2005 Tour de France - Stage 16

Welcome back everyone. I?m sure all of you knew the Tour was postponed for a day so I could celebrate my birthday. Hmmm, I never received any wishes from the French or Germans. Even Rasmussen forgot to call. Go figure!

What a way to start the stage when all you read is Lance saying he?s going to win. At least there is some excitement when watching others go for glory and try to get a stage win. We?ve certainly had some wonderful victories. Today is still a tough stage.

Eleven racers have established a lead. Ok, who?s going to have a dream win today? Take your pick from Cadel Evans, Freddie Rodriguez, Flecha, Chris Horner, Pereiro, or Vasseur. The others are racers we haven?t heard of before and we all know they can?t win. Just ask Totschnig. I see a couple of teammates in the group and a couple of Americans. I wonder...

Oh my, something has hit Kashechkin in the face and he turns around goes head on against the peloton! Something or someone hit him in the eye. It?s starting to get ugly. What is going to happen next, throwing water on the racers? Worse yet, flying musette bags!

During all this commotion, Vino attacked and Basso did the same shortly after. The big boys eventually group back together and Lance has some teammates for protection. Vino goes again but he?s on a yo-yo coming back everytime. Its good for the spectators but I wonder how long he can keep that up. Notice T-Mobile secretly increasing the pace then bang, there goes Ullrich! It really was no surprise. Lance sticks with them. Meanwhile, up front, Evans blasts off. Those mountain biker guys! Three others stay with Evans. I think it will be Evans for the win.

Old age has taken its toll! Out of a 1 in 4 chance, I couldn?t even pick Cadel for 2^nd place. Pereiro (I drink Perrier) wins the stage. Maybe I?ll get some complimentary bottled water from him. He jumps all over the dream come true theme in his interview when he says (guess what); it was a dream come true. I wonder if that?s plagiarism. I predict tomorrow?s stage winner will say it was a dream come true. Hmm...

Overall, there is no change with the podium racers. There certainly were some attempts to crack Lance but it was laughable. It has more or less turned into a free for all now and I think team racing may take a back seat to individual glory.

On a serious note, please take a moment to offer thoughts and prayers to family and friends of Amy Gillett who was killed in a cycling accident. Also, be mindful of her injured teammates Louise Yaxley, Alexis Rhodes, Katie Brown, Kate Nichols, and Lorian Graham.