looks like Valverde won’t start tomorrow. Knee is hurting
Way to ruin the whole tour for me you jerk! No spoiler warning?
May you be doomed to explaining recursion (over and over 
) to first year CS flunkies all summer!
I really hope that turns out to be wrong.
shit…I meant to right advanced spoiler…
You know, thinking about it further, what if the story was “Lance to miss start tomorrow with knee problem.” Disclaimer- I’m a LA fan and hope he wins- but what if he had to withdraw? Of course he’d be bitterly disappointed to leave because of an injury, but it’s not like there’s any question about who the strongest rider is right now, is there? So he could sort of go out knowing he was still the best. And then look at the GC minus LA:
1 Michael Rasmussen (Den) Rabobank
2 Christophe Moreau (Fra) Credit Agricole 1.56
3 Ivan Basso (Ita) Team CSC 2.02
4 Alejandro Valverde (Spa) Illes Balears-Caisse d’Epargne 2.38
5 Santiago Botero (Col) Phonak Hearing Systems 3.10
6 Levi Leipheimer (USA) Gerolsteiner 3.20
7 Francisco Mancebo (Spa) Illes Balears-Caisse d’Epargne 3.22
8 Jan Ullrich (Ger) T-Mobile Team 3.24
9 Andreas Klöden (Ger) T-Mobile Team 3.38
10 Floyd Landis (USA) Phonak Hearing Systems
Who would your money be on? Almost makes me excited for TdF 2006.
Ken
if all suddenly, with no previous signs, LA came up and said he has to withdraw with knee problems, what I can tell you is that it would look EXTREMELY suspicious for a lot of people…
Kinda like a lot of Fassa Bortolo riders all dropping out for one reason or another.
Just another casuality of one of the long string of riders that try to hang with Lance for a day or two. Imagine what Salvodelli is going through. A two time Giro winner, who can barley get Lance halfway up the mountain. Granted, he totes the water bottles and brings the lunch, but it just shows how fast they are going when the hammer goes down up the climbs. I’m not suprised that he has an injury. My old swim coach used to tell us that if we couldn’t do the job, then fake an injury… He was being sarcastic…
Oh sure, I should have expected that- but leaving the doping aside- think of how exciting the race would be! I think I’d put my $ on Basso, but any way you look at it, the race would truly be wide open…
Ken
or Lampre.
looks like Valverde won’t start tomorrow. Knee is hurting
http://live.cyclingnews.com/
The riders are now rolling out on the neutralised section to the official start. Although there was some doubt about 5th-placed Alejandro Valverde (Illes Balears) who was among suffering from a sore knee, he will indeed be starting.
good!
Are you also being sarcastic ???
I hope so.
Valverde did not hurt his knee following (and beating) Armstrong in the Courchevel stage. He did hurt his knee during the first TT (first day of the Tour) when it got into contact with his handlebars and it got worst in the bad weather later on.
At least that’s their “excuse” :-)))
Valverde just abandoned…in tears in the team car.
That’s a bummer - I was hoping for him to help make it exciting the next couple of days.
And his wife (IM Lanzarote winner) is said to be a busted EPO user…
if all suddenly, with no previous signs, LA came up and said he has to withdraw with knee problems, what I can tell you is that it would look EXTREMELY suspicious for a lot of people…
Dude - please give that sh*t up already.
I would not be surprised if Rasmussen has a small lead after this weekends mountain stages, maybe 10-20 seconds. Nothing for LA to worry about.
Dave in VA
Valverde just abandoned…in tears in the team car.
Ullrich just moved up a spot.
Dave in VA
I would not be surprised if Ras got his ass dropped.