Frankie Andreu at the 2008 Tour de France : Tags : garmin

A Very Normal Stage

Posted by Frankie Andreu Jul 19, 2008

Frankie Andreu calls in from the finish at Digne-les-Bains, where Oscar Freire took the win and Mark Cavendish didn't have the wind.

"After the finish I interviewed Mark Cavendish and he looked extremely tired." Can he get through tomorrow's big showdown in the Alps? "Be sure to watch. It's going to be a fantastic stage."

Plus: Just how big are the Garmin-Chipotle boys' cranks?

634 Views 1 Comments Permalink Tags: tour-de-france, garmin, mark-cavendish, 2008-tour-de-france, frankie-andreu, garmin-chipotle, oscar-freire

How the Pyrenees Shaped the Race

Posted by Frankie Andreu Jul 16, 2008

What we have learned from the Tour is that it takes from the strongest as well as the weakest. Many riders have struggled during the first days in the mountains, some because of fatigue or fitness and some because of bad luck.

For Cadel Evans, it was the latter--a matter of the right place at the wrong time. He was riding near the front of the group, paying attention as he should, when one of the Euskatel riders, riding in the first 10, overcooked a turn and crashed about seven riders. Cadel was a casualty of that crash, breaking his helmet in three pieces and shredding his shorts and jersey. In an instant, Cadel went from Tour favorite to a Tour victim.

The first mountain stage went to Riccardo Ricco with a Pantani climbing flare that has not been seen since Marco Pantani's last Tour victory in 1998. Ricco danced on the pedals, accelerated out of the saddle on the climb, and made the tilted roads look easy to pass over. For the others, the Col d'Aspin was a launching pad for multiple attacks, and it provided a great racing day for only being day number one in the mountains.

Kirchen kept the yellow jersey, but he showed vulnerability by riding in the middle of the pack instead of near the front of the group. The Luxembourg rider was weakening right when he needed his strength the most.

The biggest day of the Pyrenees was Hautacam, and it proved to shake things up a bit but not as much as I had thought. Alejandro Valverde had a horrible day, losing contact with the peloton on the Tourmalet and he never caught up. CSC struck out to try and get the yellow jersey, but I'm surprised they didn't attack earlier on the Tourmalet. As it ended up, Frank Schleck only lost the yellow jersey by one second.

Cadel Evans was lucky to get the yellow by the way he and his friends rode up Hautacam. It was a staring contest between Denis Menchov, Ricco, Carlos Sastre, and Evans, while Christian Vande Velde just watched from the corner of the room. For Vande Velde it was a new experience, so he waited for the big guns to make their move--they never did! Finally, Christian said the **** with it and it was his attack that allowed Evans to take yellow. I believe Cadel will ultimately out think himself from the yellow jersey and a win in Paris.

After Hautacam was a nice rest day. It was a beautiful day in Southern France for the riders to rest and train a little before they hit three transition stages before the Alps. Many of the riders' wives and girlfriends were around, and some of the press were treated to Chipotle burritos at a Garmin-Chipotle media event. To say burritos are rare in France would be an understatement.

Of course the news before Stage 11 was the fact that Moises Duenas Nevado from Barloworld was busted for EPO from Stage 4. Duenas and the team doctor were taken to the police station for questioning, and of course the rest of the team endured questioning at the start of Stage 11.

In this next week I believe Saunier Duval-Scott will play a large role in the outcome of the Tour de France. This team is climbing so well that anyone that can hang on or tag along will have a big advantage.

Here at the start of Stage 11 David De La Fuenta and Saunier Duval-Scott had tons of fans cheering them on.

CSC will start to become more visible; since Andy Schleck has lost time, he will be getting in some breaks to put pressure on the teams. What might end up happening is that Cadel, because he has a bad mountain team, will benefit from the Gerolsteiner and Garmin teams working to keep their spots on the G.C., and in the end help Cadel keep his jersey.

This year L'Alpe d'Huez will be as critical as ever. The winner of L'Alpe d'Huez will probably take the yellow and this rider will be the winner of the Tour de France.

