Is anyone else following the Tour? I'm following it on one of my cable channels, and it's pretty inspirational for getting out and training on the bike. Here's Mark Cavendish, a Brit who's done well so far.

Ah...Bullocks! I've beaten the other blokes!


Nice quads!

Kin Kirchen, a Luxembourger, maintains the overall lead.

Looks Good in Yellow!

From an Earlier Race:

I beat the Swiss by this much!

After stage nine yesterday, an Italian, Riccardo Ricco, won the day, but Kirchner is still over all, but he's not expected to remain so. Fast on his heels is Cadel Evans from Down Under and Christian Vande Velde is behind Kirchen by 44 seconds.

Ricco, aka "The Cobra:"



Evans took a tumble yesterday, shattering his helmet, but was largely unscathed. From this photo, whizzing by crowds, you can understand why they compare bike race falls to jumping out of a 50 mph speeding car in your underwear!



The "Looks Good" wagon didn't pass by Christian Vande Velde (or Vandevelde), the American.



At Stage One Vande Velde became a new superhero, "Argyle Man."



A fun picture from a past race:
Our aim is to please, your aim will help!

Evans nabbed the maillot jaune by a mere second today. Pretty impressive, considering that nasty crash he had yesterday. Cadel's such a conservative rider -- some would say a first class wheel sucker. His no-flash, no-dazzle style may just win him the race, though.

Can't stand Riccò. Alternates between braggart and whiner. Good for the press, but who needs another loudmouth? And how stupid to compare himself to Pantani, the doper who died of an OD.

I like VandeVelde. Handsome, nice guy, riding exceptionally well! If I remember correctly, he lost his first chance to ride the Tour (in 2000?) because a spider bit his ass the day before the race.

I miss Dave Zabriskie. He's home with a back injury from a crash. Cutest, funniest guy in the peleton. Well, except for that bizarre moustache he was sporting for a while.

Looking forward to watching on Versus later today. Anyone who makes it over the Tourmalet and Hautacam is a winner in my book.

I sort of remember that story, too! Made me jealous of the spider!

Here's a corrected link to that picture of Vande Velde as "ArgyleMan:"
Speeding to Aid A Damsel or A Dude in Distress!

Cadel Evans,The Aussie, captured the overall lead at the end of the tenth stage despite thinking that he might have had to pull out due to his crash on Sunday. Three Cheers for the OzMan!

Some other Americans who are racing are George Hincapie, Danny Pate, and Bill Frischkorn.

Hincapie:




Pate:
When you have an itch, you have to scratch it!

Frischkorn:
Auditioning to be "ArgyleMan's" Sidekick
Pate and Frischkorn are teammates of Vande Velde. Go Garmin Chipotle!

You were right about Ricco. Tossed from the race for doping, and the French police took him in. Third racer so far. At least they are serious about cleaning the race up.

Still makes you wonder about Lance Armstrong.

Just hope Vande Velde is clean! Evans, too.

There is no wonder about Lance, he simply was ahead of his time with technology and able to beat the tests. (From what I have heard)

Best,

Drew

I saw a recent interview with him about cancer research awareness and funding. He's a valuable spokesman for that. But success has gone to his head. He appears to be a celebrity hound, hanging with various actors, dating various actresses. He's kinda smarmy to me.

Doesn't surprise me, Coach!

The evidence is fairly clear that the top tier cyclists have been doping and/or using performance enhancing drugs for at least the past two generations.

If there is any hope for the sport, it's with the three teams that have set up internal anti-doping programs: Garmin, Columbia and CSC. Garmin in particular is using an independent testing agency to monitor their riders, which includes Vandevelde. I will be suspicious of CSC until Barne Riis retires, no matter how good a coach he has been.

As for Evans, the fact that he can't produce spectacular rides may just mean he's racing clean. That, and the fact that his team is so weak he is essentially riding alone. But he's a tough guy -- that crash a week ago cracked his helmet, ripped his jersey, injured a leg and left road rash on his arm.

I wonder if there is any evidence (either scientific or anecdotal) that steriod use has any link to testicular cancer?

Best,

Drew

In Armstrong's case I doubt it. It's not an atypical cancer in his age bracket. Steroid abuse over the long haul, of course, may be linked to certain cancers, testicular among them. Then again, I'm speaking as a layman...Any oncologists on this board?

BBC

I have heard there is a link, but I don't have any medical support.

I personally believe that everyone at the level is doping..........is easier for me to believe so I don't get too depressed when they get busted for it.

Drew

I was disappointed to see Vande Velde dropped today, but that climbing was brutal for everyone.

What stood out to me were the large stretches of road on the descent that had no guard rails. These boys are coming down mountain sides at 60 mph with nothing but a helmet between them and disaster. Augustyn was damned lucky not to get hurt today after he misjudged that turn and started sliding down the side of a mountain.

Tomorrow is the most demanding day of the Tour, with three legendary "beyond category" climbs: the Galibier, the Croix de Fer and L'Alpe d'Huez. For me, this event is less about winning than seeing how far athletes can stretch their abilities. And I can't imagine anything harder than what's shown in this profile.

The scenery was truly dramatic and hair-raising today. I saw Augustyn go down. His bike kept going. It's a pity about Vande Velde!

Sastre's win today demonstrates how having a strong team can give a rider a big advantage. Still, winning by more than two minutes over the best in the field on the steep slope of Alpe d'Huez? Spectacular rides in recent years have often been the result of something other than team work and training.

Evans continues to impress me, riding more or less alone and taking everything the leaders dish out. Vande Velde made a fine comeback after a disappointing ride yesterday.

Was it me, or were there an awful lot of shirtless men along the roads today? I thought mountain stages were cold. In fact, riders were putting newspaper in their jersey to stay warm on the descents.