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| Don't look back: Stage 3 |
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| Written by Sean Weide | |
| Monday, 04 July 2005 | |
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Make them earn every inch.
Those were the words that came to mind as I watched the closing kilometers of today's stage. Erik Dekker and Nicolas Portal were off the front, trying to squeeze out a victory against a feverishly chasing field.
I found myself in a similar position in the Silver City Road Race back in 1991. After the first of three 13-mile loops, another rider and I broke away just as we passed through Silver City. At one point, the field was out of sight and we thought we might stay away for the final two laps.
But entering Silver City for the start of the final lap, I looked under my shoulder and noticed the field was closing in. I yelled to my breakaway companion that we were going to be caught.
"Make them earn every inch," he shouted back.
As the road pitched up, I was able to put my head down and see the front wheel of one of the chasers bridging up to my rear wheel. I eased up a bit, but kept following the wheel of my breakaway partner. As we reached the top of the climb and turned right to head out of town, I glanced back to see the pack a good 200 meters behind. We had made them earn every inch - and they couldn’t get that last one that mattered most.
I wish there was a happy ending to that day. But like Dekker and Portal, I was caught dropped actually on the final climb before the fast run in to the finish in Silver City.
Bike BitsMcEwen’s RelegationIt’s a lot easier to officiate the Tour de France than it is the Lincoln Plating or Dave Babcook Stage Races. Heck, you can even "armchair" officiate from your living room thanks to OLN’s replay-after-replay of the finish. But how many of you noticed in real time that Robbie McEwen was getting a little too physical just before the finish line? The commissaires at the Tour have the luxury of a number of cameras that provide several views of the sprint finish. In smaller, regional races, it’s the chief referee and chief judge’s job to watch for irregularities in the sprint. And with the riders bearing down at 35+ mph, we don’t always see everything. A Look Back At TTTs Did you know there used to be two team time trials in each Tour? You have to go all the way back to the early 80s and one squad TI-Raleigh dominated them. That team would eventually become Panasonic and they were just as formidable. Also, there wasn't a team time trial in the Tour in 1996, 1997, 1998 or 1999.
I'm not so sure I like the idea of having set time penalties for every team but the winning one (a change implemented last year). For example, the second place team can lose no more than 20 seconds to the winner. The third place team can't lose more than 30 seconds. The fourth can't lose more than 40, etc. These time limits only apply to the general classification.
The team time trial proved to be Greg LeMond's ultimate undoing in his final Tour in 1993. Greg was riding fifth wheel, all the others on his Team Z having been dropped. Since the time of the team is based on that of the fifth rider, LeMond knew he had to hold on. He suffered like no other day, trying desperately to hang on as teammate and world hour record holder Chris Boardman drove the team to the line. LeMond held on, but the effort took too much out of his tank. He dropped out of the race a few days later.
Have a comment? Click here to e-mail Sean Weide.
About Sean Weide
Sean Weide is an accomplished sports journalist who has been avidly following the Tour de France since 1981. He has been involved in the sport of cycling as a competitor, race promoter, team director and USCF official. His "real job" is public relations director for Envoy, Inc., an Omaha, Neb.-based advertising agency. He used to wear a stars-and-stripes jersey on his Fourth of July rides but it no longer fits him. |
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| Last Updated ( Thursday, 29 June 2006 ) |
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