 |
| |
2001 Tour De France 10 Hour DVD Set |
|
$89.95 You Save $50.00!
 |
$39.95! |
Armstrong writes a new chapter in cycling history!
With his third victory in the 2001 Tour de France, the courageous cowboy becomes the first American ever to win three consecutive tours. Lance's three-peat makes him the fifth cyclist ever to accomplish three consecutive Tour wins, joining cycling legends Louison Bobet ('53-'55); Jacques Anquetil ('61-'63); Eddy Merckx ('69-'72), and Miguel Indurain ('91-'95).
During the first week of the Tour a cast of unusual characters straight out of a 1940s Hollywood film begins to emerge. Telekom rider Erik Zabel (in the hunt for a historic sixth successive win green jersey) battles it out with the fighting, freckled Australian, Stuart O'Grady, who also fights for the green jersey and find himself in the yellow for a while too!
Stage 6 is won by Estonian Jan Kirsipuu; in Stage 7, on Bastille Day, Laurent Jalabert stages a brilliant bit of riding to win for France, while German Jens Voigt wears yellow. Go figure. On Stage 8, we see a massive attack by a group of 15 yellow wannabes who gain 35 minutes on the leaders and re-unite the yellow jersey with O'Grady, while Armstrong, Ullrich and the rest of the favorites watch in restrained horror. They know they can make the time up, but it will be difficult.
Any doubts about Armstrong's form that had been lingering since the start of the race in Dunkirk were brushed aside on L'Alpe d'Huez, Stage 10, when the Texan soars up cycling's most hallowed mountain to take the 8th Tour stage win of his career. (Only one other rider, Fausto Coppi in 1952, has ever won both this grueling stage and the overall Tour!) Armstrong pulls off a masterly bluff as he fakes fatigue on the two earlier climbs of the day and lures Jan Ullrich and others into a false sense of security before finishing the stage two minutes ahead of his most dangerous rival. An Academy Award winning performance!
In Stage 11, Armstrong stamps his authority on the race and puts another minute on Ullrich as he powers up the fearsome Chamrousse mountaintop time trial to victory. The yellow jersey is now within reach. On Stage 11, the easiest stage of the Pyrénéean three-day marathon, Armstrong plays a cruel but cunning game with Ullrich, letting the German drive himself as far as he can into the ground before jumping around him to gain another 23 seconds while also gaining on Andre Kivilev and Francois Simon.
Armstrong had wanted to win L'Alpe d' Huez because it is a special climb. He won. Lance had wanted to win the time trial 24 hours later for this family (his wife is expecting twin girls in December). And he won. And on the hardest stage in the Pyrénées, Armstrong wants to win for former teammate Fabio Casartelli... and he wins. Armstrong admitted he had cried like a baby the previous June while on a training ride on the Col du Portet-d'Aspet (a cruelly steep and short ascent) when he passed the memorial stone to Casartelli, tragically killed in a crash there during the 1995 Tour. "I decided this morning when we passed the monument for the first time ever in a race, that today I wanted to win for Fabio." No sooner does he decide (give or take a few hours) than it was done... and the American finally takes over the yellow jersey as well.
Other great moments of the 2001 Tour include: The epic battle for the green jersey between 5-time winner Eric Zabel and Credit Agricole's Stuart O'Grady (Zabel finally snatches the maillot vert from O'Grady in the final sprint down the Champs Elysées); the emotional return to form by Frenchman Laurent ("JaJa") Jalabert as he takes the coveted King of the Mountain jersey; and the ride of Roberto Laiseka, egged on by thousands of wild Basque fans, as he claimns an emotional victory at Luz-Ardiden.
With 217 km breakaways, unforgettable sprint finishes, and thrilling ascents by the best cyclists in the world, the 2001 Tour is a WCP classic!
|
|
|
