2008 Tour de France - Stage 18

For all the pain and grueling effort by the racers yesterday, I was left feeling a bit disappointed. I wanted Frank to attack. I wanted to see how Cadel would respond. I wanted Vande Velde to get some time back. I know it’s easy for me to talk as I sit on my lazy butt in my air conditioned office, but somebody’s gotta do it. So, my point is, Frank and Andy should have went with Sastre when he attacked. They all would have benefitted.

For today, my expectations will be much lower. The biggest challenge will be guessing what non contender will come out of the peloton and go for the glory of a stage win. Unfortunately, it will not be Cunego who has banged his head on the cement. Over seven minutes pass before he’s riding again. What did they do during that time, perform surgery?

The leaders are Burghardt and Barredo who have gained 10 minutes on the peloton. I have a 50-50 chance of picking the correct stage winner. I’ll go with Burghardt. The “B” team become frisky with 5km before the finish. Later, they look like they’re ready to do a track stand instead of sprinting to the line. Burghardt finally kicks in and gives Team Columbia another stage win. Barredo doesn’t look happy.

The peloton rolls in without any drama for the yellow jersey contenders. Sastre is still in yellow. Waiting for the time trial will be a mistake for CSC. Then again, what does an old lazy fat guy know? I say give Cadel the yellow jersey now.

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Super Dave (Enjoy my dribbles, dislike them? Got suggestions for improvements? I appreciate your feedback!)