What next?!?
The drama in the Tour continued as Tyler Hamilton, fractured collarbone and all, somehow managed to sustain a breakaway with 88 miles to go to win his first ever Tour de France stage today. This Tour never lets up--something amazing happens everyday.
What's even crazier is that he looked like he was going to be dropped early on as many riders in the peloton, knowing that it was a mountain stage that finished flat, tried to break away. In stages with such profiles, non-climbers try to get an early break so they can hold off the climbers for the stage victory in the final flats. I thought Hamilton was just going to try to hang on for dear life.
But then, on the first climb, he attacked. At that point, I had no doubts he'd be caught. After all, teams with sprinters and GC contenders, especially Telekom, had plenty of km's left to chase down his 3 minute lead. But for some reason, Telekom didn't try to put Zabel into a position to win the stage, or didn't feel worried that Hamilton would catch Vinokourov in Saturday's time trial. Euskaltel, fighting with CSC for the team title, also seemed apathetic for much of the race.
By the time those two teams began pushing the pace, I was starting to get excited, because it looked like he just might hang on. It's one of those feelings that begins as a "hmmm." And then suddenly I'm banging on the sofa, cheering him on. He was clearly redlining, trying to get down into as aerodynamic a position as possible.
And he did it, and it wasn't even all that close. Good for Tyler. What a gutsy rider! His pain tolerance is absurd. The Tour de France is like racing a marathon every day for three weeks. These guys are truly superhuman, maybe the toughest athletes in the world. I've been losing weight just watching them.
What's even crazier is that he looked like he was going to be dropped early on as many riders in the peloton, knowing that it was a mountain stage that finished flat, tried to break away. In stages with such profiles, non-climbers try to get an early break so they can hold off the climbers for the stage victory in the final flats. I thought Hamilton was just going to try to hang on for dear life.
But then, on the first climb, he attacked. At that point, I had no doubts he'd be caught. After all, teams with sprinters and GC contenders, especially Telekom, had plenty of km's left to chase down his 3 minute lead. But for some reason, Telekom didn't try to put Zabel into a position to win the stage, or didn't feel worried that Hamilton would catch Vinokourov in Saturday's time trial. Euskaltel, fighting with CSC for the team title, also seemed apathetic for much of the race.
By the time those two teams began pushing the pace, I was starting to get excited, because it looked like he just might hang on. It's one of those feelings that begins as a "hmmm." And then suddenly I'm banging on the sofa, cheering him on. He was clearly redlining, trying to get down into as aerodynamic a position as possible.
And he did it, and it wasn't even all that close. Good for Tyler. What a gutsy rider! His pain tolerance is absurd. The Tour de France is like racing a marathon every day for three weeks. These guys are truly superhuman, maybe the toughest athletes in the world. I've been losing weight just watching them.