's King of the Mountains. But today was a day for the Collar-bone kid as he went out alone and came in almost 2 minutes ahead of the peloton. Never before can the clavicle have become such a sporting symbol. Never before have so many TV and radio broadcasters raved in superlatives about a bone. Except on Talk Sport that is where they think that Clavicle is an up an coming cyclist destined some day to win the Tour. Oh, and here's a song which Tyler Hamilton's wife Haven has written about this years tour.  Armstrong courts disaster Just when it seemed that Lance Armstrong had built up an unassailable lead, he has been summoned to Paris early to answer charges of libel. Apparently Lance called fellow cyclist Filippo Simeoni a total liar after Simeoni accused Armstrong's advisor, Dr. Michele Ferrari, of administering "illegal substances to several top-level cyclists". Armstrong has protested that it is ridiculous to say that there were only several riders involved. We all knew that Lance was going to get to Paris first, but this is going too far... 7:53:07 PM    comment []

Thursday, July 24, 2003

3 days to go Who knows what bones Servais Knaven has recently broken, but it was good enough to win today's stage. He was 17 seconds clear of Paolo Bossoni and a few others. And over 8 minutes ahead of the main peloton which included Lance Armstrong, Jan Ullrich, Vinokourov and the human clavicle, Tyler Hamilton. (As well as every other bugger in the race and a passing paper boy who got caught up in the melee) David Millar, on the other hand, has not reacted well to recent criticism on Colin's Countdown and seems to be stuck near the end of every stage - he was 135th today. Rumour has it that he has now given up on this year's competition and has decided to use the final stages to train for next year's Indian open slow cycling tournament.  Shoot 'em up Saturday With Lance Armstrong 67 seconds ahead of Ullrich, he looks to be almost home and dry. But Saturday's time trial is the last remaining chance for an upset. Ullrich was outstanding in the first time trial and beat Armstrong by over a minute - so a repeat performance would really make things interesting for the final day. One thing is for sure, both riders will be taking Saturday very seriously, and Dr. Michele Ferrari has already sent out for extra supplies. But of course if Tyler Hamilton's collar bone finally gives way tomorrow, and a shard of flying bone sheers through Ullrich's spokes, sending him crashing out of the stage - then Saturday will be purely academic. 9:19:35 PM    comment []

Friday, July 25, 2003

2 days to go Just take the essence of yesterday's stage and splash it on all over again. An unexpected winner; A massive peloton containing both Ullrich and Armstrong; It all takes place in France; Oh, and David Millar just about last. OK, so there were some differences. Today's winner was Pablo Lastras. And Ullrich actually did manage to gain 2 seconds on Armstrong because of the effect of bonus sprints during the race. Oh, and David Millar slipped back 12 places from 135th to 147th.  Green green grass of home The battle of the Outback is going to go all the way. There are only 2 points between Robbie McEwen and Baden Cooke at the top of the Green Jersey standings. It is going to be close, but McEwen has won the final stage before and is probably the favourite because of this. As an interesting aside, Jan Ullrich is 9th on 104 points with Armstrong 13th on just 85 points. Not sure exactly what this tells us - either that Armstrong is a flukey fake who doesn't deserve his yellow glow, or that Armstrong is a tactical genius who expends the minimum energy possible to keep ahead of his rivals. Or maybe that Yellow and Green and very different colours.  Poetic justice After losing 2 seconds to Ullrich in today's stage, Armstrong was interviewed and said: I don't think that two seconds is going to win the Tour. So that leaves us with a dream scenario where Armstrong loses by just 1 second. Or just the width of a collar-bone. 8:51:46 PM    comment []

Saturday, July 26, 2003

1 day to go Paris was a place you could hide away If you felt you didn't fit in. Well, it's all over bar the shouting. In today's time trial Lance Armstrong came third, one place and 11 seconds ahead of Jan Ullrich. This means he actually increased his overall lead today and is now 76 seconds ahead of Ullrich as they head to Paris on the final stage. The french police wouldn't give me no peace They claimed I was a nasty person Shock, horror, probe. After all the downs and downs, David Millar won today's time trial with a superb display. So maybe his performance has genuinely been affected by his recent cold, or maybe he has just discovered Dr. Michele Ferrari brand cough mixture. Down on the Left Bank minding my own Was knocked down by a human stampede And so to Paris, where there are set to be massive celebrations to commerate the centenary of this great event. Look out in particular for the Glaxo Smithkline float in the parade. Oh, and also the larger than life collar-bone exhibit. Got arrested for inciting a peaceful riot When all I wanted was a cup of tea When you read about what Lance Armstrong has been through to get to this eve of a fifth straight win, you really have to raise your teacup to him. It is a monumental achievement, perhaps the greatest sporting achievement of them all. And you can certainly excuse the odd tic-tac to keep him going. I was accused... 11:38:16 PM    comment []

Sunday, July 27, 2003

Tour de France 2003 Well, that's it all over for another year. There were no surprises for Lance Armstrong today as he took his fifth title on the trot. But there was a big surprise for Robbie McEwen. He was 3rd but Baden Cooke was 2nd by a tyre's breadth and this means that Cooke takes the Green Jersey. It really was tight between McEwen and Cooke with their rivalry almost spilling over into mindless violence as they leant on each other crossing the line. All the excitement meant that stage winner Jean-Patrick Nazon was a little overlooked.  Cough, cough I saw David Millar being interviewed on TV after today's stage. I could hardly understand a word. No, not because of his distinctive Scottish accent Rather, he coughed after virtually every second word. Now, I know he is trying to prove a point that his poor performances have been caused by a nasty chesty cough, but this was going too far and made the interview almost comical. I mean, you don't see Tyler Hamilton wandering about inserting his fist into the break in his collar-bone, do you?   Joint venture   David Millar and ex-Major Charles ingram today signed a lucrative joint advertising contract for Benelyn. "We both have a lot in common" quipped Ingram. "Well, we never win anything for a start" Bad news, but not entirely unpredicted - at least here on Colin's Countdown - one of the riders has failed a drug test. The authorities have refused to name the guilty party as yet, but have revealed that it is "not one of the leaders". They have also indicated that due to the nature of the drugs involved the rider may have developed a nasty cough.  The party's over It has been an educational and interesting experience for me, tracking this amazing event and the amazing men who participate in it. It must be an incredible come-down for them when the tour comes to an end but no doubt they will all be back again next year. And I, for one, will certainly be following their fortunes. 9:28:09 PM    comment []