Sports-Pictorial.com
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| Tour de France Stage Four Analysis and Results |
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| By Manny Samaniego |
| Date: 7/10/2002 |
| Tour de France Stage Four Analysis and Results |
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As expected, today's stage four of Le
Tour (Team Time Trial) was the "mano a mano" we all looked for between the
specialists, ONCE-Eroski and Lance's USPS.
Credit Agricole's didn't manage to pull the ride of their lives today and
Christophe Moreau lost more time in what has become "Le Tour de Bad Luck"
for the boys in green. While the lower ranked teams kept posting respectable
times, all eyes were focused on the teams of the main contenders.
Surprise
Out of the top ten finishers, the big surprise was iBanesto.com, finishing
a respectable 6th, and keeping their mountain goats lurking in the shadows
of the General Classification, waiting for their preferred terrain, the
high mountains. Fassa Bortolo, Domo-Farm Frites, Rabobank, Kelme and
Lampre, all with "heavy hitters" in their ranks, limited their losses too.
To wait or not to wait?
The ONCE-Eroski looked like a well oiled machine, with the riders keeping
a high tempo through out the course. And when Mikel Pradera flatted,
the squad never hesitated to make a decision, he was left to fend for himself.
On the other hand, CSC-Tiscali was flying, having the best time after the
first two checkpoints, but when one of their riders flatted, the formation
lost its focus momentarily and that cost them the stage victory.
New Leader
The victory for ONCE-Eroski also brought them the yellow jersey. This
plays right into USPS's hands, since the team will not have to ride at the
front, controlling attacks and wasting precious energy. ONCE-Eroski
will hope for a long break, and for the help from the sprinters teams, which
have not looked that committed to chasing.
Results
1 ONCE-Eroski 1.19.49 (50.74 km/h)
2 US Postal Service 0.16
3 CSC-Tiscali 0.46
4 Fassa Bortolo 1.30
5 Cofidis
1.44
6 iBanesto.com 1.56
7 Domo-Farm Frites 2.12
8 Rabobank 2.16
9 Kelme-Costa Blanca 2.19
10 Lampre-Daikin 2.22
11 Credit Agricole 2.28
12 Team Telekom 2.47
13 Bonjour 3.13
14 Alessio 3.15
15 Lotto-Adecco 3.32
16 FDJeux.com 3.34
17 Jean Delatour 3.43
18 Tacconi Sport 3.45
19 Mapei-Quick Step 3.47
20 Euskaltel-Euskadi 4.22
21 Ag2R Prevoyance 4.24
General Classification after Stage 4
1 Igor Gonzalez de Galdeano (Spa) ONCE-Eroski 14.51.50
2 Joseba Beloki (Spa) ONCE-Eroski
0.04
3 Lance Armstrong (USA) US Postal Service
0.07
4 Jörg Jaksche (Ger) ONCE-Eroski
0.12
5 Abraham Olano (Spa) ONCE-Eroski
0.22
6 Roberto Heras Hernandez (Spa) US Postal Service 0.25
7 Isidro Nozal (Spa) ONCE-Eroski
0.27
8 José Azevedo (Por) ONCE-Eroski
0.28
9 George Hincapie (USA) US Postal Service
10 Marcos A.Serrano (Spa) ONCE-Eroski
0.30
11 Floyd Landis (USA) US Postal Service
0.32
12 Alvaro Gonzalez de Galdeano (Spa) ONCE-Eroski
13 José Luis Rubiera Vigil (Spa) US Postal Service 0.35
14 Viatcheslav Ekimov (Rus) US Postal Service
0.35
15 Laurent Jalabert (Fra) CSC-Tiscali
0.37
16 Tyler Hamilton (USA) CSC-Tiscali
0.53
17 Andrea Peron (Ita) CSC-Tiscali
18 Pavel Padrnos (Cze) US Postal Service
0.55
19 Carlos Sastre (Spa) CSC-Tiscali
1.00
20 Benoit Joachim (Lux) US Postal Service
1.09 |
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