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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.

Well, let’s be honest. Stage 3 was BORING until the last five miles when a split occured with 27 riders in the lead group. This is why I recommend watching the last 20 minutes! It’s always the best part on these flat stages. Lance made it but a lot of other GCs did not, namely Contador. The professionals say the weather had a lot to do with the way things played out, and even I (untrained eye and all) could tell they were working hard and being blown all over the road. Team Columbia HTC really stepped up and made the finish exciting. Only two sprinters, Cavendish and Hushvod, made it into the lead group but Cavendish won easily once he turned on the juice. But why does he have to be so cocky? He made a sign of holding a phone up to his ear as he crossed the finish. Whatever.

Tuesday’s Stage 4 is the team time trial.  Again, it’s a race against the clock, but with all nine team members on the road, riding FAST, it should be exciting. I predict team Astana will take the lead with Columbia coming in second, followed by Saxo Bank. Stay tuned!

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.

If you don’t have cable, but you’ve got internet, you can follow all the action on streaming video. Check out cyclingfans.com (on the right side is a gray box, links for each day’s stage show up there). Here’s a sample of one of the free streams, (Versus is also offering some basic video as well as a pay version for HD/Video on Demand).

Watch live video from www.Soccer-live.webs.com on Justin.tv

Do not be put off by today’s individual time trial. This race against the clock sets the stage and establishes a sort of ranking as things get started. When everyone rides together there is a lot more excitement: bike crashes, break-a-ways, doping scandals, etc. Spoiler Alert: Lance started off strong but ended up in 10th place with his teammate Contador taking second and Fabian Cancellara coming in first. There has been a lot of speculation as to who the leader of team Astana will be: Armstrong vs. Contador but I think it is clear after today, the team should support Contador.

The sports commentator gang is back and in fine form. The Brits: Paul Sherwin and Phil Liggett are known for their flowery English descriptions of the riders and the action. The Americans: Bob Roll and Craig Hummer speak plainly but cannot pronounce French.

Tomorrow’s stage 2 will be more exciting than today, but if you are pressed for time tune in to the last 8-10 minutes for the final rush to the finish line!

One day to the start of Le Tour de France and it looks like QuickStep’s Boonen will get to race after all. Despite a positive drug test for cocaine, and the ASO decision to NOT let him ride in the tour, his appeal was granted. The Court of Arbitration for Sport of the French Olympic Committee (whoever THEY are) has decided he is in. So, the lesson is, if you break the rules but are very important to your team and your sponsors, it will be overlooked n’est ce pas? Remember last year’s theme song for Le Tour? Apparently, Boonen did not get the anti-drug message. 

The up side is, the tour will be more competitive with Boonen in the race and I’m all for that. The more competitors there are, hopefully, less coverage for Mr. I’m-retired-wait-no-I’m-not! Either way, Vive Le Tour!!!

Live coverage begins Saturday, July 4th 8:30 Eastern time on Versus. But DO NOT enter the Cervelo play to win sweepstakes. I’ve had my eye on that bike since  2003! Le vélo est à moi!