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6374. wabbit - 7/18/2009 3:03:08 PM 
Lance Armstrong stayed in third place after a wet and chilly ride Friday and lost a crucial ally for the rest of the Tour de France when teammate Levi Leipheimer withdrew because of a broken wrist.
The top standings didn’t change in the 124-mile stage through the rolling hills of northeast France that featured three big climbs, including the demanding Col du Platzerwasel. Armstrong, who trails overall leader Rinaldo Nocentini of Italy by eight seconds and Astana teammate Alberto Contador by two, said a crucial showdown awaits in Sunday’s ride into Switzerland.
“That one is almost a guarantee because it’s uphill,” the seven-time champion said of the ride from Pontarlier, France, to the Swiss ski station of Verbier. “For sure, it’s a decisive stage and exciting for the fans.”
Armstrong and Contador expressed regret about the withdrawal of Leipheimer before the stage. Leipheimer, who had been fourth overall, 39 seconds behind Nocentini, fell off his bike and broke his wrist in the last two miles of Thursday’s stage.
The 13th stage from Vittel to Colmar, won by Germany’s Heinrich Haussler, was less secure for riders Julian Dean and Oscar Freire: they were lightly injured by shots from a suspected air rifle from the roadside. A projectile embedded in Freire's thigh was removed by a team doctor. Garmin spokeswoman Marya Pongrace said Dean's right index finger was injured.
6375. wabbit - 7/18/2009 3:03:44 PM  With a cold and murky sea gurgling behind him, Tiger Woods bent at the waist in search of his missing golf ball. He swiped at the tall heather on Turnberry's 10th hole like anyone else would in a disquieting round of golf, moving the yellow blades of grass around in a fruitless pursuit.
Several groups ahead, the 59-year-old Tom Watson was carrying a British Open gallery in the palms of his weathered hands, beating back a rash of bogeys and rolling in putts from distance.
These were two sights few predicted they would ever see at the 138th British Open at Turnberry. The world's No. 1-ranked golfer doubled over, careering toward his second missed cut in a major since turning professional. And Watson, the world's 1,374th-ranked golfer, a senior tour veteran who had his left hip replaced last October, leading the British Open after all these years.
The 33-year-old Woods is going home, removed from blustery Turnberry and the storyline of golf's oldest championship after missing the cut at a major for only the second time as a pro; he last failed to make a major weekend at the 2006 United States Open at Winged Foot. After opening with a one-over 71 in calm conditions on Thursday, Woods followed in Friday's windy weather with an unsightly four-over 74. His five-over 145 total through 36 holes left him one shot over the cut line. He will have to wait until next month's PGA Championship at Hazeltine to resume his chase of a 15th major title, and he is still four short of his boyhood idol, Jack Nicklaus, who won 18.
Left in Woods's wake is a fascinating leader board, topped by a five-time British Open winner in Watson and a first-time British Open participant in Steve Marino. They stand at five-under 135, one man considered by many the greatest links golfer ever born, the other man playing links golf for the first time. Mark Calcavecchia, the 1989 British Open champ, stands one shot back, and several other big names, including Vijay Singh, Retief Goosen and Miguel Angel Jimenez, are two back.
6376. wabbit - 7/20/2009 2:49:41 PM I waver between heartbreak for Tom Watson or happiness for Stewart Cink. Either way, the 2009 British Open was something to see. At 6:19 p.m. Sunday, on a spit of land hard by the Firth of Clyde, an old man with a new hip strode down the center of a dusty fairway. The summer sun was bathing Turnberry in gold, exactly as it had 32 years ago, the very first time Tom Watson conquered these storied, ancient links.
Watson's moment had come again, it seemed, and all of Turnberry felt it. The grandstands at the 18th hole creaked with the weight of the young and old. A silver trophy that Watson had won five times before was waiting in a trailer off the green.
A par would make the 59-year-old Watson the 138th and most improbable Open Champion. But destiny and the languid swing of Stewart Cink would deny him.
On the 72nd hole Watson finally, heartbreakingly, started to look his age, hitting his birdie putt from behind the green 10 feet past the hole, and then leaving his par putt for the championship inches short. The next hour, and a four-hole playoff, belonged to the 36-year-old Cink, who topped Watson by six shots and won the British Open for the first major of his career.
"It would have been a hell of a story, wouldn't it?" said Watson, who nearly claimed a record-tying sixth British Open. "It wasn't to be. It tears at your gut, as it always has torn at my gut. It's not easy to take."
