#21
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Will Lance quit?
"Isidor Gunsberg" wrote in message om... David Ryan wrote in message ... Isidor Gunsberg wrote: Unlike Merckx, Armstrong only races flat out on just a few stages. A time trial is definitely one of them. He needs to win a stage in the Pyrenees, since otherwise he faces the prospect of winning the TDF, yet without winning a single stage. According to letour.com: 2003 not ranked o Wore the yellow jersey o 1 stage victory : Stage 4 : JOINVILLE - SAINT-DIZIER (the TTT) Thanks for sharing. I thought that it was rather obvious, and hence, could be left unwritten, that a win in a Team Time Trial (TTT) stage does not accrue much glory to the Individual racer. Wins in Individual Time Trials (ITTs) have the greatest prestige, followed by wins in the major mountain stages, followed by wins in the more glamorous of the sprint (flat) stages. The key is that while one's team can provide assistance (except in the ITTs), a stage win manifests a significant level of achievement by the rider who must ultimately make a substantial individual effort. Of course, it is expected that on newsgroups one will encounter some nitpicking by the occasional pedant, although I'm not inclined to stoop to such pedantry myself. So congratulations: Technically, you are correct. I actually agree that with regard to the pressure of the GC winner to win a stage, the TTT does not really satisfy the desire to shoe oneself as the strongest rider. I do not agree that an ITT is more important than a mountain stage. They are probably equally prestigious. |
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#22
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Will Lance quit?
In article , Nick Burns
wrote: "Ewoud Dronkert" wrote in message fn.de... On 19 Jul 2003 20:00:12 -0700, Isidor Gunsberg wrote: Wins in Individual Time Trials (ITTs) have the greatest prestige, followed by wins in the major mountain stages, followed by wins in the more glamorous of the sprint (flat) stages. I disagree. For me, wins with the greatest prestige are those in mountain stages with mountain top finishes where the winner has the fastest climb of the day. Absolutely. I would take it one step further and say that any winner of a mountain stage that sets a record for the final climb along the way will not soon be forgotten. Nah, the wins where there was alot at stake are the most memorable. Today for example. I could care less what time for the climb was. -WG |
#23
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Will Lance quit?
"Nick Burns" wrote in message ...
"Isidor Gunsberg" wrote in message om... David Ryan wrote in message ... Isidor Gunsberg wrote: Unlike Merckx, Armstrong only races flat out on just a few stages. A time trial is definitely one of them. He needs to win a stage in the Pyrenees, since otherwise he faces the prospect of winning the TDF, yet without winning a single stage. According to letour.com: 2003 not ranked o Wore the yellow jersey o 1 stage victory : Stage 4 : JOINVILLE - SAINT-DIZIER (the TTT) Thanks for sharing. I thought that it was rather obvious, and hence, could be left unwritten, that a win in a Team Time Trial (TTT) stage does not accrue much glory to the Individual racer. Wins in Individual Time Trials (ITTs) have the greatest prestige, followed by wins in the major mountain stages, followed by wins in the more glamorous of the sprint (flat) stages. The key is that while one's team can provide assistance (except in the ITTs), a stage win manifests a significant level of achievement by the rider who must ultimately make a substantial individual effort. Of course, it is expected that on newsgroups one will encounter some nitpicking by the occasional pedant, although I'm not inclined to stoop to such pedantry myself. So congratulations: Technically, you are correct. I actually agree that with regard to the pressure of the GC winner to win a stage, the TTT does not really satisfy the desire to shoe oneself as the strongest rider. I do not agree that an ITT is more important than a mountain stage. They are probably equally prestigious. The reason why I consider an Individual Time Trial stage win to be more prestigous is that in the ITT, the winning rider and his main riders are almost always riding for a maximum result--to ride as fast as possible. Yet, it is often the case in Mountain stages that one of the top riders, vying for GC, will not be so concerned about actually winning the stage. Theor main concern is to take time from their main rivals. It was just a few years ago that Armstrong basically allowed Pantini to win the stage at the Mt. Ventoux climb, by not sprinting at the end. One gets the sense that the "Padroni" (in this case, Armstrong), might be inclined to dole out a few favors, by letting other riders take the glory of the stage win. And Mt. Ventoux is one of the major 3-4 "legendary " mountain stages. Also, as one can see from the Pyrenees stages, a rider like Sastre or Simoni is allowed to break, because they are not deemed to be a threat. Their attack is parried. Such a rider, who is not really competing for a high place, can afford to burn all his energy on the one stage. Often, he conserves energy in the prior stage by riding in a trailing grupetto. And the next stage, they finish back in the pack. So, a rider may win a mountain stage, but yet end up losing 20-30 minutes to the GC leaders, over all three stages. |
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