Tour de France 2008 - Stage 20 - ITT

What a terrific day! I was up early and watched and enjoyed the TT today. Way to go C!! Great ride by him moved him into 5th overall. :-) Plus he finished in front of the 5 on GC in front of him! I am so happy for him. Huge kudo's to Millar, Hesjedal, and Pate too! Awesome riding and it's great to see them in the top 15 of today's stage - after 3 weeks of hard racing no less!!! After some banter Peg gave John a quick call and there's great excitement over there. I am so proud of the team for their great efforts these past 3 weeks. Underdogs no more. :-) I can't wait to hear all about it! Also nice congrats to George for finishing in the top 10 today too! I can't imagine the added pain he had from his crash the other day. Great to see him finish in a good note.

Other congrats go out to Carlos! I am happy to see him in Yellow going to Paris. After cheering and pulling for him for 3 years with C as part of his support, it's nice to see him on top. His ride up the Alpe d'Huez and his solid TT today - well earned. Little Andy also hung on to his White Jersey with a solid ride. I love my garMEN but there will always be a soft spot for the men of CSC. Guys like Stuey, Jens!, and Fabian to name just a few that I will always cheer for! Great job by them all on this Tour. They look to have Yellow, White, and the Team classification and they have - as a team - most certainly earned that last one.

I am looking forward to tomorrow. Getting to watch the smiles on the lead up to Paris. Seeing the guys a little more relaxed until they hit the city. It will be a welcomed site for all I am sure. Huge Kudo's to Will, Pate, Ryder, Lowe, and Martijn! Their first tour and they are all finishing. And they all get to do so holding their heads high for a great first Tour. They helped C and C's finishing in 5th overall - 5th! I am really happy. I hope that they all take the next few days to just soak it all in and enjoy the moments. Really good stuff. :-)

CN: Christian Vande Velde's Garmin-Chipotle Felt DA
ESPN_B.Julich: Evans in driver's seat heading into Saturday's time trial

Live Chatter: CN - VN - DP - PdC1 - PdC2 - Post Thread

Stage 20 - Saturday, July 26: Cérilly - Saint Amand Montrond (ITT), 53km
Results
1 Stefan Schumacher (Ger) Gerolsteiner 1.03.50 (49.817 km/h)
2 Fabian Cancellara (Swi) Team CSC - Saxo Bank 0.21
4 Christian Vande Velde (USA) Team Garmin-Chipotle p/b H30 1.05
5 David Millar (GBr) Team Garmin-Chipotle p/b H30 1.37
10 George Hincapie (USA) Team Columbia 2.28
12 Carlos Sastre Candil (Spa) Team CSC - Saxo Bank 2.34
13 Ryder Hesjedal (Can) Team Garmin-Chipotle p/b H30 2.36
14 Danny Pate (USA) Team Garmin-Chipotle p/b H30 2.54
15 Jens Voigt (Ger) Team CSC - Saxo Bank 2.58
18 Kanstantsin Siutsou (Blr) Team Columbia 3.07
30 Andy Schleck (Lux) Team CSC - Saxo Bank 4.02
34 Stuart O'Grady (Aus) Team CSC - Saxo Bank 4.12
54 Frank Schleck (Lux) Team CSC - Saxo Bank 5.38
61 Adam Hansen (Aus) Team Columbia 5.52
120 William Frischkorn (USA) Team Garmin-Chipotle p/b H30 8.37
122 Trent Lowe (Aus) Team Garmin-Chipotle p/b H30 8.58
123 Thor Hushovd (Nor) Crédit Agricole 9.06
127 Martijn Maaskant (Ned) Team Garmin-Chipotle p/b H30 9.21
133 Julian Dean (NZl) Team Garmin-Chipotle p/b H30 9.34
145 Thomas Voeckler (Fra) Bouygues Telecom 11.19
General classification after stage 20
1 Carlos Sastre Candil (Spa) Team CSC - Saxo Bank 84.01.00
5 Christian Vande Velde (USA) Team Garmin-Chipotle p/b H30 3.12
6 Frank Schleck (Lux) Team CSC - Saxo Bank 4.28
12 Andy Schleck (Lux) Team CSC - Saxo Bank 11.32
17 Kanstantsin Siutsou (Blr) Team Columbia 25.02
35 George Hincapie (USA) Team Columbia 1.08.22
37 Jens Voigt (Ger) Team CSC - Saxo Bank 1.11.55
47 Ryder Hesjedal (Can) Team Garmin-Chipotle p/b H30 1.33.12
65 Fabian Cancellara (Swi) Team CSC - Saxo Bank 1.57.23
67 David Millar (GBr) Team Garmin-Chipotle p/b H30 1.59.19
77 Trent Lowe (Aus) Team Garmin-Chipotle p/b H30 2.13.31
95 Danny Pate (USA) Team Garmin-Chipotle p/b H30 2.36.19
96 Thomas Voeckler (Fra) Bouygues Telecom 2.38.03
99 Thor Hushovd (Nor) Crédit Agricole 2.45.34
108 Adam Hansen (Aus) Team Columbia 3.04.59
109 Stuart O'Grady (Aus) Team CSC - Saxo Bank 3.07.46
110 Julian Dean (NZl) Team Garmin-Chipotle p/b H30 3.08.11
133 William Frischkorn (USA) Team Garmin-Chipotle p/b H30 3.30.47
134 Martijn Maaskant (Ned) Team Garmin-Chipotle p/b H30 3.31.08

Garmin: Tour stage 20 ITT: Millar, Vande Velde top 5; Christian moves to 5th overall!!
CSC-SaxoBank: Carlos Sastre Enters Paris Dressed in Yellow
TimesOnline_P.Kimmage: Back fomr the abyss (great article on Garmin)
ESPN_B.Julich: Sastre's deserved success a humbling experience
VN: Andrew Hood's TdF Notebook: Schumacher surprised; Vande Velde pleased
PEZ: Tour de PEZ: Following Mr. Hansen!
BruceHildenbrand: Sastre!

VN: Fresh Korn - The end is in sight

GrahamWatsonPhotos: Stage 20
TeamCSCSaxoBank: Tour de France
TeamGarminPhotos: Tour de France

VeloNews TV:
Tour de France 2008: Stage 20 race highlight.
Stage 20: After the time trial w/ Garmin-Chipotle's Christian Vande Velde.
Stage 20: Inside the team car and post race interview with Team Columbia's George Hincapie.
Stage 20: Post race with CSC-SaxoBank rider Jens Voigt.
Stage 20: VN TV RD w/ Team Columbia's George Hincapie.

Versus:
The Phinney Family of Cyclists: Part 1
Christian Vandevelde Interview
Fabian Cancellara Interview
Garmin-Chipotle's New Technology
David Millar Interview
Interview with Christian Vandevelde
Danny Pate Interview

CV TV (formerly TBR):
George Hincapie discusses his stage 20 TT.