Jimmy Casper has the honor to carry the lantern rouge. Maybe they should award a jersey for that. The off and on rain causes some minor wheel slips but nothing damaging. The roads are in good shape for the boys in GC contention.

The posties show why they are the strongest team by placing four in the top ten. They include Landis, Azevedo, Rubiera, and Armstrong. I think the readers can figure out who was first among that group.

Poor Basso finishes in 6th place and will also step down a notch on tomorrow’s podium. Give a lot of credit to Bobby Julich whose comeback to the Tour rewards him with a very respectable 5th place today. Jan finishes in front of Klöden but it won’t help his overall position for tomorrow. History repeats itself with the rise and fall of Germany once again.

Poor Ivan Basso finishes in 6th place and will also step down a notch on tomorrow’s podium.

Lance just doesn’t let up and wins over Jan by 1:01. It’s not over until it’s over but I think he should sleep well tonight in an uneasy sort of way!

Not much else to dribble about today but see you tomorrow on the Champs E’lysees!

Hey, I’m a poet and don’t know it! Hmmm…I may have a job waiting for me after the Tour is over.

Stay tuned to Roadcycling.com as the Tour continues!

Dave Osborne

Click here to check out our Tour de France coverage section.