And into Italy we go

July 20, 2008

Stage 15 is where the heat gets turned up on the riders. The hills become alive with the whir of the cassette and the riders start to feel lactic acid build up in their legs.

Little climbers will go skyward and sprinters will abandon the tour. In fact, I’ll check with race radio in a second to see if there really are 157 riders left in the Tour at the start of this stage.

Also, even with six stages left after today, the riders get one more rest day tomorrow and then it’s north toward Paris.

If you’ve been slouching and not paying attention, the only think you’ve missed so far are two doping scandals, one team abandoning the race (an entire team), a rider from the UK winning FOUR stages and Australian Cadel Evans solidifying his hold on the overall lead.

This will be dual posted at JeffCutler.com and at TDF08.com. But if you’re rabid for racing news, come on over to TDF08.com for regular stage updates.

As always, no spoilers until after 9PM EST.