I'm bummed out. Beloki is my guy.

VeloNews said Beloki is out - guess I lost my top pick. Armstrong said Beloki's rear tire exploded - I wonder if he was riding clinchers?

the camera was to far away to see but if you watch the shadow of the bike it looks like the tire just completely came off the rim, you see the shadow of the bike on the road and the shadow of the tire waving around..........

Tyler was the one that gave LA a friendly tap as he came past and they all finished together.

Tyler is the man so far as far as I'm concerned.

I was wondering if he was on sew ups [poorly glued ones perhaps] as I have seen sewups roll of a rim but I havent seen a clincher do that [not that it can't I just haven't seen it] either way that crash was brutal

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"on your Left"

I can't wait to see this tonight. I was following on olntv.com, and when the update "CRASH: Beloki goes down in front of Armstrong" came up with no details, I was horrified. I knew they were going downhill, really fast, but nothing else.

I feel awful for Beloki, he's such a great rider, but I'm Soooo glad Lance didn't go down, and that they don't seem to be giving him any crap for cutting the course.

This is a very exciting Tour. I'm kind of torn, because I truly want to see Lance take five(how often do you get to see history being made?)in his usual dominant fashion. After today, I think it may be more excitement than I can take.

Hamilton deserves an award for performace and perseverance. It would be cool to see him on the podium.

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Apparently Tyler's legs are superhuman this year. We can only guess at what would be happening if he weren't in pain and handicapped by the collarbone. Yeah, Tyler Hamilton. . .NOT a wimp!

[reply]I was wondering if he was on sew ups [.poorly glued ones perhaps] as I have seen sewups roll of a rim but I havent seen a clincher do that [.not that it can't I just haven't seen it] either way that crash was brutal[/reply]

Yep, they were tubulars. Beloki was quoted in the hospital as saying "Where's that friggin Bunnyman? Life may be too short for clinchers, but this descent was too long for tubulars". It appeared that he first locked up his rear wheel, then rolled off the tire (which is understandable if you're going sideways).

And I can't believe Tyler tapped Lance on the shoulder with his bad arm to see if he was OK!

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Gerard Vroomen
3T.bike
OPEN cycle

awesome pic

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"on your Left"

Definitely too bad for Beloki. He was looking good especially on the attack of the last climb. Great moment when he thought he was clear and checked his inside shoulder. Two seconds later looks to the outside and LA is right there.

The TDF is shaking up to be a memorable one
maurice

This picture illustrates why mountain bike riding is a good off season pursuit....very nice off-road form. The only mistake I see is his bottom lip and upper teeth forming an "F" sound...this can result in a bunch of tooth-holes in your bottom lip. Really heartbreaking for Beloki...he was one of the few that actually had a chance to beat LA this year. I hope he heals quickly.

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

Look how "relaxed" Lance looks. If that were a picture of me it would be the shorts that were yellow.

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Frank,
An original Ironman and the Inventor of PowerCranks

Funny, I was just talking with one of my co workers... the few seconds that Lance's "Dukes of Hazard" imitation lasted must have seemed like an eternity to Johan Bryuneel in the team car.

As an indicator of how exciting this tour has become, even my 60-something-empty-nest-comfort-food- generation PARENTS are hooked. Mind you, neither has ridden a bicycle since they got their driver's license back in the 1950's. And while they appear to enjoy coming out to watch me race, their idea of "endurance sports" for themselves is to walk the course instead of renting a cart.

But I stopped over at their retirement Valhalla condo this weekend, and they were both buzzing with excitement at the approach of the mountain stages. True to form, my dad is already a "know it all" on the topic, correcting my mom at every opportunity. And this morning, my mom is sending me email updates here at work of the day's action.

God bless 'em!

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