The Toughest Day in the Tour

[chattanoogamocs]

http://www.letour.fr/PHOTOS/TDF/2005/1100/POSITION.gif

This, in my opinion, is the toughest climbing stage of the Tour (only stage with TWO hors categorie climbs (HC translates to "off category"..meaning the climb its so tough, it is literally "off the chart"). There are two really tough days in the Pyrennes (this coming Saturday and Sunday), but nothing beat the Cols of the La Madeleine and the Galibier...these are two of the most famous climbs in Tour lore...eclipsed only by Mont Ventoux and the "superbowl of climbing" Alpe d'Heuz...neither of which are on this years route.

[chattanoogamocs]

here is who is left this morning...

The 92nd Tour de France began with 189 riders from 28 countries. There are now 172 riders from 27 countries present. The breakdown is listed below:
31 - Spain (Constantino Zaballa abandoned during stage five; Isaac Galvez abandoned during stage eight; Igor Gonzalez de Galdeano and Jose Angel Gomez both abandoned with injuries sustained in crashes in stage nine).
28 - France (Mengin did not start stage eight; Sylvain Calzati abandoned during stage eight)
25 - Italy (Claudio Corioni abandoned during stage six; Alessandro Spezialetti did not finish stage seven).
16 - Germany
11 - Belgium
10 - Australia
8 - USA (Dave Zabriskie abandoned during stage nine)
8 - The Netherlands (Van Bon Abandoned during stage eight)
6 – Switzerland (Steve Zampieri abandonded during stage seven).
4 - Ukraine (Honchar did not start start eight)
3 - Austria (Gerrit Glomser abandoned during stage 10)
3 – Kazakstahn and Sweden
2 – Denmark, Norway and Russia (Evgeni Petrov did not start stage 10).
1 – Estonian (Kirsipuu abandoned during stage nine); South Africa, Colombia, Finland, Hungary, Luxembourg, Uzbekstahn, Portugal, Czech Republic, Slovenia and Venezuela
0 – Brazil (Luciano Pagliarini abandoned during stage nine)

[chattanoogamocs]

...and searching around, I found a couple of cool articles...

First, an article in USA Today right before the Tour started
Lance Armstrong's best Tour moments (http://www.usatoday.com/sports/cycling/tourdefrance/2005-07-01-lance-top-moments_x.htm)
(it includes, "the Fall", "the Look", and "the Gift"...or better yet, no more gifts)

...and Second, an article in der Speigel (German national paper) that interviews Tour great Eddy "the Cannibal" Merckx that basically discusses why Armstrong is so dominant and why Jan Ullrich isn't (interesting read...it is two parts, don't clicking to read the whole thing)
"Armstrong Is Damned to Victory" (http://service.spiegel.de/cache/international/0,1518,364713,00.html)

[chattanoogamocs]

...and this just in, it appears Fasso Bortolo rider Dario Frigo has been withdrawn and arrested after his wife was stopped at the border of Italy and France and found to have ampules of EPO in her car.

It is not his first run-in with the "dope police".

http://www.letour.fr/PHOTOS/TDF/2005/RIDERS/76.jpg

FASSA BORTOLO
76 - FRIGO Dario (ITA)
Born in 18/09/1973 à Saronno (ITA)
Height : 1.81 m
Weight : 66 kg

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,2841-1692409,00.html (http://)

[TexasTerror]

Seems Vinokourov, Botero and Heras are trying to get some time back today. It'll be interesting to see how the Discos react if they continue this...

And Beloki was already dropped from the peleton.