461 Views 0 Comments Permalink Tags: tour-de-france, garmin, csc, 2008-tour-de-france, gerolsteiner, alejandro-valverde, cadel-evans, carlos-sastre, kim-kirchen, riccardo-ricco, andy-schleck, saunier-duval-scott, alp-d'huez

3 Sunday's to go.

Posted by Frankie Andreu Jul 12, 2008

First Week

It feels like a lot longer than a week has passed since the Tour started. I still can't believe I try to fit each day into an under 3 min recording; there is just too much going on every day. This first week had some disappointment and some surprises out on the course. For starters the first few days were extremely windy and it provided an opportunity for echelons and some exciting racing, it never materialized. Without a strong favorite, or a powerhouse team, the riders were timid, they were afraid to test themselves so early in the Tour. The result was a break that made it to the finish in the first week of the Tour, unheard of. At the same time the sprinters have been getting ripped off, hills at the end of the stages during the first week, unheard of. I guess I could comment on the French rider winning a stage but it only shows the lack of effort by the peloton in the first week.

What did become evident were the objectives of certain teams for the Tour de France. The French teams were out to get exposure and make the race exciting and to motivate the breaks. Voeckler rode a great first week getting in the breaks and having the mtn. jersey for a few days. The climbers, who normally hide for ten days, also showed their form early with Valverde and Ricco taking stage wins. At the same time we saw Evans put in a good time trial, have a good finish at the first summit finish, and he paid attention during Stage 7 when the peloton was ripped apart. We also saw from Evans that he is the strongest member of his team; perhaps the only member from his team that can go uphill fast. This will surely haunt him in the later mountain stages. No..Popovoch won't be able to help him.

As for the sprinters, they took what they could when they could. Cavendish was amazingly fast and Thor took the pressure off Credit Agricole with his early stage win. Now Thor's fight will be for the green jersey and this could be the first year we see the green jersey go to a non sprinter because of the way the stages are laid out. Normally my top pick, McEwen, so far is having a horrible Tour. I've never seen McEwen do so poorly in any race much less nine days in a row. The fact that his team has deserted him for the general classification has ripped him apart and I wouldn't be surprised to see him leave to a different team next year.

I can't forget to mention Garmin, they have been doing a super job. Riding in the front, and paying attention each day, is harder then it sounds. They have been very good at it. They have had Frishkorn in the break and get 2nd on a stage, Millar 3rd in the TT, Pate with a good TT, and VandeVelde right there in 4th on the G.C. before we hit the big mountains. VandeVelde will be hard pressed to maintain that position but I like his attitude of leaving it out on the road.

Then there is Columbia, who has had the most successful first week of any team here at the Tour but possibly of any team recently in past Tours. Who takes home 2 stage wins, multiple days in the Yellow jersey, along with the Green, and White jersey? Pretty good stack of podium appearances for them. To obtain all those goals Columbia has had to put out a lot of effort and there is good chance this will set them back during the third week. To use as much energy as Columbia has, during the first week, is dangerous if you have your sights set on Paris. Team CSC has been quite and they have their eyes on Paris. Probably the strongest team so far is Caisse d'Epargne, very dangerous in the mountains and for the overall if Valverde can get a three minute time trial cushion.

This next week we hit the Peyreenes and then some transition days as we head to the Alps. Hautacam will be critical as the new climb when we enter Italy.

The Tour is far from where it started but it's also far from over.

386 Views 0 Comments Permalink Tags: tour-de-france, garmin, mark-cavendish, 2008-tour-de-france, frankie-andreu, team-columbia, will-frischkorn

Reflections on the Race of Truth

Posted by Frankie Andreu Jul 8, 2008

Frankie Andreu weighs in on the surprising results of Tuesday's individual time trial and the hangover from leading a breakaway to glory: "Feillu was suffering immensely from the efforts of the break yesterday. But at least he had his day in yellow..."

Plus, who else is riding in the Garmin-Chipotle team car? And Frankie looks ahead to stages 5 and 6, including the hills leading to Super-Besse.

726 Views 0 Comments Permalink Tags: tour-de-france, garmin, 2008-tour-de-france, frankie-andreu

Valverde's Victory, Garmin's Swarming and the UCI is MIA

Posted by Frankie Andreu Jul 5, 2008

Click below to hear Frankie Andreu's first stage report for Active.com. This podcast recaps Alejandro Valverde's uphill win, talks about the large presence of Garmin soigneurs and discusses how the absence of the UCI has impacted the race so far.

1,027 Views 0 Comments Permalink Tags: tour-de-france, garmin, 2008-tour-de-france, frankie-andreu, alejandro-valverde