Life and Bikes – Tour de France

July 5, 2012



Biggest news today – as the Tour entered its sixth day – was the rumor that some cyclists had agreed to take a six-month suspension in exchange for their testimony against Lance Armstrong. One version of the story listed four ex-teammates of Armstrong, but as of this evening nothing has been confirmed. Here’s a link to one of the latest stories.

That’s said, the 2012 Tour de France continues.

In today’s action there was a crazy crash near the finish that swept up Peter Sagan and others and made the expected sprint finish even more exciting. In the end, it was AndrĂ© Greipel of Lotto who took the stage win. The crash kept the rest of the peloton together and there was no real change overall…except in how close the Green Jersey race is getting.

Mark Cavendish finished fourth in the stage – a little surprise – maybe because of his injured hand and maybe because of the way the road climbed slightly at the end. Anyway, it was the first time Greipel had handed Cavendish a loss, which makes it significant and might also keep Cavendish away from the stage-win record he’s chasing. That’s 34 by Eddy Merckx in his stellar career.

Tomorrow is Stage 6, a 207KM ride from Epernay to Metz that drops about 20 meters in elevation over the final four KM. This spells SPRINT to me…unless there’s finally a break that gets away from the pack and stays away.

Comments, guest posts, questions – all welcome. Chat again soon!