It ain't over 'til the fat lady sings... but it certainly appears to be LA's Tour to lose.

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Steve Perkins

Lance was 2:05 to the 1.5 km check, so that is 37:36 up the mountain over the last 14kms. Pantani's record was 36:50 for the last 13.8 kms. I don't think it took Armstrong 45 seconds to cover the 200 metres between the 1.5 and the 1.7 km mark.

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Such a shame Pantini won't be racing any more.

I also had hopes Basso would fare better today.

Kudos to Ullrich for a very good ride following his big efforts yesterday...clearly, the man is giving it all he has.

Mr. Armstrong is simply the best out there this year. Again. Period. But, he couldn't be this good without such a great team! I'm really impressed with how Floyd Landis performed yesterday...

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Quid quid latine dictum sit altum videtur
(That which is said in Latin sounds profound)

Thanks guys; great reporting! I'm having a shitty day stuck behind my computer with no speakers. This was definitely the highlight of the day. I can't wait to see it tonight.

So any hope of Azevedo going on the break tomorrow and breaking into the top three? I think he would have to beat Kloeden or Basso because I don't see him putting enough time over Ullrich to hold him off on Sat. I guess it's a real long shot, but I'd love to see it happen.

I hope that your billables have been better than mine the last ten days.

What happened to Heras? I thought he would do much better at the tour and expecially on this stage. What a disappointment

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<<What happened to Heras? I thought he would do much better at the tour and expecially on this stage. What a disappointment >>

I think he took today easy, so that he will be fresh to try for a stage win later this week.

Matt

But He took it easy yesterday also.

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But he narrowly failed to beat Marco Pantani's record for the climb proper -- the stage started 1.5 km before the foot of the hill -- clocking 37:36 to the Italian's 37:35.

http://sports.yahoo.com/...euters&type=lgns

Fantastic ride by Armstrong. Ullrich puts in an impressive ride as well after a great effort yesterday. Kudos to the German....he may have a good chance of pulling into 2nd.

One race does not make Lance the best cyclist in the world. Lance is on his way to becoming the best Tour rider to date....

One race?!?!?!?!? Wake up. Enough said.

Seriously, it will be pretty hard in the future to pass Eddie Merckx for the all-time best.

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smartasscoach.tri-oeiras.com

Lance is the best Tour rider over the last six years, without any doubt.

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I think Lance would be a close #2 to Eddy M.

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SA coach, I agree that it is going to be difficult to pass EM but people who are saying that Lance is the best are not basing it on this race alone. I think this topic as the best ever rivals the "best hitter" topic in baseball; everyone has a different opinion and usually has a good reason to have that opinion.

Hey Brian286 - Lance is the best cyclist on the planet earth currently competing in the TdF.

I'd wager that's all he gives two flaming turds about, and that's all most of us care about either. Six in a row would do alot to make that above statement much less conditional, but I won't say "best ever" because it's simply impossible to know.

These guys are all amazing athletes and I laugh at all you mouse-pad quarterbacks that talk bad about any of them, Lance included.

 I think Lance would be a close #2 to Eddy M.

LOL. Ahead of Coppi, Bartali, etc? Anquetil? How do you even compare?

If I had to do a "best ever" list, which I despise, my own take is that I would have a hard time ranking Armstrong ahead of Indurain. It would be close though.

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Holy Crap! I actually agree with you on this one SMC... Happy Day!

Anyway, I'll conceed [not that it's hard] that Lance seems to be well on his way to being the best ALL TIME TDF rider with his "almost" 6th tour victory, but I just can't see myself giving him the best rider of ALL TIME over Eddie Merckx... It's a different classification to define, and Merckx has it in his grips still IMO.

I disagree... I have no opinion WHATSOEVER about who's the best batter in baseball! :-)

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could you point me to where I said he wasn't a good cyclist?

If you go by the official UCI rankings, Zabel is currently the "best" cyclist on the planet currently competing in the TdF. But "best" is a relative term.

I take nothing away from Armstrong's performance in the tour.

Poor Jan Ullrich's mediocre team that can't pull him up the mountains and puts him at such a disadvantage was the fastest team up the mountain today. Very interesting...

With or without steroids!!!

how many tour wins would lance have to have to be better than merckx? 8? 10? If lance one 15 tours in a row, would he still not be the best rider ever? impossible, just asking theoretically.

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