Instead, it was Cink — who three-putted the 72nd hole at the 2001 United States Open to miss a playoff by a shot — claiming the oldest major championship in golf... 6377. wabbit - 7/20/2009 2:57:39 PM I guess the drug issues were getting passe for the Tour de France. A woman crossing the road during the Tour de France was killed Saturday when she was hit by a police motorcycle escorting riders. Two other fans were injured after the motorcycle skidded into them.
The accident happened in the early afternoon in Wittelsheim in eastern France during the 14th stage, a 124-mile route from Colmar to Besancon. A few breakaway riders had just ridden through the town center, Tour organizers said.
Organizers identified the victim as a 61-year-old woman. Race medical teams treated her immediately before emergency staffers arrived.
The accident happened 24 miles into the stage. After hitting the woman, the motorcycle skidded into two other fans. A 36-year-old complained of neck pain, and a 61-year-old broke a leg. They were taken to a hospital and are not in serious condition, Renard said. They were identified only by age... Meanwhile...The Tour de France star pedaled up out of his saddle in a mountain stage, dusted his rivals, and seized the yellow jersey that he knows all too well and covets so much. This time, it wasn't Lance Armstrong, but his teammate and one-time rival Alberto Contador, who won Sunday's 15th stage and made a case to be the Texan's successor at cycling's premier event. Armstrong finished in ninth place - 1 minute, 35 seconds after Contador and among other also-rans.
As the three-week race entered the Alps, the 26-year-old Spaniard recovered the celebrated shirt that he hadn't worn since his Tour victory in 2007. Race contenders knew that after a week of mainly flat stages that didn't alter the top standings much, the 128.9-mile ride from Pontarlier, France, to the Swiss ski resort of Verbier was critical.
Armstrong rose from fourth to second in the standings but lost time to Contador, whom he now trails by 1 minute, 37 seconds.
Now, he sees his job as serving as a "domestique'' - or support rider - for Contador, putting an end to speculation about whether he or the Spaniard deserved the role of Astana team leader... 6378. alistairConnor - 7/21/2009 12:47:23 AM It was the first really interesting stage. (Also the first one I got to watch on TV. Some years, my annual mountain biking trip gives me the time to catch the end of a few stages in front of a cold beer; but it never turned out that way this year.)
There are a series of really tough Alpine stages starting tomorrow, so a lot can still happen. But it looks like that climb to Verbier was the true indicator of form. It would be churlish to gloat over Lance's apparent failure to return to the very top of the heap... Still. Couldn't happen to a nicer guy. 6379. robertjayb - 7/21/2009 4:05:53 AM Yes, it would be churlish. 6380. iiibbb - 7/21/2009 4:17:11 AM Alistar... it is a bit ironic that you would be tempted to gloat about a man who's "failure" constitutes being #2... by default acknowledging that Lance is just that great.
Really, it's rather remarkable that someone who theoretically is so full of himself, so readily accepted that a team-mate is the better man, and that he's going to support him.
Good luck to Contador... he's damn impressive.
6381. alistairConnor - 7/21/2009 7:50:52 AM iii:
Lance is immense, he's dominated the Tour for the last decade, even when he wasn't there. I respect him for coming back, for taking that risk. The fact that he says he'll work for Contador is standard cycling practice, it's the least he can do.
But the race isn't over yet! He kept it buttoned up tight until Sunday, partly through the work of his team, and partly by his incredible psychological domination of his rivals. Starting now, it's going to be a free-for-all. But his team is still the strongest by far, so he's still one of the favourites.
I just wish I could like him. It wouldn't take much effort on his part, but it's never been in his priorities. So people feel cheated. 6382. iiibbb - 7/21/2009 11:00:48 AM I guess... but he's not the first elusive sports figure... take Tiger Woods.
I think he's also a creature of the cycling media's making. I would think it's hard to be so open when so many people work so hard to hunt your head. I'm not sure which came first in this case, but that certainly seems to be the dynamic at this point.
I don't expect Lance to give up ground either. Contador could bonk on any given day (it's happened in the past)... or heaven forbid there could be an accident. The tour is full of surprises.
Astana's almost in a position to sweep the podium. Wouldn't that be something? 6383. alistairconnor - 7/21/2009 10:39:23 PM The irony is that Astana could sweep the podium, then explode.
