Today was a sprint stage, which means their weren't any big climbs to break apart the pack and the finish line is relatively flat. The sprint teams will take control of the race as it approaches the finish so they can launch their appointed rider to the finish line.
There was a breakaway that lasted until the final 4 miles, but as with all breakaways on sprint stages, it was pretty easy to catch. On these flat sprint stages, it's just a matter of organization: there are more riders in the main pack than in the breakaway, so there are more riders to take turns at the front in the wind while the riders behind you ride in your slipstream. One of the reasons why breakaways always seem to be caught in the final kilometers is that the sprinter teams plan it that way. They know how far ahead the breakaway is, they know how many kilometers it would take to catch them, and they don't start working until they need to. Of course, sometimes they mess up, or sometimes the main pack has trouble cooperating, but for the most part a breakaway is a long shot, or just an opportunity to get your sponsor's jersey and equipment on camera, or an effort to get points/time in one of the mid-race sprint competitions.
My prognostication skills weren't as good today. I picked McEwen for the win, but McEwen attacked too early in the sprint finish and got overtaken by Tom "My tooth aches but my legs don't" Boonen. McEwen said, "I made a bit of a tactical mistake... I just went from too far and practically gave the rest of the guys a lead out. I'll just have to do better next time." Boonen's been having such a great season, including winning huge races like Paris-Roubaix, the Tour of Flanders, and two stage of Paris-Nice.
Armstrong's quote for today: "The faster I pedal, the faster I retire."
Zabriskie's shared some important thoughts on what it means to be in the yellow jersey. Asked if he slept with the yellow jersey on, he answered, no, he slept "in the buff." Zabriskie was also asked what it was like racing on the road today in yellow. "It was exciting, a happy good feeling. It was unbelievable how many people there were on the roads. I could only find one place to go to the bathroom throughout the whole day and.... I took it."
Stage profile and my live log in the extended.
- Stage 2 Photo Gallery (Graham Watson)
- Stage 2 Summary (VeloNews)
- Stage 2 Results (Cycling News)
- Stage 2 Live Report (Daily Peloton)
- Stage 2 Jambon Report (Daily Peloton)
Live Log
TiVo-delayed live blogging
Robbie McEwen is my pick for today.
d and I had fun watching the riders take their [musette bags][mb]. When you're on the road for 4+ hours, you gotta eat, so the riders have to pick up musette bags full of food. The bag contains a bunch of food, so the rider selects what they want, stuff it in his jerseys, then throws everything else away. If you watch the riders going through a feed station you'll see a rain of food as the riders flinging objects towards the side of the road. Even more fun than explaining feed bags to d was explaining other needs that need to be taken care while pedaling away...
Four-man breakaway with French hero Voeckler and Bodrogi are ahead by over four minutes with 80km to go.
The riders are hooked up to heart monitors like they were during the Giro. Apparently Armstrong's heart max is 201, with a resting heart beat of 32/33.
The riders started in Challan and headed towards the coast. They'll follow the coast until they hook north towards Les Essarts.
They're chasing down the breakaway. The gap is down to 3:50.
Zabriskie, asked if he slept with the yellow jersey, answered, no, he slept "in the buff."
66.5k to go`
Today is a sprint stage, which means their aren't any big climbs to break apart the pack and the finish line is relatively flat. The sprint teams will take control of the race as it approaches the finish so they can launch their appointed rider to the finish line.
Breakaways are pretty easy to catch on sprint stages, it's just a matter of organization: there are more riders in the main pack than in the breakaway, so there are more riders to take turns at the front in the wind while the riders behind you ride in your slipstream. One of the reasons why breakaways always seem to be caught in the final kilometers is that the sprinter teams plan it that way. They know how far ahead the breakaway is, they know how many kilometers it would take to catch them, and they don't start working until they need to. Of course, sometimes they mess up, or sometimes the main pack has trouble cooperating, but for the most part a breakaway is a long shot, or just an opportunity to get your sponsor's jersey and equipment on camera, or an effort to get points/time in one of the mid-race sprint competitions.
Gap is 2:30. 43k to go.
26k to go and the breakaway and main field are both in view from the helicopter, so the catch should be soon.
The gap is down to 35". There are some tiny King of the Mountain points for a tiny 4th category climb coming up so the breakaway is now jockeying for those points so that one of them gets to wear the KoM jersey.
David Canada is going to take the polka dot KoM jersey for tonight -- wait, no, Voeckler is attacking back perfectly, easily crossing taking the KoM jersey. The French public will get to celebrate their hero tonight.
The breakaway has been caught with 6km to go.
Beneteau has jumped off the front (hometown boy). 4km to go.
Beneteau is quickly caught, no more excitement for the home crowd.
The organization by the sprint teams isn't very good: another rider made it off the front, though he was caugght quickly. FDJeux dropped their organization, Liquigas took over.
McEwen went too early, Boonen fought back and took the stage. Oh well, I'm 50% on my picks.
