Stage 9

Thank God for rest days! So say the Tour riders, though I say they’re nuts; if I were one of them I’d love the glamour of pro cycling so much that I’d hanker to jump on the saddle every day, even if I had just spent nine consecutive gritting my teeth in the bludgeoning heat, sideways rain – not to mention the Pyrenees themselves. I’d smile and thank my Directeur Sportif for the privilege!

Meanwhile, keeping up with these updates while holding down a day job, being a dad and trying to ride my bike here and there…now that’s cause for appreciation of a rest day. That and the fact that I’m on my last day in Laguna Beach, where I can’t seem to find Versus to save my life, and thus missed yesterday’s stage, just like Saturday’s.

Fortunately, it sounds like not much happened, nothing that shook up the General Classification. For all my waxing obsequious over the Tour organisers’ route-design innovation, it seems that one of this year’s nuances – placing some of the biggest, baddest mountains far before the stage finish lines – has led to yawn-worthy mountain stages. Not that it wasn’t exciting to see Sanchez surge ahead of his rivals in the break on Saturday, or to root for Pellizotti and Fedrigo to outlast the chasing pack some 70 km after the top of the Tourmalet, but what we’re all waiting for is the intra-Astana firefight – right? Whether Contador will attack again (he says he won’t), and whether Lance can match him (Andy Schleck says he can), and whether anyone else on the road can match them (I say…no, not Contador).

But first, some flat-ish stages, whereupon the Green Jersey battle royale will continue, Hushovd taking every non-sprinter’s opportunity to win the sprinter’s prize and Cavendish wondering why he didn’t stick with the track. Ah, the races-within-the-race – yet another Tour element I love.

Fedrigo’s pipping of Pellizotti yesterday earned Ajit 1.5% of the pot, as this was, technically a mountain stage, likely the first won by a Frenchman since Virenque. And with Nocentini still in yellow, the Maillot Jaune mini-pot moves forward another day, so that whoever takes it next will quickly gather up at least 4% -- probably more, as positions in the GC are unlikely to change in the next few days.

I’ll paste below the current winnings, FYI and FYE. Much, much more to come, of course.

Best,

Mike