Wow, now that was a stage! Attacks coming throughout the stage, elimination of some of the major competitors, and mountains, mountains, mountains.
For such a great stage, nothing much changed in the overall classification. All the leaders finished together. Cadel Evans is out, but he’s looked terrible all Tour. Somehow Carlos Sastre managed to claw his way back and not lose any time, but he looks to be on borrowed time.
Mikel Astarloza of the Euskatel-Euskadi team managed a great stage win, the first of his career. You’ve got to love a team who concentrates on one thing, winning mountain stages.
At the same time, Franco Pelizotti took a stranglehold of the polka dot jersey by taking the maximum points. Bradley Wiggins also turned in an impressive performance, looking like a revelation of this year’s Tour.
Alberto Contador, however, continued to look unbeatable. Andy Schleck repeatedly tried to attack him, but Contador never looked tired at all. I’m sure Schleck will try again tomorrow, but the Spaniard is proving over and over that he’s the best in the world.
Tomorrow is more mountains (4 separate 1st category climbs) and then we get the final time trial.
One last note, our thoughts and prayers are with Jens Voigt, one of the toughest riders in the peloton. He crashed badly today, and is out of the race with injuries. Here’s the video, but it’s not for the faint of heart.
Rider of the Day
Many riders had great performances, but Lance Armstrong’s individual accomplishment bridging the gap back to the yellow jersey group was amazing. Just when everyone was thinking that the sport had passed the old man by, he proved that he’s still one of the elites. He may not be able to beat Alberto Contador, but no one else can, either. Lance admirably defended his second place position, and reaffirmed his decision to return to cycling.
Reasons I Love the Tour #16 - Mountain Attacks
I love seeing the riders struggling and trying to break their rivals. These are elite athletes hitting the wall and reaching the point of exhaustion. That’s just not something you see very often.
1 Responses:
I would love to see Lance on his own team going against Contador. Contador's strength vs Lance's cunning and will. I think I would bet on Lance. But since they are on the same team, we won't get to see that unless Contador flames out.
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