Manager Johan Bruyneel, who saved the team from the wreckage of a major doping scandal, has announced he's quitting, and will be forming a new team with Lance (who says he will be back for the Tour 2010). Vinokourov, who has finished his two-year ban for doping, has announced that he's coming back, it's his team, and if Bruyneel doesn't like it he can fuck off (freely translated from the Khazak original).
As for comparing Lance to Tiger Woods : Lance is not elusive, he's a manipulative asshole. There's a subtle difference. 6384. iiibbb - 7/22/2009 12:09:50 AM You have to admit there are a number of Tour champions who were manipulative assholes. 6385. alistairconnor - 7/22/2009 4:36:31 PM Yes, but they knew when to smile.
Meanwhile... that podium now looks like this :
Contador/Schleck/Schleck.
Brother Frank won the stage, accompanied by Contador and brother Andy. The b
Both Schlecks moved past Lance in the general ranking. 6386. alistairconnor - 7/22/2009 4:39:32 PM Yes, but they knew when to smile.
Meanwhile... that podium now looks like this :
Contador/Schleck/Schleck.
Brother Frank won the stage, accompanied by Contador and brother Andy. It was Andy who attacked, they were the only ones able to follow. Lance finished fifth today.
Both Schlecks move past Lance in the general ranking. He's now fourth, 3 min 55 behind Contador, and the writing's really on the wall now. 6387. alistairconnor - 7/23/2009 4:57:06 PM Hey Lance... who's yer daddy?
Alberto Contador.
He won the time trial, once anti-clockwise around the lake of Annecy, gaining another minute and a half on Lance, who is sixteenth today. But Lance gets back on the virtual podium, because he gained time on both the brothers Shrek.6388. iiibbb - 7/24/2009 3:48:38 AM Well they're already saying Contador is cheating. 6389. alistairconnor - 7/24/2009 6:38:45 PM "They" is Greg Lemond.
Twice winner of the Tour, in the good old days of the eighties before EPO and blood doping. He has said similar things about Lance, any number of times.
The essence of his charge is that, judging by his performance of Contador at Verbier on Sunday, if he's not doping then he's the greatest athlete who ever lived.
Also pretty interesting that Contador replied "no comment" to questions about doping, and about his VO2max... 6390. iiibbb - 7/24/2009 7:19:16 PM Contador a champion, but no team player
So says Phil Liggett 6391. alistairConnor - 7/24/2009 8:47:35 PM No team player?
It was accepted by the team that he was the best rider, but the trifecta was still a possibility, until on the last Alpine climb of the Col de la Colombiere into the Grand Bornand on Wednesday saw Contador attack teammate Kloden and take with him the two most dangerous rivals he has had in this event, the brothers Andy and Frank Schleck.
That article is all screwy. Bear in mind that Contador was the acknowledged favourite at the start of the Tour. In any other team, that would have meant that all the other riders are at his service, and the strategy and tactics are all about him. With two other exceptional riders like Armstrong and Kloden on the team, they would have the right to take their chances too, but would not have any call on his services.
But with Johan Bruyneel's Astana, it was all about Lance, all the time. Thus, Contador is seen as some sort of rebel when he does what he has to do to win the race. The idea that he attacked Kloden is absurd. Kloden is there to help him as long as he can. He attacked the Shleck brothers. f he hadn't, they would have attacked him. Unfortunately they managed to follow him, all the way to the finish.
What Kloden does next is revealing. He's still in a very strong position, he can carry on and finish fourth, and save his place on the podium. That's good for his team! But no, he waits for Lance, and works for him, helping him limit his loss.
So when Contador is accused of not being a team player, he's accused of not working for Lance. Boo hoo.
Next year, Bruyneel and Lance will be working for Radio Shack. I'd be surprised if Contador was on the team. 6392. iiibbb - 7/24/2009 9:08:58 PM Kloden could have been in a stronger position if he'd not been attacked by Contador...
That's twice he's deviated from the plan... not that I blame him, because you're right that Lance could have been the favorite... however that doesn't explain the other day. What purpose did his attack serve? He's a better TT rider than the Shlecks... all he had to do was respond. Intentionally separating himself from his support is risky tactics, and it pretty much destroyed the chance that the team had to sweep the podium.
And really, it just means you're being inconsistent when you decide who's being an asshole. 6393. iiibbb - 7/24/2009 9:09:21 PM And Liggett has a tad more credibility.
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