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Tour de London

NotTheRealSteveWest
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NotTheRealSteveWest Newbie

NotTheRealSteveWest

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I have no idea what this means, but hey -

Agritubel sporting director Manu Hubert: "It's very good for the team to get into the spotlight. We were looking at the weather forecast this morning, and there's a little less wind than we had expected. Of course, there's very little chance of the escape staying out until the end."

 

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American FLEET FAN No1 Newbie

American FLEET FAN No1

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Originally Posted By: Westie
Originally Posted By: American FLEET FAN No1
Originally Posted By: cantos
I cannot wait for Westies coverage of the Monkey tennis World Championship.


Or the World 100mm. Snail Sprinting Championship! grin


What a stupid thing to say.... everyone knows that snails don't sprint!



They do with salt on their tails! laugh
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NotTheRealSteveWest Newbie

NotTheRealSteveWest

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Gert Steegmans took a home victory in the second stage of the Tour de France in Gent, while Tom Boonen made it a one-two for the Quickstep team.

 

A massive crash on the rain-soaked roads just under three kilometres from the finish put paid to the hopes of all but around 20 riders, though of the big favourites Boonen, Robbie McEwen, Oscar Freire and Erik Zabel were all far enough to the fore of the pack to remain unscathed.

 

With the Quickstep train still well in motion, it seemed as if Boonen would be set for victory as both he and Steegmans left the competition for dead over the final 100 metres, though the latter retained his speed over the line to take his first ever win in the Tour de France.

 

Boonen now takes over the green sprinters' jersey from McEwen, while Fabian Cancellara retains the overall lead.

 

With the weather still fair to that point, Milram's Marcel Sieberg broke away as soon as the peloton entered Belgian territory, and was immediately joined by Cedric Herve (Agritubel) and Ruben Perez (Euskaltel).

 

Though the trio pulled clear of the CSC-led peloton, their lead never stretched beyond six minutes, and at no point did it ever look like they would hold of the pack.

 

Having ensured their deficit remained at a steady three minutes for the majority of the time in Belgium, the sprinters teams stepped up the tempo with 30 kilometres to go and reeled them in as they reached the final three kilometres.

 

The increase in pace came at a bad time for CSC's Frank Schleck, who fell on a roundabout, though was helped back to the field by Inigo Cuesta with no more than a cut elbow to trouble him.

 

With the rain long having set in under darkening skies, the chance of a fall over the fraught final kilometres was always present, and indeed came to pass.

 

A Liquigas rider was pushed in the middle of the field, and fell sideways creating a domino effect as others ploughed in. Within seconds around 20 cyclists were sprawled across the road, practically blocking off the rest of the field right the way across the road.

 

The entire field was given the same time for the stage as the leaders, though the physical damage suffered by some could be significant. Cancellara trundled home holding his wrist, while Fred Rodriguez rolled in bleeding from one arm and nursing an apparent collarbone injury.

 

Given the size of the crash and the speed of the pack when it took place, it would be a surprise if all 188 riders who started the stage will be ready to resume on Tuesday morning.

 

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