Here's what I expected in today's stage (in a tiny, Discovery/T-Mobile-centric nutshell...I didn't have CSC/Phonak/etc. predictions):
A return of the yellow jersey to Armstrong; biggie time loss by Ullrich; good time and strong ride by Vinokourov; and an announcement later by Ulle that, hurting from his two recent crashes, he was going to ride in support of Vino.
Well, I never said I was a prognosticator. In fact, I've admitted that I suck at that.
Still, I am surprised that Vino got dropped where he did (more than 10 km from the finish, I think). I can't wait to get home and see the replay.
Victor doesn't get my ambivalence about Armstrong winning again. I think what I would like to see is more suspense...not suspense about whether he'll be taken down by some act of God or a deranged spectator [like the one who came out of crowd to punch Eddy Merckx in the kidney in the 1975 Tour], but the kind of suspense that comes from more equal competition.
It's not that I want him to lose. He deserves to win...nobody prepares the way he does. I mean, he's got NASA-like engineers who work on how to best affix his race number to his jersey so it doesn't cause drag. (Hell, NASA should be so meticulous.)
It's just that, you know, it'd be cool to see something old-fashioned and spontaneous.
And I admit this thought wasn't mine, I didn't consider it 'til I read Lance Armstrong's War...but it sure would be interesting to see how he'd react to a loss.
Posted by Nic at July 12, 2005 12:48 PM | TrackBack