Dropping Like Flies

Di Luca out and now one of the bigger favorites remaining, Valverde is out with a broken collarbone. At this rate Julich might just end up on the podium again.

Never was there a bigger contrast then occurred in the drama at the end of stage 1. Hushvold crossing the line with a gash in his right arm that splattered viking blood all over Freire and then collapsed like a blood-stained warrior of old.

In the chaos some of you may have missed Casper's finish line celebration. He finally wins a stage after years of being one of France's better hopes of stealing a stage in the Tour but his celebration looked like a 10 year old girl who just opened a fabulous birthday gift. Just sad:

This is how a Frenchman celebrates a stage win in the Tour with panache:

Had a closer call than I care for on Saturday. I was out on some country road in bumfuck eastern NC with a couple of cars coming at me when I heard a vehicle coming up behind me. All no doubt doing 60+ mph. I moved as far right as possible because it was pretty clear this jack-ass coming up behind intended to squeeze thru. I guess at the last instant he decided better of it. So just as I'm bracing for the buzz by, I hear screeching tires behind me for a second. It happened so fast I didn't even have time to dive off the road. Suddenly there was a bumper 6 inches from my left leg just as the first oncoming car passed us. The guy hovers right next to me as the second oncoming car goes by and then overtakes me. He gives me one of those "sorry about that waves". I wasn't in the forgiving move, so I gave him the finger. I'm pretty good these days and usually just ignore stuff like this, but this got my blood boiling, I'll blame it on the adrenaline flowing thru my veins.