Props to Popo but Kudos to Floyd
By frank booth 14 July 2006
This is Frank. I have had several martinis.
Today was a yin and yang day for discovery. Il Falco and Noval drop out; Popo proves he’s a hard man and takes Bruyneel’s tongue-lashing to heart and gets in the right break.
The finale was classic cycling. My favorite part was watching Freire give second place to Ballan. That was class. He was all but gassed and couldn’t chase down Popo’s accelerations. He had enough to hang on but then had to explain to Ballan that he wasn’t sandbagging; he was just finished.
Meanwhile, Popo showed he has the class of a winner rather than a Hincapie (or a Leipheimer…that’s for you Fausto). He kept hitting the front with terrific attacks without regard for the C.G., although he knew he was riding his way back into a potential podium finish.
That said, this tour is over. The interview with Landis afterward confirmed to me that he is supremely confident that he can destroy anyone he needs to when it matters. I bet Landis hasn’t even been tested in the tour. Without a doubt, his DS talked to him about whether or not they needed to close the gap…and Floyd was content as things are. I look for him to win L’Alpe D’Huez!
So who are my final three: Landis, Menchov….and…and….Leipheimer. Look for him to not only do well in the Alps but to show true form in the last TT. Over the winter, Levi will beat himself up for the two weeks he took off after the Dauphine and did fuck all but drink beer and kick back. The dude needs to get away from Santa Rosa if he is every going to be a Tour winner.
Off-the-main-pack cycling gossip that we can’t publish on the front page.
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fausto
Posted 14 Jul 2006 at 8:57 pm | Permalink
and don’t forget that it was 100 degrees today at the tour. i know how hot that is, because it was 108 degrees here today. you have to put your martini glass in a larger glass filled with ice water to keep it cold when you are not drinking it. or you have to drink it very fast. or both.
i rode my bike once from montpellier to carcassonne; kind of the reverse of the tour today, approaching from the northeast. it was about 100 degrees, as i recall, with a stiff mistral breeze blowing, but the view of the walled city of carcassonne as you approach was amazing. you never forget it. like riding back in time.
popovych was a hard man today, no doubt. it makes you wonder if things might be different if bruyneel had simply designated popo the team leader and put everybody in his service. but that’s easy to second guess. hincapie has spent seven years riding for “le patron”; is he really going to kill himself for a 26-year-old ukrainian with zero palmares, even if popo is having a bad day (as he did yesterday)? and then third guess yourself: “yes, but maybe popo wouldn’t have done so poorly yesterday if he had been solidly protected every day prior by strong riders, as lance always was?” two things made discovery great: (1) having a rider who could not lose, who would not let himself lose, and (2) having a team that believed (1) was actually true.
my podium? as always, hard to argue with frank booth. i agree with landis and menchov. i’m not solid on third, and it’s not just because i doubt leipheimer (check my posts; i’ve never questioned his ability). i’ll go with my dark horse for now: christophe moreau.
fausto.