That was super confident wasn't it? He was very gracious, but a little bit cheeky wasn't he?
He's a superstar in the making.

The Italian press is absolutely in love with him, as he embodies all of their notions of "English fair play". He would have been the first Englishman ever to win three stages in a Grand Tour, btw (though I wouldn't bet against him winning the last day).

What a fantastic couple of days. OTF fave Jans Voight winning a solo breakaway yesterday in the rain and then today a truly titanic struggle up the mountains.
AC was dropped by Ricco and Di Luca dug deep to hang to get second place. AC now leads by 4 seconds with Gavia and Motirolo to come tomorrow. AC was led up by Kloeden but Ricco's attack was superb. He's no doubt kicking himself that he didn't take the pink jersey. Pellizotti didn't have what it takes though did he?
What was the story with Pellizotti and Lance/Simeoni? Did Pellizotti spit at Filippo Simeoni?

That was Pozzatto.

Ah yeah that's right. Pozzato. I don't like Pellizotti much though. Did you hear that Liquigas are going to sign Ivan Basso? I thought there was some sort of agreement (unwritten) between the pro-teams that they wouldn't sign someone who had been banned, thus effectively banning them for 4 years.

Just after sacking DiLuca for dodginess? Weird.

So, the time trial tomorrow, and four seconds between Ricco and Contador. This could be amazing. Marzio Bruseghin could even conceivably win it - he's one of the best CLM riders in the peloton, though two minutes is almost certainly too far to make up.

Oh, and another win for Sella - what a race he's having!

(ursus - you know it's a TT on the last day this year, rather than the traditional sprint? Not so much chance for Cav...)

I had forgotten that, which is especially grievous as the stage goes by our flat.

Not yet sure just how we will watch it or what the tifosi reaction will be.

I was hoping that Simoni could catch Sella, but it just wasn't possible. Ricco still thinks he has a shot tomorrow, and it's hard not to think about LeMond pipping Fignon in '89. I just hope that it doesn't rain; the weather here has been pretty bad (though much worse in Piemonte) and they were lucky to get today's stage in under reasonable conditions.

AC winning is hugely disappointing. Shameless!

Hugely disappointing, but hugely impressive.

In fairness, people have been saying he's this good since he was a teenager. And of all the high-profile riders who were named as his patients, Eufemanio Fuentes went out of his way to say he'd never treated Contador or Allan Davis. Given how unrepentant he was in every other respect, and how little either of them had actually achieved at the time, that should probably count for something, at least until there's solider evidence tying either of them to Puerto. (Though a definitive link to Davis would erode a great deal of Contador's credibility in this regard...)

It's worth saying that, like Pantani, even if he's dirty as all hell, you can probably count on one hand the number of climbers we've seen who are this good. Naturally. And he's still, what, twenty-five? The bastard.

Fucking Bruyneel.

Exactly it's the Bruyneel link more than the Puerto link for me. Particularly as I've just finished David Walsh's book on doping in American cycling.

Indeed, it is hard to get overly excited about what was certainly an impressive performance by an excellent rider (whether enhanced or not). That's part of the reason why we didn't stick around to see him get the trophy (we did do that with Basso, and actually got within a metre of Ivan, and looked how that turned out).

It may well sound like sour grapes coming from someone who is lucky enough to see a Grand Tour out his front window, but I have to say that the last day chrono was significantly less of a spectacle than the traditional finale with its ten laps of the centre. I hope they go back to the traditional format next year.

Did Contador win this? bastard.

We didn't know you cared, man.

sort of care, but stay away from threads like this, because I dont know enough... I HATE Contador, and I hate the brazen hussey (xic, and yes I leave that) that is the guy who thinks he owns the world, but I cant remember his name (usually up there in a sprint finish and pissed OFF when he gets mullered)