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The Tour Continues To Thrill
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by Barbara McPherson | July 14, 2008 at 09:15 am
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Today's stage of the Tour de France was a hard slog of 156 km through the Pyrenees. The route gave no quarter with the finish decided only at the last second. Team CSC did an admirable job bringing their leader to the front of the pack for most of the race.
Evans Shows Mettle
By Phil Liggett
July 14, 2008
Every one in the compound where we work at the finish line each day agreed: this was the best stage in a Tour de France in a very long time. No punches were pulled on the climb of the Col du Tourmalet and things got even more difficult on the finishing climb of Hautacam, near Lourdes. In the end, Australian Cadel Evans, a crash victim on Sunday, became a tearful new leader of the race by a single second. He is only the fifth Australian to lead the Tour and probably the first one with the ability to win it overall when we end in Paris.
Cadel is a very likeable person and he really had thought his Tour ambitions had disappeared after his crash, but today he was a new man and could hardly believe what a difference 24 hours has made.
On a day of many heroic performances – Fabian Cancellara and Jens Voigt – to name but two great riders on top of their form today, the United States also confirmed a new name.
Christian Vande Velde started the day in third place overall and full of confidence. After he finished tenth to remain in third place overall, any non-believers that he was not capable of a high finish in Paris, stood in line to apologize! He is set now to lead his new Garmin-Chipotle team into the Alps and in this very unpredictable race, anything is possible.
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Most RecentMost Recommended Comments (1)
at 06:40 on July 15th, 2008
Ireland's Sean Kelly and cycling hero
This is what Sean is presently involved in: <a href="http://www.irishcycling.com/2004/news/art_1471.shtml">www.irishcycling.com/2004/news/art_1471.shtml</a>
This is Sean's career;
1972
Junior Champion of Ireland.
1973
Junior Champion of Ireland
1974
Shay Elliot Memorial Classic
1975
The stage wins in the Tour of Ireland
Stage win in the Tour of Britain
Shay Elliot Memorial Classic
1976 - 5 WINS
Tour of the North Overall
Tour of Majorca Overall
Stage win in Tour of Ireland
Stage win in Tour of Britain
Tour of Lombardy Classic
1977 - 4 WINS
GP Lugano
Circuit de l'Indre
1st stage of Tour de Romandie
4th stage of the Etoile Espoirs
1978 - 4 WINS
3rd stage of the Tour de Mediterranean
1st stage Semaine Catalane
6th stage of Tour de France
5th stage of Etoile Espoirs
1979 - 4 WINS
GP Cannes
Willbrock Criterium
1st and 5th stages of the Tour of Spain
1980 - 13 WINS
Three days of the Panne Overall Criterium de Panne
Criterium St Niklaas
2nd stage of 3 days of the Panne
1st, 2nd, 14th, 17th, 19th stages of the Tour of Spain
3rd stage of Dauphine Libere
19th, 21st stages of the Tour de France
4th stage of the Tour of Holland
1981 - 9 WINS
St Pieters-Leeuw Criterium
Mellet Criterium
Tienen Criterium
3rd stage of tour of Belgium
2nd stage of 4 Days of Dunkirk
1st stage of Tour of Luxembourg
15th stage of Tour de France
5th stage of Tour of Holland
1982 - 13 WINS
Tour Haut-var
3rd, 5th, 7th, 8th stages and Overall Paris-Nice
2nd stage Criterium Internationale 2nd stage Midi Libre
1st and 2nd stage Tour de l'Aude
12th stage Tour de France
Plessala Criterium
Lannion Criterium
1st and 3rd stages of Etoile Espoirs
1983 - 16 WINS
3rd, 4th, 7th stages and Overall Paris-Nice
2nd stage and Overall Criterium Internationale
4th stage Tour of Europe
3rd, 5th stage and Overall Tour of Switzerland
Stuttgart Criterium
2nd stage Paris-Bourges
Bellegarde Criterium
GP d'Isbergues
4th stage Etoile Espoirs
Tour of Lombardy Classic
1984 - 33 WINS
GP Aix-en-Provence
2nd, 7th stages and Overall Paris-Nice
Criterium Internationale
1st, 3rd, 5th stages and Overall Tour du Pays Basque
Paris-Roubaix Classic
Liege-Bastogne-Liege Classic
Tour of the North (Swi)
1st stage Tour of Switzerland
Stuttgart Criterium
Bussieres Criterium
Elsloo Criterium
Manchester Criterium
Almelo Criterium
GP Plouay
2nd, 4th stages Tour du Limousin
Paris-Bourges
1st, 4th (a & b), 7th stages and Overall Tour of Catalonia
Blouis Chaville Classic
Criterium de As
1985 - 19 WINS
2nd stage Tour of Valencia
Overall Paris-Nice
1st stage Criterium Internationale
3rd, 7th stages of Tour du Pays Basque
2nd, 9th, 15th stages of Tour of Spain
Wielsbeke Criterium
Troyes Criterium
Viane Criterium
Emmen Criterium
3rd stage Tour of Holland
2nd stage Tour of Catalonia
1st, 3rd stages and Overall Nissan Classic Tour of Ireland
Tour of Lombardy Classic
Criterium de As
1986 - 21 WINS
Two stage wins Tour of Valencia
Three stage wins and Overall Paris-Nice
Milan-San Remo Classic
Two stage win Three Days of the Panne
Three stage wins and Overall Tour du Pays Basque
Paris-Robaix Classic
Two stage wins of Tour of Spain
Overall winner Paris-Bourges
Overall winner Tour of Catalonia
Grand Prix des Nations Classic
Overall winner Nissan Classic
1987 - 17 WINS
Stage 6 Tour de Valence
Stage 3 and Overall Paris-Nice
Stages 2 & 3 and Overall Criterium Internationale ?
Stage 2 Three Days of La Panne
Stages 4 & 5B and Overall Tour du Pays Basque ?
Stages 1 & 3 Tour of Spain
Won Kellogg's Classics in Cork and Wexford
Two stages in the Tour of Catalonia
Won Nissan Classic
1988 - 11 WINS
Stage 6B & Overall Paris-Nice
Stage 4B & Overall Semaine
Catalan
Stage 4 Tour of Pays Basque
Ghent - Wevelgem
Stages 11 & 20 and Overall Tour of Spain
Stages 3 & 4 Tour of Limousin
1989 - 5 WINS
Liege-Bastogne-Liege
Stage 5 Dauphine Libere
Renaix Criterium
Berlin Criterium
St. Polten Criterium
1990 - 4 WINS
Tour of Freiburg
Stage 1 - Tour of Switzerland
Overall Tour of Switzerland
City Centre Classic Cork
1991 - 2 WINS
Nissan International Classic
Tour of Lombardy
1992 - 5 WINS
Trophee luis Puig (Sp)
Tour of Valencia (Sp) - stage 4
Milan - San Remo (It)
Tour of Switzerland (Sw) stage 7
Tour of Columbia (Col) - stage 2
1993 - 1 WIN
Belgium Criterium