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If you haven’t been watching, there is still time. Stage 15 started a whole new race in Le Tour. The first day in the Alps gave us the action we have been waiting for, as well as a resolution in the conflict about the real team leader of Astana. Alberto Contador kicked it into high gear (well, not literally. he was probably in a low gear, but that is how the saying goes…) on the last climb of the day, leaving a trail of the best riders in the sport struggling to catch up to him. Finally, we can put to rest the question: who is the leader of Astana? Even Armstrong had to admit, “Contador was the strongest man…” and so, pledged his support. 

The overall standings have Contador and Armstrong in one and two with teammate Kloden in fourth. Team Astana is really showing they are a Tour de Force and will most likely win the team competition.

These last few days will prove to be grueling for the riders and exciting for the audience as we watch them ascend and descend some treacherous terrain. Starting with 180 riders, we are down to 163 with the news that Tom Boonen abandoned today. But it’s not over until the Champs Elysees!

Desperate Housewives move over! The Tour is getting ugly with accusations of poor sportsmanship abounding. George Hincapie lost out on the yellow jersey today by 5 seconds and was bitterly disappointed. So bitter, he blamed Astana and stated he felt it was “disrespectful” for the teams to attack when they knew he was in the lead. I bet George wishes there had been a radio ban today! Armstrong was quick to say he wanted Hincapie to have the yellow jersey and was disappointed for him, blaming Garmin for the missed golden fleece. It would have been a great accomplishment for Hincapie who is riding his 14th tour. Maybe he’ll get the “lifetime achievement” jersey?

Thor Hushovd accused Cavendish of pushing him into the barriers during the sprint finish. The complaint actually got Cavendish disqualified from the sprint, putting him in last place. From the sound of it, this was not the first time Cavendish has behaved poorly.

Oh, Yeah, who won? Serguei Ivanov took the Stage 14 win. A quiet Russian rider I have never heard of, but who apparently has been on the tour for 8 years. Who knew?

Stage 13 was like a whole new race simply due to the fact that the sprinter’s can’t climb. I love how cocky Cavendish is during a sprint and yet he was in the autobus pulling his ass over the mountain today. The Australian/German Haussler won his first stage win after a successful break away today. His victory salute was the most touching,  honest and humble  I have ever seen in this sport.

ION- Levi Leipheimmer was unable to start today due to a broken wrist! Levi fell just before the finish line yesterday but mounted and finished the race. That evening it was discovered it was actually broken and he needed to have surgery today. Poor Levi was a GC and one of the strongest guys working for Armstrong. The mountains may prove a bit harder without the wingman!

Check out bicycling.com for all the news that is going on…and there is A LOT of news: two riders got hit by pellet guns today, the drug testing, radio ban, etc. It’s good stuff. Like a soap opera condensed into 21 days.

Today is what the Tour de France is all about: the winner was not one of the GC but someone who has been paying his dues and supporting his team (this year he’s fighting for the Schleck brothers) for SEVEN tours. Congrats to Nicki Sorenson of Saxo Bank. He made a break-a-way early on and then attacked again to ride to victory by himself, almost six minutes ahead of the peloton! Hallmark commercials, the Olympics and the underdogs winning a stage in the TdF make me cry! It was a great finish to a long day of racing.

ION- The radio ban has been lifted! Guess all the whining paid off because the tour organizers announced they have cancelled the second day with no radios.

Team Columbia HTC is working hard to position Cavendish in the right place at the right time and it’s paying off with two wins in a row for Cavendish. But why does Cavendish get all the glory? He basically sits back and enjoys the ride, while his teammates do the work, then sprints ahead at the last few seconds and takes the win. Yes, he’s fast. No doubt he is doing his job as a sprinter, but his victory salutes as he crosses the line are getting to be a bit much. Let Hincapie (remember him? he led Armstrong to seven tour victories) have some credit! There should be a jersey for the best lead out/caretaker guy. That would be Hincapie. Cavendish should salute Hincapie in his victory salutes!

Stage 10 was supposed to be controversial as there was a radio ban, but the riders didn’t seem too upset. The directors were more irritated than anyone else. Perhaps they get bored following the race with no input allowed? There was a rumor that the race was “shut down” and the riders decided to just stick together and not do anything exciting in a protest of the radio ban. And it did seem a bit slow, but to the casual observer (me) there wasn’t much difference. C’est la vie!

Can you believe there are places in America that do not have high-speed internet? Unreal, I know. So here is the quick recap of the first nine stages of the Tour to catch you up and get you excited about week TWO! I’ve missed a couple of exciting days but there are plenty to come.

