Michael glad to leave 'crazy' roads behind

[superman2007]

Posted on 12 July 2007 - 22:59

 

http://images.supersport.co.za/RasmussenMichael070708CyclingRbg.jpgDanish climber Michael Rasmussen was glad to see the back of the tricky Tour de France fifth stage here Thursday, which left two of the race favourites with a worrying trip to the hospital. Rasmussen has won the King of the Mountains title for the past two years, and despite playing a support role for Rabobank's top contender, Denis Menchov, the fans will be expecting to see the skinny Dane claim some glory for himself. The 33-year-old from Saelland, a slightly hilly part of Denmark, is prone to going on long solo attacks - he won the 16th stage last year during Floyd Landis's spectacular collapse, and the ninth stage in 2005. That kind of aggressive racing often puts Rasmussen in contention for the polka dot jersey, but he may put aside both ambitions until later when some difficult climbing awaits the peloton over stages 14-16 in the Pyrenees. Until then, he will be praying there are no more stages like Thursday's. With eight categorised climbs - but none which compared to anything in the Alps or the Pyrenees - Rasmussen coasted over the 182.5km ride from Chablis to here. However the stage took its toll on a few top riders, with Alexandre Vinokourov and Andreas Kloden joining Spaniard Iban Mayo in hitting the deck. Rasmussen believes the organisers should be doing everything to make sure the peloton avoids the kind of tight, winding roads which virtually guarantee some early drama on the race. "It wasn't my type of riding. It was a very nervous stage, and a lot of fighting going on," the Dane told AFP. "The course was hard, so it wasn't so difficult for me to stay at the front, but the second last descent, where Vinokourov and Kloden came down, was very, very fast. "I don't think these roads are suited to the Tour de France peloton, especially in the first week of the race. There's too much at stake." Rasmussen feels that with all the demands made on top cyclists - signing anti-doping charters, undergoing dozens of random doping tests and wearing helmets - the least the organisers could do was guarantee their safety. "I mean they (cycling authorities) ask us to have health checks, and to sign charters and wear helmets, they think they can do what they want with us," he added. "But what about the roads? I think it's a bit hypocritical." Thursday's stage led to a long pursuit of a four-man breakaway which had topped nearly 15 minutes. In the end Italian Filippo Pozzato dominated a bunch sprint on a long uphill home straight, and Rasmussen admitted the teams had been pursuing with the thought of Oscar Pereiro's 35-minute breakaway last year still fresh in their memories. "Everybody has got a bit wiser after last year," he said. "When it got to 15 minutes I was starting to have flashbacks of last year. I suppose there was a common interest to bring the break back." Despite three days in the Alps beginning Saturday, Rasmussen said he is in no hurry to go on a long solo attack. "I'll go into the Alps and just see what happens. I don't have any ambitious plans for the moment."

[pastapouch]

fly chicken fly...  its about time someone in my team starts performing.

[boela]

Why is Chicken complaining? Is he having flashbacks to his famous time trial falls due too his lack of bike handling skills