Stage 9 Update -- From July 10

Friends:

So did you catch today's mountain stage? That Col de Soudet was a monster, and I couldn't believe that Rujano attacked so early, knowing he still had 100 kilometers to go, including a categorie 1 climb. And the way Floyd and Evans bombed down the backside, only to see Savoldelli attack on the runup to the Marie-Blanque...And how about Pineau, refusing to give up that Polka-Dot Jersey, clinging to every point his lungs and quads could muster?

That doesn't all ring a bell?

That's because today wasn't a mountain stage after all. I'll admit it: I got antsy. I didn't forget that we're entering the Pyrenees particularly late this year; I have a firm intellectual grasp on this year's altered course. But emotionally, that's where I got tripped up. Such a devotee am I of climbing, climbing stages and the climbers themselves that my psyche went into fast forward and I completely blew through today's dead-flat sprinters' stage.

Not that today turned out to be completely forgettable. Yes, it was another long-breakaway-of-lesser-known-riders-on-the-hunt-for-stage-win-glory-who-oh! just barely-get caught-by-the-peloton kind of stage, but it was capped off by another thrilling sprint, with McEwen just missing the victory, but still nabbing the attention. While Oscar Friere, the sprinting Spaniard, pipped the Pocket Pimpernel by the width of a piece of plastic, it was McEwen's wild swerve around Friere, Zabel and Boonen and near-miss at the line that wowed the crowd in Dax and the viewers at home. Boonen, a classics rider who's used to sprinting at the end of a long slog along Belgian cobblestones, and not the sit-in-and-wait-for-the-long-leadout of flat Tour stages, once again went too early and finished fourth. Zabel, who came third, admirably continues to mix it up -- though I wish he wouldn't, because every time he does Phil Liggett talks about how old he is. Thirty-six? Wow, that's old, especially for a cyclist...

Tomorrow, though -- tomorrow! We'll finally reach those glorious peaks of the Pyrenees, and while I don't think that the stage will "blow things apart," considering the long chance to regather after the final col, we should definitely start getting some answers to those questions I asked prematurely.

Which makes me think, I left out one question: can McEwen climb well enough to stay in the Tour, and thus hold onto the Green Jersey? Because his purchase on it gets firmer by the day, which puts a number of our game's players in a more favorable position. On the attached you'll see that the standings are now color-coded to illustrate this and other points: If you're green, one of your riders holds the Green Jersey, and if the Tour ended today, you'd get the associated bonus points. Same for Yellow, Polka-Dot (red) and White, for the Best Young Rider.

A demain,
Mike


Player Points
Walter Lamerton 46
Tony Farrell 42
Pete November 40
Robin Fee 36
Kat Campbell 35
Jodi Hall 31
Tom Lariviere 31
Christian Newman 29
Romas Pencyla 29
Alan Levy 27
Bob Fee 25
Jim Fee 25
Richard Stagliano 25
Tad Sennott 24
Dan Fee 23
Wes Cole 23
Kiernan McGuire 22
Peter Lester 22
Andy Sessions 21
Elizabeth Eppler 21
Rob Kelley 21
Doug Hall 17
Paul Keys 17
Rachel & Robin Bordoli 17
Angela Fee 15
Annetta Stroud 15
David McCarthy 15
Dave Fee 15
Everett Harper 15
Jon Chapman 15
Julie Mikuta 15
Karen Fee 15
Michael Fee 15
Pam Stover 15
Anne Mahle 10
Brandon Correia 8
Don Fee 8
Steve Earhart 8
Jordan Cantwell 2
Greg Widmyer 0