well done lance! Yesterday he showed us all what he why he has won 4
tour's. Ullrich just wasnt strong enough to respond to the
acceleration. In fact he never has been. Jan has always been a big
gear rider and has never adopted his style to that of the fast
pedalling and rapidly accelerating texan. So far in this tour Jan has
had the upper hand but yesterday his attack on the Tourmalet LOOKED
good, but I couldnt help but feel that Lance was bluffing and
'pretended' to be struggling. The look on his face wasnt of a man in
trouble by Ullrich attack....

For Lance to also recover from a minor crash and a pulled out foot was
also admirable. In fact maybe his illness came to his advantage once
more....as well as giving him the mental strength which he obviously
gained, it could be argued that,had another rider plunged onto the Top
tube the way he did,then they wouldnt have been able to ride the bike,
let a lone attack!

The BIG question is - IS IT ENOUGH? Can Jan overturn a 1'07" deficit
in the TT?
2 things could prove crucial looking back at the race after the TT
1. Lance's 12 second time bonus could prove vital
2. Ullrich's 8 second,3rd place bonus which was hard fought could be
vital

We can all remember a tour settled over 8 seconds before. It may
different when talking about a 1'07" gap but they all said that Lemond
wouldnt overturn Fignon's 50second lead too..... Its a mouthwatering
prospect :-)

I wouldnt bet too much money against seeing the last of Vinokourov's
antics before saturday either!

Micky

I LOVE cycling :-))))))