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Line-Ups

Footon-Servetto
Alberto Benitez, Arkaitz Duran, Iban Mayoz, Rafael Valls, Markus Eibegger, Manuel Cardoso, Fabio Felline, Eros Capecchi, Giampaolo Cheula

HTC-Columbia
Mark Cavendish, Bernhard Eisel, Bert Grabsch, Adam Hansen, Tony Martin, Maxime Monfort, Mark Renshaw, Michael Rogers and Kanstantsin Sivtsov.

Team Sky
Michael Barry, Steve Cummings, Juan Antonio Flecha, Simon Gerrans, Edvald Boasson Hagen, Thomas Löfkvist, Serge Pauwels, Geraint Thomas and Bradley Wiggins.

Quick-Step
Carlos Barredo, Tom Boonen, Sylvain Chavanel, Dries Devenyns, Kevin De Weert, Jerome Pineau, Kevin Seeldrayers, Jurgen Van de Walle, and Maarten Wynants.

Radio Shack
Lance Armstrong, Andreas Klöden, Levi Leipheimer, Chris Horner, Janez Brajkovic, Sergio Paulinho, Yaroslav Popovych, Gregory Rast and Dmitriy Muravyev

Euskatel
Egoi Martínez, Iván Velasco, Juanjo Oroz, Alan Pérez, Rubén Pérez, Gorka Verdugo, Amets Txurruka and Iñaki Isasi

Milram
Gerald Ciolek, Linus Gerdemann, Niki Terpstra, Thomas Rohregger, Christian Knees, Johannes Fröhlinger, Roger Kluge, Luke Roberts, and Fabian Wegmann.

Cervelo Test Team
Xavier Florencio, Volodimir Gustov, Heinrich Haussler, Jeremy Hunt, Thor Hushovd, Andreas Klier, Ignatas Konovalovas, Brett Lancaster, and Carlos Sastre.

Rabobank
Denis Menchov, Robert Gesink, Oscar Freire, Lars Boom, Grischa Niermann, Koos Moerenhout, Maarten Tjallingii,Bram Tankink and Juan ;Manuel Garate.

Saxo-Bank
Fabian Cancellara, Andy Schleck, Fränk Schleck, Jens Voigt, Stuart O'Grady, Matti Breschel, Chris Anker Sørensen, Jakob Fuglsang and Nicki Sørensen

A very diffcult stage 2 and 3 !!! and we already lost Franck

That's really sad. Yesterday Voigte was in the mood to bash the tour organizers. After this tragic stage it's easy to understand.

500m on the cobbles and who goes down? Fränk. Somehow it's always him who falls first, when there's an oppotunity to crash...

But you have to admit, there were relatively few crash victims compared to what was feared an what happened the day before.

Luna wrote:But you have to admit, there were relatively few crash victims compared to what was feared an what happened the day before.

Yap, you are right. And I think the cobblestones in a TdF are not as evil as Voigte said. He was just frustrated that Franck went down. And when I saw it right, this accident could have happened in every corner. It was a mistake by Martin and Franck couldn't react fast enough.

But it`s nice that Dopestrong and Contador get much time.
My Favourite (Cadel Evans) must go on and win the tour!

Okay, winning the tour will be hard for him...

Schleck seems to be very strong this year. Could be a nice fight with Contador.

Renshaw is a dangerous guy !
The Theo Bos friend I guess

Renshaw can go home now ... he is out.

I think the only answer to his sprint today ... hard but ok

for everyone who want to see it:
http://bit.ly/csfOjG

So there really is a reason to dislike spanish sportsmen ... Schleck on the attack, then his chainwheel makes technical problems... what does Contador do? He attacks instead of waiting. What a bad kind of sports spirit. Now he messed up finally. I hope Contador will happen something similar, because this is absurd to win a GT like this kind of riding. -3 for Contador.

-3 yes thats a very good idea ... from me too

It was Schleck's own mistake, so... It's not like the bicylce gearing decided not to work anymore.

team fl wrote:It was Schleck's own mistake, so... It's not like the bicylce gearing decided not to work anymore.

trotzdem darf man als großer Sportsmann warten ...
(but he can wait as a great sportsman ... a victory for his own i think)

A decision you have to make in a few seconds... And as far as it was his "personal negligence" - although very unfortunate - Contador's decision is comprehensible for me.

but even worse is the fact, that schleck was at the attack and contador wasnt able to follow!
poor guys, these schlecks

I think Saxo Bank was already lucky enough on stage 2 where almighty Cancellara forbade everyone else to ride but on stage 3 they gave a shit about everyone being stopped when Frank Schleck went down.

Seriously... Contador won 4 Grand Tours so far ... IF he wants to show he is the best... well then he has to wait for Schleck anyway to show he´s really stronger without any bla and shit. What he did was ... general classement to be caught easily today because of technical stuff, so let´s go. I mean... everyone was always able to be a good and fair sportsman ... remember Ullrich, remember Simoni waiting for Basso who´s feared of downhill ... what did Basso? Just attack and win the stage... what did Contador? What did Armstrong? All those Uber-Riders don´t seem to be Uber-Riders... they are just lucky not to have technical problems for 99% of the time (okay, you have to be attentive and so on...). But Armstrong´s not a great sportsman, Basso neither and stupid Alberto Contador I didn´t like ever ... but I respected his victories ... now I can´t respect that he´ll again win the tour.

Neutrogena wrote:I think Saxo Bank was already lucky enough on stage 2 where almighty Cancellara forbade everyone else to ride but on stage 3 they gave a shit about everyone being stopped when Frank Schleck went down.

This is also the two medaillons of such "great" kinds of showing sportsmanship. Cancellara would´ve acted differently when Andy was not in the group behind, yes. I´d prefer if riders would do like Cancellara whose team is not involved in such crashes etc., then it really is sportsmanship. Still, Cancellara´s act has nothing to do with Contador not waiting for Schleck today, does it?

Why the hell it is Contators fault if Schleck can't shift properly?

Think that till the end, fairness can't be abused as well. Should everyone wait because a rider feels his weekness and crashes or shifts wrong "by accident" ?

Most times the chain goes of it is a mistake of a rider, and mistakes of riders at the wrong places should lead to time loss. I would more consider it to be unfair to the fans if Contador refused to punish that mistake of Schleck.

And hey, be honest, it is not like Schleck could have won the tour on that stage, as he would have been catched easily in the downhill. Best what could happen would be to have yellow by now, but with the minutes of loss on the line in the timetrail, those second figths they do right now is nothing but theatre. Contador was well ahead before that stage.

After Voigt had chrashed at the descent of the Peyresourde he grabbed a bike of one of the youth riders that took part in a sort of youth event behind the peloton.

Look at this!
http://www.rennrad-news.de/forum/showpost.php?p=1683521&postcount=2076

With that he chased 15km behind the field before he was handed his regular spare bike.

( http://www.sport1.de/de/radsport/artikel_265942.html )

Wow that's cool
Did the guy get his bike back ?

Yes, 15 km later he got an appropriate bike.

I think, he meant the youth rider.

Lol. Ah, I see. Don't know that. Would be interesting.

Maybe he gets a brand new Saxo Bank bike, would be very cool for him (not the one with a motor of course)

Yes, that would be nice.

Must have been a big honour to help out Voigt with his own bike.