Yesterday the damage was done for those NOT riding for Discovery / Lance Armstrong, Lance has delivered two blows this year to his GC rivals. Once during the opening time trial where he gained no less than 55 seconds to his main rivals and again during Tuesdays stage to Courchevel.
After the race lots of people had lots to say:
STAGE 10 QUOTES:
Walter Godefroot (directeur sportif of T-Mobile): “The general classification is clear. It outlines the reality of the situation: We are just not any good.” Ooh! Biting.
Godefroot:”Jan is not at 100% since his fall. We must be realistic: today, he is not capable of following the best.” Maybe Walter should elaborate and admit that Ullrich hasn’t been at 100% since his 1997 win…
Sandy Casar (Française des Jeux):”Today, Discovery condemned us to an infernal pace. This Tour is just rolling too fast for me.” Very true. How do you attack a team driving such a rhythm? You can’t.
Laurent Brochard (Bouygues):”The chief is Armstrong. For me, this is no surprise. A team like mine cannot play at that level. There’s nothing we can do, but we can’t give up hope of trying something.” The pony-tailed Brochard tried his best on Tuesday, breaking clear right from the start and staying out ahead until the final climb to Courchevel.
Bernard Quilfen (directeur sportif of Cofidis):”For me, the Tour is finished. I am not surprised, Armstrong has won the six previous races in the same way, taking huge time chunks out of his rivals on the first day in the mountains.” Why change a winning formula?
Still Others Took A “I Believe It When I See It Attitude”
Ivan Basso (CSC):”I don’t believe that the Tour is over. I will not hesitate to attack.” Forgive us if we hesitate to believe you…
Eusebio Unzue (directeur sportif of Illes-Balears):”The Tour is not finished. New opponents could appear. Watch Rasmussen! He has shown that his super performance on Sunday was not just down to luck. Regarding Alejandro (Valverde), it remains to be seen if he can continue to climb with the best.”
Slightly “Dare I Say” Silly Quotes …..
Godefroot:”Regarding Vino, I think that the rest day knocked him out of his rhythm.” Come on Walter, you can do better than that! Blame the rest day for tiring out a rider…?!
Basso:”I was clever not to follow the rhythm of Armstrong and Valverde. If I had, I would have surely lost everything.” Yes, you’re right Ivan - staying in touch with the leaders would have been plain stupid.
Jan Ullrich (T-Mobile): “The Tour finishes in Paris. It’s not over yet.” Ok, no quibbles about the Paris part, but it then Jan’s argument goes downhill.
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