2008 Tour de France - Stage 6

There are going to be a few bumps in the road today. It is the beginning of a shake up in GC? Will team Columbia put Kirchen in yellow? Will a sprinter whose last name starts with a C win?

The start whistle blows  and low and behold Sylvain Chavanel is out front. I think he wants to see how he looks in polka dots. I hear the chicks really dig it. He is later joined by Vaugrenard and Bichot. Hmmm, Bichot, kinda reminds me of a dog breed. After the threesome gap the peloton by a bit over five minutes, their lead is in the shrinking stage.

There’s a bit of excitement in the crash zone (otherwise known as the feed zone). Those musette bags must be cursed (Editor’s note: or are the straps too long?). Just ask Lance! A couple of racers hit the pavement but it appears all get back to racing.

Racers begin to attack at the turn onto the climb. It seems early to do so. I have to say I enjoy the jostling of mountain stages. It has all the suspense of a flat sprint finish but lasts much longer. I guess you could say it’s a slow motion sprint finish! 

Chavanel eventually sits up to join the peloton while four others replace him in the lead. Vande Velde must have his Garmin GPS dialed into the finish line. Go USA! Team Columbia is also showing their presence.

The leaders look scraggly and are weaving like drunks on the road. Schumacher and Kirchen touch wheels and Schumacher falls. The “R” man, Riccardo Ricco surges across the line to win the stage.

It seems ironic that the yellow jersey is exchanged between the two racers who touched wheels. I was happy to see many teams have an ambitious strategy including Columbia and Garmin. By the way, nobody said a thing about Evans as he quietly remains :06 from the leader.

One final note, did someone in this article make a prediction about Kirchen being in yellow? Nah, nobody is that smart!

Super Dave (feedback welcomed)