Stage 1: BORING. Time trial. Cancellara “came off the mountain like a missle” (according to Phil) to take the yellow jersey.

Stage 2: EXCITING sprint finish! Cavendish, self-proclaimed “fastest man on two wheels” wins it.

Stage 3: EXCITING Windy day splits the field. Cavendish wins again. Armstrong moves to 3rd place overall.

Stage 4: EXCITING Team time trial. Goal: Get five of your nine team members across the finish line as fast as possible. Astana wins easily. “Spartacus” a.k.a. Cancellara stays in yellow. Armstrong moves to 2nd. Contador in 3rd.

Stage 5: UNBELIEVABLE Thomas Voeckler, a French guy, wins the stage. He’s incredulous as he looks over his shoulder on his way to the finish line. The commentators, too, are incredulous. A French guy? Winning a French race? Wow. No change in the overall standings.

Stage 6: RAIN DAY lots of crashes, “God of Thunder” Thor Hushovd wins.

Stage 7: SURPISE 1st mountain stage.  Astana leads the pack, Paul and Phil are sure that Contador will not attack. Then Contador ATTACKS pushing Armstrong to 3rd overall. Bob says, Contador can’t help himself, it’s like a “scorpion trying to tame his sting.” Armstrong says that “wasn’t really the plan” but wasn’t surprised. Nocentini takes the yellow jersey from Cancellara.

Stage 8: ANOTHER SURPRISE. Sanchez, from Spain, takes the stage. Sanchez? Who’s he?

Stage 9: THOSE FRENCHIES do it again. Fedrigo takes the stage after a long two-man lead out. Overall standings do not change.

Phew. ‘Nough said. See you after Stage 10.

Yesterday’s stage 2 ended with the sprint finish we all expected. Cavendish, the self-proclaimed fastest man on two wheels, pulled ahead at the end for an impressive race to the finish. Tyler Farrar came in second but watch for him in every sprint as he HAS beaten Cavendish before. The overall standings for the top ten remain the same as the sprinters were not placed very high after the time trial.

Today’s stage 3 is well underway but with another long, flat finish it looks like it will be another sprinter’s race. I’m rooting for Farrar but think Cavendish will win again if they catch the break-a-way.

i can’t really blame the TPB guys for throwing in the towel — those crafty swedes been fighting the good fight for a long time, against some real heavies. what’s galling is this ludicrous, self-serving statement they’ve posted:

As all of you know, there’s not been much news on the site for the past two-three years. It’s the same site essentially. On the internets, stuff dies if it doesn’t evolve. We don’t want that to happen.

We’ve been working on this project for many years. It’s time to invite more people into the project, in a way that is secure and safe for everybody. We need that, or the site will die. And letting TPB die is the last thing that is allowed to happen!

heck yes! that would be a disaster. and inviting a for-profit corporation with plans “to introduce models which entail that content providers and copyright owners get paid for content” to the table sure sounds like a terrific way to foster innovation and maintain the vitality of the site. it’s how napster has managed to stay atop the technocultural-relevance heap all these years, after all. unless…

If the new owners will screw around with the site, nobody will keep using it. That’s the biggest insurance one can have that the site will be run in the way that we all want to.

mm hmm. maybe this is just me being cynical, but bear with me for a second. do you think maybe it’s possible that the new owners — whoever the fuck they are — don’t particularly want or expect the site to succeed? that a lot of very wealthy and powerful interests have already spent years and millions trying, precisely, to create a situation where “nobody will keep using it”? i’m not sayin’, i’m just sayin’: haven’t some unscrupulous characters been known, at times, to take out “insurance” on properties that then mysteriously burn down?

naaah! those guys would never intentionally mislead us in order to put a transparently cheerful spin on their total annihilation in court, and certainly not in adorable skwisgaar-like broken english. just look how excited they are about this great new opportunity:

TPB will have economical muscles to let people evolve it. It will team up with great technicians to evolve the protocols. And we, the people interested in more than just technology, will have the time to focus on that. It’s win-win-win.

… I hope everybody will help out in that and realize that this is the best option for all. Don’t worry – be happy!

golly! i, for one, can’t wait.

i can’t wait to read cheney’s memoir.

There’s a really interesting post on MyDD that addresses some of the history in Somalia. It makes it quite clear that the residents of that area have every right to be seriously pissed off. Yet another instance of imperialist thought gone awry, and more dead bodies, the only foreseeable outcome. I wish I had more to comment, other than to say it seems like the current situation is surely going to be repeated.