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07/13/2006: "Now the Fun Begins ..."

For the past 10 days, I've been watching the Tour de France and trying to suppress a yawn. I knew that the retirement of Lance Armstrong (who was apparently quite the stud hosting the ESPYs last night - we'll see on Sunday) would have a significant impact on the race, and the withdrawl and injury to many of the contenders would shake up the peleton. But even I didn't think it'd take until Stage 11 for a leader of the race to emerge.

A half-dozen guys had pulled on the maillot jaune before Floyd Landis got his chance, but none had Floyd's ability to keep it. Racing smart and steady on a day when many of the remaining favorites faded (George Hincapie was 18 clicks behind the leaders at the beginning of the final climb, for example), Landis finished the stage third just behind a surprisingly strong Levi Leiphimer. The charge left Floyd with an 8-second lead over yesterday's leader, Cyril Dessel, and over a minute on the rest of the field.

The other contenders, meanwhile, continue to collapse. The Discovery Channel team, desperate for a post-Lance leader and trying their best to put on a brave face, came apart at the seams today. Their best placed rider was 4'10'' off the winner, and the two riders vying for the team lead - Popovych and Hincapie - were 6'25" and 21'23" behind, respectively. Welcome to obscurity, boys ...

Next up are three relatively easy stages with a rest day before the classic climb up L'Alpe-D'Huez. If his Phonak team can protect his lead until Tuesday, Floyd Landis could put a headlock on the field with a dominant performance. We'll see ...