2008 Tour de France - Stage 2

The start whistle blows and Danny Pate squirts out ahead of the peloton. Maybe he thought he would catch 178 racers sleeping. NOT! It’s just a rookie move. After a counter from a variety of racers, two Frenchmen lead the peloton. Frenchmen, huh? There’s nothing to worry about.

Voeckler and Chavanel are still out front. They gap the peloton to a maximum of 6:25. In patriotic fashion, Voeckler allows Chavanel to “win” the sprint bonuses. Chavanel returns the favor and Thomas pads his lead in the polka dot jersey. My goodness, it’s still more than a week to Bastille Day and these guys are hoggin all the air time. Thomas is crafty at getting TV exposure. 

Two other jealous Frenchmen have had enough and come to join the leaders. Lelay and Moreau join their countrymen in the lead. Oh no, there’s four Frenchmen working together. Like I said, there’s nothing to worry about. Their sponsors are delighted though!

It finally happens. The peloton swallows the leaders with less than 3 km to go. Even Voekler’s new Campy 11 speed couldn’t hold them off. The excitement is yet to come.

Thunderhead Thor cranks his way through and wins the stage! All is not lost for Chavanel as he is awarded the aggressive rider jersey. Voeckler goes home as the polka dot leader. Broken wrist Soler is over ten minutes back. Will he be at the line tomorrow?

I wasn’t sure which pill to take yesterday so I took both the red and blue. I don’t know what happened, but I keep hearing the phone ring all the time.

Super Dave