Tour de France 2006: Stage 19
Jul 22nd, 2006 | By Fredcaster | Category: General
When Floyd Landis started today’s 19th stage, the third and final individual time trial of this year’s Tour de France, he had one goal in mind: erase the 30-second deficit keeping him out of the yellow jersey and build a lead as big as possible. And that is exactly what he did.
Oscar Pereiro, Spain’s man of the week (IMHO), rode the time trial of his life today in the hopes of retaining his lead and heading into Paris in yellow. Unfortunately for him, Floyd Landis rode even better.
The stage victory went to T-Mobile’s Sergei Gonchar (UKR) who tore up the pavement and set a blistering pace that simply could not be bested. Second place in the stage went to Gonchar’s T-Mobile team mate, Andreas Kloden (GER), with Landis taking third place.
At this point, Floyd Landis is now poised to become the third American in history to win the Tour de France, making it 8 years in a row for a rider from the United States to stand atop the podium in Paris. Tomorrow’s final 155 km stage from Sceaux-Anony to Paris is largely ceremonial for those contending for the general classification and it should be Floyd in that final yellow jersey. The end of the race is for the sprinters as the field makes multiple laps around Paris.
Could there be a surprise in Paris tomorrow on par with Greg LeMond’s beating Laurent Fignon back in 1989? I suppose anything is possible (especially this year), but the difference is that back then the final stage was a time trial. This time, I think that sportsmanship will rule the day and it will be champagne on the Champs Elysee for Floyd.
So here is how the GC stacks up after today’s Stage 19:
1. Floyd Landis (USA) Phonak
2. Oscar Pereiro (ESP) Caisse d’Epargne 0’59”
3. Andreas Kloeden (GER) T-Mobile 1’29”
4. Carlos Sastre (ESP) CSC 3’13”
5. Cadel Evans (AUS) Davitamon-Lotto 5’08”
6. Denis Menchov (RUS) Rabobank 7’06”
7. Cyril Dessel (FRA) AG2R 8’41”
8. Christophe Moreau (FRA) AG2R 9’37”
9. Haimar Zubeldia (ESP) Euskaltel 12’05”
10. Michael Rogers (AUS) T-Mobile 15’07”
Wow. Nice of you to quietly delete my constructive criticism on the recent quality of your shows.
Your post wasn’t deleted, it simply wasn’t approved for posting. Only posts from those who give real contact information (you used guest@guest.com and http://www.guest.com as contact info on the last one and me@me.com on this one) are approved. I approved today’s only so that you would understand the policy.
As for your constructive criticism, I always appreciate getting e-mails from listeners. In fact, I get dozens and sometimes hundreds per week. Despite the time involved, I always respond to each and every one.
However, in the interest of fairness, here were your criticisms and my responses:
1. Podsafe Cycling Music
You don’t like the music. I get that. Lots of people feel that it adds to the quality of the show. Feel free to skip the end of the show if the music isn’t to your liking.
2. Recalls
You don’t like the way that I present recall information because you feel that I spend too much time begging you not to use recalled products. That’s my style. Take it or leave it.
3. Doping
You feel that I lecture too much on doping and that if someone who makes his/her living from cycling “needs” to dope in order to stay competitive, then I should let them. Sorry, but cheating is cheating and I won’t countenance it in any way, shape or form. Sportsmanship has gone out the window along with all manner of “old fashioned” ideals like ethics, morals and honesty. I believe in those old fashioned things and will defend them to my death. That’s my style. Take it or leave it.
4. Bents on The FredCast
You don’t like this addition to the show. I’ve gotten several e-mails saying the same thing. Rick has generously given of his time and knowledge and so he and I are working on another outlet for this very valuable information.
Did I miss anything? If so, I will look forward to an e-mail or a posting that includes real contact information so that we can have a constructive dialogue.
Thanks for listening.