Well, I got pretty much everything I wanted out of today's gnarly mountain stage. Shattered peloton, a Columbian climber, and Chris Froome sipping a pina colada and checking his watch while waiting for anybody else to cross the line. OK, it wasn't quite that bad, but it could have been. After a truly impressive attack on the HC Col de Pailheres by young Nairo Quintana (new holder of the White jersey), Froome told everyone to just chillax while he shows them what riding is all about. I give him this, I never thought Bradley Wiggins did work on his own last year, which is one of the reasons I didn't care for him. Today, Froome truly took it in his own hands on the way up Ax 3 Domaines, and earned the yellow jersey for himself.
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| Froome is all alone up there. Also, eat a sandwich, man. |
What I was missing from today's stage? Tejay! Tejay, where are ya brah? He finished over 12 minutes back (which wasn't that bad compared to the sprinters... seriously, Froome might've changed and headed to the hotel before Cav finished). On the other side of the coin... Talansky! Dude only finished 2:34 back, and now sits in 12th overall. Get it!
Abandons
Besides Ted King the other day, the Tour now has 11 abandons, sadly including Christian Vande Velde, who couldn't get over some injuries sustained while riding. Other notables include Janez Brajkovic, Fredrik Kessiakoff, and Jurgen Van Den Broeck. Geraint Thomas (Sky), however, is still racing with a fractured pelvis, as is Tony Martin who I mentioned after stage 1 (and I saw a quote from the team doctor stating "There was just no skin left on his elbow that we could stitch.” Mmm).
But can I just say:
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| Above, current standings. Below, my initial prediction. |
Parting Thought: "GC is over." ~ Cadel Evans
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