Tour of America (Fantasy Tour)

[greenedge]

As if Evans finished outside the podium, he did not blow up and had a few long ITT's. Don't understand the Samu section. It says he finished 2nd on the stage??? Odd that Cancellara won and just like in the Vuelta Wiggins went out too hard.

 

[jobiwan]

As if Evans finished outside the podium, he did not blow up and had a few long ITT's. Don't understand the Samu section. It says he finished 2nd on the stage??? Odd that Cancellara won and just like in the Vuelta Wiggins went out too hard.

Fixed that bit, I was REALLY tired last night!

 

[jobiwan]

Going to try to wrap this up this weekend.
My school completely lost internet for TWO WHOLE DAYS!!!

I had meant to finish this by now, but no internet = no posts!!

 

[jobiwan]

Standings After Stage 20

General Classification:

1. Alberto Contador
2. Samuel Sanchez +2'00”
3. Robert Gesink +2'11"
4. Cadel Evans +2'29"
5. Denis Menchov +4'18”
6. Tom Danielson +4'56”
7. Andy Schleck +5’18”
8. Chris Horner +7'50"
9. Andreas Kloden +8'01”
10. Bradley Wiggins +9'18"

11. Vincenzo Nibali +9'46"
12. Damiano Cunego +10'14"
13. Jurgen Van den Broeck +10’57"
14. Peter Velits +11'41"
15. Jose Rujano +12'01"
16. Frank Schleck +12’45”
17. Rory Sutherland +13'46"
18. Alexander Vinokourov +14'29”
19. Tony Martin +14'39”
20. Ryder Hesjedal +15'26"
21. Levi Leipheimer +16’23”
22. Alejandro Valverde +16’32”
23. Janez Brajkovic +16'44”
24. Tejay Van Garderen +17’02"
25. Dries Devynyns +17'25"

26. Rigoberto Uran +17'27"
27. Igor Anton +17’43"
28. Joaquim Rodriguez +20’53"
29. Carlos Sastre +21'00"
30. Michele Scarponi +21'37"
31. Ivan Basso +22’50”
32. Rein Taaramae +23'08"
33. Nicolas Roche +25'37"

Top 10 Points Classification:

1. Mark Cavendish 355 pts
2. Peter Sagan 292
3. Daniele Bennati 267
4. Tom Boonen 212
5. Tyler Farrar 169
6. Fabian Cancellara 141
7. Alberto Contador 131
8. Jose Joaquin Rojas 113
9. Allan Davis 109
10. Philippe Gilbert 108

Top 15 KOM:

1. Alberto Contador 118 pts
2. Andy Schleck 68
3. Robert Gesink 66
4. Samuel Sanchez 58
5. David Moncoutie 43
6. Tom Danielson 40
7. Cadel Evans 36
8. Denis Menchov 30
9. Joaquim Rodriguez 24
10. Jose Rujano 24
11. Thomas De Gendt 23
12. Igor Anton 20
13. Christian Vande Velde 16
14. Jelle Vanendert 12
15. Kevin De Weert 8

Young Riders:

1. Robert Gesink
2. Tejay Van Garderen +14'59"
3. Rigoberto Uran +15'24"

 

[Swede1]

Andy Schleck to launch a last minute attack and catch contador off guard?? By the time the peloton gets organized andy will have 10 mins!

 

[jobiwan]

Stage 21 Preview

(I'm sorry I haven't finished this yet, but I'm finally getting settled into 2nd year of school, and I spent the weekend getting PCM on my computer!!)
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
After a very successful inaugural Tour of America, the riders will arrive at the final stage, probably ready to wrap this thing up. Stage 21 will be a stunning stage around the picturesque San Francisco Bay, California, around which are the three major cities of San Francisco, and San Jose, Oakland. This stage is flat, and as such will only be a real competition for the sprinters.

Starting from the Tourist destination at Pier 39, the riders will immediately head south and will cross the iconic Golden Gate Bridge, heading onto the west side of the San Francisco Penisula. After passing the San Francisco Zoo and seeing the Pacific Ocean, the riders will head towards San Jose via the eastern side of the penisula, with the Bay ever in sight. The riders will reach Downtown San Jose, and then turn north for the final half of the race.

The riders will then head up the eastern side of the bay towards Oakland, and then will swing onto the famous Bay Bridge. The riders will cross half of the bridge, before turning onto the manmade Treasure Island. Treasure Island was constructed in 1937 as part of the World's Fair, but now it will be used as the finish for the 1st Tour of America. The riders will ride counterclockwise around the island, and then they will finish in front of the Administrative Building. (As a cool aside, the Administrative Building was featured as the Berlin Airport in "Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade".)

Alberto Contador needs only to arrive safely at the finish to claim his final Yellow Jersey. No challenges will come today, as the battle for Yellow concluded in the time trial. However, there will be one final battle for a stage win. Mark Cavendish only needs to finish to seal his Green Jersey win, but a 3rd stage win would cap off a great Tour. Peter Sagan, along with Daniele Bennati and Tom Boonen would take consolation with another stage win, while Andre Greipel, Alessandro Petacchi, and American Tyler Farrar know this is their last shot for a win.

