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Inside Cycling – All eyes on Contador
The pressure is on Alberto Contador at the 96th Tour de France. By general consensus, Team Astana’s 26-year-old Spanish star is the clear favorite to wear the yellow jersey into Paris in three weeks’ time — but the 2007 winner could lose the chance of taking the Tour for a second time as early as Sunday’s opening stage: a demanding 15.5km time trial. Contador has developed into a fine time trialist, and the opening climb of the tricky Monaco course plays to his physical strengths. But whether he will have the mental fortitude to win is another story.
Sastre likes underdog role
It’s not often that the defending Tour de France champion is rated as an underdog. That unlikely position is just where Carlos Sastre finds himself on the eve of the 96th edition of the Tour de France. With all eyes on Lance Armstrong and Alberto Contador, not to mention the Schleck brothers, Cadel Evans and Denis Menchov, Sastre seems to be the forgotten Tour winner. Even the odds-makers seem to have written him off, putting his chances at a repeat at 18-to-1.
Contest narrows at BC Bike Race
The fifth day of the 2009 BC Bike Race saw riders tackle a 47-kilometer trek along British Columbia's Sunshine Coast from the town of Sechelt to the ferry landing at Langdale. The day's primary feature was a 45-minute descent on the famed Highway 102 South trail, which plunged down nearly 2000 vertical feet, and took most riders the better part of an hour to navigate.
Is Bruyneel on way out at Astana?
Johan Bruyneel said if Astana wants to get rid of him as team manager, they should tell him to his face. While a months-long struggle over financial problems apparently resolved for the team ahead of the start of the Tour, the imminent return of Alexander Vinokourov seems to be creating more turbulence. A report in Friday’s edition of L’Equipe said that officials from the Kazakh-backed team plan to jettison the Belgian director and rebuild the team around Vinokourov and Spanish climber Alberto Contador.
Contador, Bruyneel promise Astana will ride as one
Journalists and bloggers might be keen on planting the seeds of discontent within the Astana squad, but the team is refusing to buy into the storyline. Astana team boss Johan Bruyneel and Alberto Contador promised Friday that the team will ride as a unit during the Tour de France with the singular goal of winning. Both shot down notions that Astana will ride as a team divided, with loyalties split between seven-time Tour de France champion Lance Armstrong and Contador, back to the Tour after missing out on a chance to defend his 2007 title last year.
Armstrong’s new ride: The 6-series Madone
Back before Lance Armstrong won his first Tour de France he lived in Nice, France. In 1998, he, like many pros in the area, started using the Col de la Madone to test his fitness. At 10 kilometers, the climb has been described by Armstrong as not easy, but not too hard, a perfect road to gauge fitness. Armstrong’s most magical moment on the Madone came in 1999. He went there by himself, on a normal training ride, and did the climb on his own. He recalls the time as 30:45, “with a lot of watts,” adding that he’s never gone any faster.
Armstrong on training for the Leadville 100 and Taylor Phinney
It’s hard to believe that during his record-breaking run from 1999-2005, Lance Armstrong suffered nary a mishap on the way to seven Tour de France titles. But the Texan hasn’t enjoyed quite the same charmed life since returning to the sport in 2009. He’s crashed, suffered, and, at times, appeared fairly mortal. In the final installments of our exclusive interview with Armstrong, VeloCenter host Jason Sumner talks to him about his year of firsts. First Giro. First time “in the ditch.” First time on “a team with such strong guys that can win races at anytime.”