An Amusement & Diversion for The Genteel Cyclist. Daily.

Sunday, July 15, 2007

The lede-out, stage 8: Everything you need to know about the TDF today


King of the Mountains has arrived and taken both jerseys.

Michael Rasmussen--forever known to Phil and Paul as a "former mountain biker"-- took a commanding lead in today's triple-summit stage, putting about 4 minutes into most of the GC contenders. Vino, Klöden, Mayo, Leipheimer--they'll all most likely reel that deficit in by the time the Pyrenees roll around. (Certainly by the TT, anyway. Rasmussen is a twig of a man who simply cannot generate the same power working solo on the flats.)

The tragic story of the day was Michael Rogers, who'd escaped with Rasmussen and was the virtual yellow jersey for many mountainous miles. Alas, the T-Mobile Aussie crashed during an aggressive descent and probably broke a wrist. From where we were sitting, it looked pretty manly: Rogers put everything on the line to gain yellow. The downside of risk is... well, the downside of risk. He put everything down on the road, including his bike and the rest of his tour. He lost the gamble.