Dave's Dogmatic Tour de France Dribbles
2009 Tour de France - Stage 4 team time trial.
I’m not sure what day it is or the temperature but the team time trial is happening. Skip the next sentence if you don’t want to know the final results. Team Astana will win. Lance could be in yellow.
Did anyone have military figures that you would paint their uniforms? I think there’s a lucrative opportunity for a toy manufacturer to produce team time trial figurines. You could paint them your favorite team colors. Flick one off the table when they are spent! I see hours and hours of endless (mindless) fun.
The best thing about the TTT is riding with eight other guys. The worst part is being dropped. Another good thing is just following the guy in front of you. Another bad thing is following the guy in front of you. Just ask members of the Bbox team.
A lot has been said about the technical course. It is taking its toll as riders fall almost in the exact same spot. There are almost as many crashes as in last weekends Moto GP in Laguna Seca. I wouldn’t have a lot of motivation to continue if I went down. The diffusion of responsibility would overwhelm me and I would say, “you other eight guys, go ahead without me, I’ll be fine”.
The Astana boys are smooth. They blew up two racers early and Popo sacrificed himself about 3 km from the finish. What matters is getting :40 over Saxo Bank to really upset the apple cart. Astana wins! Lance takes away the yellow jersey. No wait, the timers are splitting hairs and Cancellara doesn’t have to give it away.
This is what makes TTT fun! Maybe it’s for the best that Lance isn’t in yellow. We won’t have to listen to the same stupid question. Lance, can you tell us who the team leader is?
Shhh, don’t mention Alberto’s name.
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