Okay, now that was fun.
Jul. 9th, 2006 10:50 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
ysobelleI've been saying this past week that breakaways just never work. You go out fifty, forty, thirty km from the finish line, stay out for hours, and then get the psychological snot beaten out of you by getting caught mere metres from the end.
And then sometimes, hey, presto! It works!
Sylvain Calzati, from France's own AG2R team, knew by, oh, 5km out, that no one was going to catch him. The field had splintered early, with six riders in a long breakaway. Once they peloton picked up the pace from 3 minutes back, Calzati staged his own one-man breakaway. He took off, and no one followed him. Perhaps they thought he wouldn't make it; after all, no one has yet this year. But this is Brittany, a stronghold of French cycling. (On a day the French are already nigh unto hysterical as their team prepares to battle for the World Cup tonight.) Not only that, but stage 8 last year was when this particular rider had crashed out of the race.
So by the end, Calzati was all but giddy. His tour car came up beside him-- plenty of open road, anyway-- and there were high fives and laughter from both rider and team manager out the car window. Calzati sat up, arms raised, beaming with joy as he crossed the line all alone. Well done!
Dave Zabriskie said it best right after the finish. "I didn't think those guys would make it."
Well, sometimes they do.
Serhiy Gonchar, still in yellow, also looked like he might burst into giggle up on the podium, getting zipped into the maillot jaune again. Good day to be a Tour fan.
We enter the mountains at last on Wednesday. As if this race hasn't been interesting enough already!
And then sometimes, hey, presto! It works!
Sylvain Calzati, from France's own AG2R team, knew by, oh, 5km out, that no one was going to catch him. The field had splintered early, with six riders in a long breakaway. Once they peloton picked up the pace from 3 minutes back, Calzati staged his own one-man breakaway. He took off, and no one followed him. Perhaps they thought he wouldn't make it; after all, no one has yet this year. But this is Brittany, a stronghold of French cycling. (On a day the French are already nigh unto hysterical as their team prepares to battle for the World Cup tonight.) Not only that, but stage 8 last year was when this particular rider had crashed out of the race.
So by the end, Calzati was all but giddy. His tour car came up beside him-- plenty of open road, anyway-- and there were high fives and laughter from both rider and team manager out the car window. Calzati sat up, arms raised, beaming with joy as he crossed the line all alone. Well done!
Dave Zabriskie said it best right after the finish. "I didn't think those guys would make it."
Well, sometimes they do.
Serhiy Gonchar, still in yellow, also looked like he might burst into giggle up on the podium, getting zipped into the maillot jaune again. Good day to be a Tour fan.
We enter the mountains at last on Wednesday. As if this race hasn't been interesting enough already!