slafkins said:
Stage was big ripoff,nobody could catch Frank,did you see Uran trying he made shure Frank wins.And what a celebration his hand were up still in a hotel.I don't know what is going on in this stage but that was not racing that was acting.
Not really sure what this is supposed to mean, but did you maybe not see Uran almost fall in the last metres? He'd have to be a pretty good actor/stuntman to be able to pull that off on purpose.
auscyclefan94 said:
Expected more KK. What is up with him?
blaxland said:
Kim Kirchen hasn't got last seasons form,not sure why?
Kim Kirchen hasn't had a good form since the TdF 2008. Last season all ruined by broken shoulder and collarbone, only 1 stage win at TdS.
This season ruined by God knows what.
His preparation in the early season went according to plan, finished a decent Tirreno-Adriatico. Then some Belgian semi-classics to prepare for Tour des Flandres, which was his first big season goal ... then he missed out because of an "infection in thelower part of his body", i.e. sattle sore.
When that was all done he took on the Ardennes and found out he had serious problems with his breathing - couldn't follow the pace of the peloton for 100 km without almost fainting or suffocating. Probably an allergic reaction to antibiotics taken for the sattle sore, but no one really knows. He took a whole bunch of tests at the hospital but nothing was ever diagnosed.
Now he's done the Tour de Luxembourg quite decently and seems to have resolved his health problems. Nice prologue as well, then second stage he was plagued by stomach cramps and couldn't follow the pace of the peloton in the last kms. Yesterday he attacked but then had problems with his breathing again at such an extreme effort. According to him his form is "improving, but not at the best".
Due to his ruined season his Tour de France participation is in jeopardy. Katusha has a strong team and doesn't necessarily need to take him. I also have the impression that they are not too happy with him at Katusha, surely they expected much more of him. After he finished the prologue for example, he had to wait for 20 minutes in the finish area because he held the best time at that point - no soigneur of Katusha was to be seen during these 20 minutes to give him a towel or a bottle of water. That's quite a clear sign if you ask me ...
This year's TdF is not really for him anyways, even if he had his 2008 form. Too many really steep, long climbs, too little TT'ing. If he gets lucky and secures a spot on the team, and his form improves a lot til the TdF, he might be able to win a stage. That'd be nice for him since he's won two so far, but always through disqualification of Vinokourov or Schumacher.
He just needs a season without any health problems for once, then he could do as well as in his T-Mobile/Columbia days, but he just had a lot of bad luck in the last two years.
blaxland said:
Ogrady will probably miss out,seeing this is the last season as Team Saxo maybe national alliances mean something.(Saxo bank registered Danish team thus more Danes in Tdf Line up)
I doubt that nationality counts that much in Saxo Bank. It sure does count to a certain extend, but if O'Grady was really fit, they'd definitely take him, he's one of the most experienced and toughest riders there are, he'd be very valuable. I think his not being able to go is a loss for Saxo Bank and they know that. Someone in another thread referred to him as an "old warhorse"
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