LA is almost 4 minutes down now...

He's good in TT's (Thur, I think) but, that's a lot to make up.

Indeed a very big gap...

but a couple of minutes on the TT.. remember Contador is the one under pressure now.. not LA.

Followed by Mont Ventoux...

How much as this stage taken out of all of them?
Certainly a thrilling couple of days ahead.

I was watching it from on of the links here
http://www.cyclingfans.com/

Lance was under pressure as soon as he announced his participation to TDF.

I think he is conceding this year and doing what is right for the team(Contador). That way, next year when its his team, he wont have to worry about repercussions.

His training was also cut short with the injury. Top 5 is impressive for anyone 38y/o. I suspect he will finish top3 or better.

It's nice to see him around these young wolfs...it show us the oldtimers, that we can still ride good and strong.:)

Lance appears to be gunning for a podium spot. Clearly (so far anyway) Contadore is the better/stronger rider and kudos to Armstrong for protecting him. However, I wouldn't rule anything out. If Contadore has a bad TT, Armstrong could find himself right back in the thick of things for the lead, ditto if there's any sort of accident or crash - this is racing and anything can happen.

I'd say the smart money probably is on Contadore at this point though. He looks like Lance did six years ago. Lance still looks awesome - especially for someone his age and who's been out of racing for three years. He's pummeled virtually the entire field with the exception of the very best of the best. He's a truly amazing athlete - yellow jersey or not.

I dont think its so clear that Contador is better/stronger. Lance is clearly marking other riders and dropping them off. He is working for Contador, who was on the team longer, to break the field.

it is good to keep another team member in 2nd or 3rd in case the leader does have a bad day. mt V will be very brutal. i dont think LA can beat either shcleck brother unless they have a bad day. contador is very strong. it is good to see a tour leader that can climb and TT.

there seems to be a bit of he said she said going on about contadors attack on the climb. contador says he was given the ok to do as he pleased as where bruyneel says it was not a good idea to attack. if that was the case, then he should not have given him the ok.
i understand they want kloden on the podium, but to not let your leader put more time on the others may not be a good thing. he may need those seconds later. plus, do you think the schlecks were going to just sit there if there were no attacks?
i was glad to read that contador seemed sincere in regretting dropping kloden. i hope he was not just feeding us a line to make up for personal interests, but then can you blame him. after all, these guys did not get to be winners by being nice.

Bruyneel wrote on his blog that he had explicitly asked not to attack on the climb, but Contador went anyway, and that he has to much temperament at times and does things his own way...
The title is "Contador is such a bad listener"

http://nieuwsblad.typepad.com/bruyneel/2009/07/contador-luistert-toch-zo-moeilijk.html

translated quotes

"his attack served no purpose"
"not happy about it, i told him at least 10 times not to attack"
"everybody already knew the Schlecks would not give in"
"Alberto already admitted the mistake to me"

Not listening is the only reason Contador is ahead. Bobke nailed it last night - risky move; he could have crashed or even flatted. Then what? Borrow Andy Schleck's bike? LOL!

Not listening to a team manager who bagged 8 out of 9 Tours... is pretty stupid
For one thing, he's the team manager
for another, he's pretty good at his job

There's more to the Tour then "being ahead in one stage", there's also "being ahead at the end"

Regardless of his attack being unsanctioned or not his result in today's TT was very impressive....

In a way I hope he wins on the slopes of the Ventoux as well as it would establish him as a real winner...and beyond an opportunistic one..

Should be good.

Ventoux is the only mountain he hasn't conquered...

...and if LA does conquer Ventoux...

...all I'll say is the race ain't over...

someone asked about repainting frames. i did this one back in the 90's. i got the decals from trek. the bottom bracket shell came out. i hated to send it back after all the work. oh well.

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1248386253.jpg

Looks good. Understated. The paint work works well with the traditional geometry. I always liked the look of the older OCLV Treks, particularly with USPS livery.

Holy...this bike is superb....I love the paint sheme.

Great looking bike - what size front ring is that?

53/42. notice the old 8 spd dura ace. usually a 12/21 or 19 in the back for the flats. the bike is a 54, just a tad too small for me but the 56 is too big.

thanks, i got the idea from my brothers waterford. beautifull bike. r2200 with 853 steel i think. i wish you could see the fade better, it has a green tint between the blue and yellow. i painted my MTB the same. the frame was origianlly clear coated over the nude carbon fiber. very ugly. what a pain getting all that off. when the BB shell came out, i was afraid trek would not warranty it because i painted it, but they came thru. now i have the red/white/blue USPS bike with DA nine spd. i have sold off a lot of my wheels. i had a set of the spec tri spokes, ksyriums and a few others. i think the best wheels i ever had were the original mavic cosmics.
i had my bike on ebay for a while, i need the money to finish the 3.0. now i dont know if i can sell it, too many good memories.

Making up 5 min + is difficult - I guess Hincappie did - but unless something happens to Contador, or he's caught w/ illegal juice, I doubt it.

They never race in Paris on Sunday, do they? Cruise and maintain Saturday's status?

Idly wondering if, say, LA was a couple seconds ahead of Contador on Sunday, would Contador attack?