last post on this in 2009, i promise.
after saturday's mountain stage wrapped up, the tour de france podium was essentially set, with sunday's ride into paris being little more than ceremonial. standing in at #2 (although several minutes behind tour champion-to-be contador) is andy schleck, representing his red, white, and light blue with pride. his brother frank clocks in at #5, making luxembourg the only country to have two nationals in the top 5.
oh, and for those keeping score, lance didn't race too shabbily either, finishing third and giving astana two top-three finishers. but you know what they say in luxembourg: #3 is not as good as #2.
Showing posts with label luxembourg. Show all posts
Showing posts with label luxembourg. Show all posts
Saturday, July 25, 2009
Monday, July 20, 2009
re: because i have to...
update: it's not just me who thinks that andy schleck's stage 15 ride was noteworthy. the maillot jaune wearer is concerned as well. as contador told reuters:
"The strongest is Andy Schleck but I don't fear someone in particular. The dangerous situation is if they all attack together," he said. "I must make sure I do everything correctly so that my rivals cannot have a chance."
fear the luxembourger.
"The strongest is Andy Schleck but I don't fear someone in particular. The dangerous situation is if they all attack together," he said. "I must make sure I do everything correctly so that my rivals cannot have a chance."
fear the luxembourger.
Sunday, July 19, 2009
because i have to...
big news at the tour de france.
everyone knew it would eventually happen, and on sunday, astana teammates alberto contador and lance armstrong moved into first and second place in the overall standings, leaving pretenders like rinaldo nocentini in the dust. what was perhaps more surprising, however, was the magnitude of the gap between contador and armstrong, with the spaniard racking up a 1 minute, 37 second-lead on the american.
but the reason you should be even more interested in the results: the second-place finisher in stage 15 was andy schleck of luxembourg, finishing just 43 seconds back.
that's right... luxembourg.
the small european country has found a niche in cycling with the schleck brothers. andy's brother, frank, raced very well at last's year tour, even holding the maillot jaune before finishing 6th overall. the two are solid climbers and are giving the tour favorites some decent competition.
come from a small country but carry a big bike, i always say. er... right?
everyone knew it would eventually happen, and on sunday, astana teammates alberto contador and lance armstrong moved into first and second place in the overall standings, leaving pretenders like rinaldo nocentini in the dust. what was perhaps more surprising, however, was the magnitude of the gap between contador and armstrong, with the spaniard racking up a 1 minute, 37 second-lead on the american.
but the reason you should be even more interested in the results: the second-place finisher in stage 15 was andy schleck of luxembourg, finishing just 43 seconds back.
that's right... luxembourg.
the small european country has found a niche in cycling with the schleck brothers. andy's brother, frank, raced very well at last's year tour, even holding the maillot jaune before finishing 6th overall. the two are solid climbers and are giving the tour favorites some decent competition.
come from a small country but carry a big bike, i always say. er... right?
Tuesday, September 2, 2008
re: sometimes, lightning does strike twice
and, sometimes... it strikes four times?!?!
qualifier gilles muller, ranked 130th in the world, dropped five-seed davydenko like nobody's business, prevailing in four sets to reach the us open quarterfinals.
meanwhile, as i write, federer is a break down in the fourth set (although he has a 2 sets to 1 lead). did muller really reach the quarters more easily than federer? and, regardless of who wins the federer-andreev match, is muller going to pull off yet another amazing win and end up in the semis?!?
as my good friend gwen stefani says, this shit is bananas.
qualifier gilles muller, ranked 130th in the world, dropped five-seed davydenko like nobody's business, prevailing in four sets to reach the us open quarterfinals.
meanwhile, as i write, federer is a break down in the fourth set (although he has a 2 sets to 1 lead). did muller really reach the quarters more easily than federer? and, regardless of who wins the federer-andreev match, is muller going to pull off yet another amazing win and end up in the semis?!?
as my good friend gwen stefani says, this shit is bananas.
Friday, August 29, 2008
sometimes, lightning does strike twice
no, i am not talking about usain bolt.
who is gilles muller? you probably have no idea. (but then again, you also probably don't know who kim kirchen and frank schleck are, either.)
unless, of course, you were watching the u.s. open on that fateful day in 2005. as andy roddick took the court against a 22-year-old from schifflange, luxembourg, little did he know what he was in for. three tiebreaker-determined sets later, roddick had lost his mojo and a small nation in europe had found a bit of non-GDP-related glory.
muller went on to lose to then-doubles partner robby ginepri - who is also half-luxembourgish - in 2005, and he faded pretty quickly from the international tennis spotlight. had he used up his 15 minutes of fame?
apparently not. today, after having won three matches in the qualifying tournament and held off laurent recouderc of france in the first round, muller overcame a 2-6, 2-6 start to come from behind and shock grizzled veteran tommy haas in five sets, using his strong serve and a willingness to try and paint the lines - he had 75 unforced errors in the match - to propel himself into the third round for the the first time in his brief flushing meadows history.
in the next round, he will face either californian sam warburg or 18th-seeded nicolas almagro of spain, neither of whom have been into the fourth round at the open. might the fireballer from luxembourg continue to surprise his opponents?
we here at poop on boozer will certainly be watching.
who is gilles muller? you probably have no idea. (but then again, you also probably don't know who kim kirchen and frank schleck are, either.)
unless, of course, you were watching the u.s. open on that fateful day in 2005. as andy roddick took the court against a 22-year-old from schifflange, luxembourg, little did he know what he was in for. three tiebreaker-determined sets later, roddick had lost his mojo and a small nation in europe had found a bit of non-GDP-related glory.
muller went on to lose to then-doubles partner robby ginepri - who is also half-luxembourgish - in 2005, and he faded pretty quickly from the international tennis spotlight. had he used up his 15 minutes of fame?
apparently not. today, after having won three matches in the qualifying tournament and held off laurent recouderc of france in the first round, muller overcame a 2-6, 2-6 start to come from behind and shock grizzled veteran tommy haas in five sets, using his strong serve and a willingness to try and paint the lines - he had 75 unforced errors in the match - to propel himself into the third round for the the first time in his brief flushing meadows history.
in the next round, he will face either californian sam warburg or 18th-seeded nicolas almagro of spain, neither of whom have been into the fourth round at the open. might the fireballer from luxembourg continue to surprise his opponents?
we here at poop on boozer will certainly be watching.
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