Golden Gate Bridge:

Treasure Island Administrative Building (as seen in Indiana Jones):

 

[Eric8-A]

There are some real flat sections here

 

[jeanne65]

I've been thinking of starting a thread like this for a while. Thanks for the jumpstart! Having said that (any 'Curb Your Enthusiasm' fans out there? ), I'm afraid the Pro Tour teams won't be able to attend your race as they'll be preoccupied with readying themselves for my GT, The Tour of the Appalachians!! Details to follow...




Tera Gold Cheap
Buy Tera Gold

 

[Eric8-A]

*** edited by mod ***

 

[Timmy-loves-Rabo]

Oh man I never noticed this thread

awesome stuff Jobiwan, go gesink

I will have to read through this more thoroughly.

 

[greenedge]

Gesink to be aided by the crosswinds on the bridge???

 

[jobiwan]

Thanks for all the comments. Last stage report is in the works!

 

[jobiwan]

Stage 21 Report

July 22nd, Stage 21: San Francisco Bay, 197.74 kms

Contador Wins the Tour of America as...

Farrar Finally Gets His Stage!

The Tour of America ended in such a way as if it was almost scripted...
American Tyler Farrar took advantage of great teamwork by his Garmin-Cervelo team to finally claim his win in his home Tour. Garmin-Cervelo came to the front on the windy Bay Bridge and caused a split in the field, catching out most notably sprinters Peter Sagan, Andre Greipel, and all but 2 of HTC-Highroad. Only Tony Martin was available for Mark Cavendish's service, and he was forced to keep Cavendish safe while the whole of team Garmin pounded away at the front. With 500 meters to go, World Champion Thor Hushovd brought Farrar to the front, and with 200 meters left Farrar leapt out into the open to easily claim a fine win. Hushovd had in fact done so much damage that he even took second on the day, Cavendish coming up a distant third.

With 15 kilometers to go, the split caused by Garmin-Cervelo sent everybody looking for one man, Alberto Contador. Contador's easy day in the Yellow Jersey, earlier full of champagne and photographs, would turn into a desperate chase if he missed the group. However, the legend was right where he was supposed to be, at the front, and so he made it in with Farrar's group, and at the line he raised his arms, knowing that he had finally sealed a 7th grand tour. 9 out of the Top 10 in the overall also finished with Contador's group, the only one absent being Denis Menchov, and his absence proved costly, as he lost enough time to Garmin to launch Tom Danielson into the Top 5 behind Cadel Evans, but I guess there's 21 stages for a reason!!

The other classifications were also clinched today. Christian Vande Velde was awarded the honor of the the Most Aggressive Rider of the Tour. Vande Velde lost time in the opening stages, but was heavily involved in the rest of the Tour, attacking on one stage and selflessly working like a madman for his teammates throughout the Tour. Although Mark Cavendish did not get a third stage win, he was then richly rewarded with the Green Jersey, as he was the most consistent sprinter of the Tour. Contador also was on the podium for the King of the Mountains jersey, as his consistent finishes on the mountain stages were enough to award him with the best climber award, by a large margin in fact. Robert Gesink, previously the race leader, also was able to step onto the podium, as he easily finished best of the young riders to claim the white jersey. Finally, the overall podium was awarded. Gesink put in an impressive performance on all of the mountain stages and received 3rd place in the Tour. Samuel Sanchez took a stage win in Aspen and consistently climbed well and took a very deserved 2nd place, a fine result for the Asturian rider for Euskaltel.

Then finally, Contador rocketed out onto the podium to receive his final Yellow Jersey, having earned his 7th grand tour win. Contador overcame his struggle on Mount Evans to win the Snowbird TT and permanently take back the race lead on Onion Valley Road. Contador (and Sanchez) were then treated to the national anthem of Spain, which the organizers were proud to announce was correctly played on the first attempt. After the anthem, Contador brought out the legendary Pistolero salute, much to the delight of the San Francisco crowd.

The stage itself was rather laid back, until the end of course. Champagne was brought out for Team SaxoBank-Sungard, and Contador even shared some with Sanchez, Gesink, Evans, and even Andy Schleck. A breakaway formed as always, and in fact no one even bothered to check who was in it, as everyone knew HTC and Garmin would get it back, which they did. As the riders turned onto the Bay Bridge headed towards Treasure Island, it was Garmin, not HTC, who came to the front, and they executed their plan to perfection, delivering the fast American Farrar to the victory line to cap off the very first Tour of America!

Hope everyone has enjoyed the reports, I'll probably do a 3rd week recap, and then I'll probably wrap this baby up!!

Top 15 on Stage 21 and Points Earned at Finish:

1. Tyler Farrar 45 pts
2. Thor Hushovd (s.t) 35
3. Mark Cavendish (+2") 30
4. Alessandro Petacchi (s.t) 26
5. Daniele Bennati 22
6. Tom Boonen 20
7. Fabian Cancellara 18
8. Samuel Dumoulin 16
9. Greg Van Avermaet 14
10. Cadel Evans 12
11. Tom Danielson 10
12. Daniel Oss 8
13. Alberto Contador 6
14. Jose Joaquin Rojas 4
15. Andy Schleck 2

Most Aggressive Rider of the Tour of America:

Christain Vande Velde

Best Young Rider of the Tour of America:

Robert Gesink

King of the Mountains:

Alberto Contador

Points Classification Winner:

Mark Cavendish

Winner of the Tour of America:

ALBERTO CONTADOR

 

[greenedge]

Why oh why did no carrots crash???