2 more days for the sprinters, then we hit the Pyrenees. France celebrates the rest day with one of its countrymen, Thomas Voeckler in the yellow jersey, and crashes, crashes, and more crashes.
A former pro rider I spoke to last year said he felt that the 2010 tour was the cleanest (From a doping point of view) in years. He reasoning was that the number of crashes early in the 2010 event was an indication that riders were not recovering as quickly after the stages as in past years, and the fatigue coupled with the nerves in the first week was causing the crashes that impacted some of last years favorites including Lance.
If you follow that reasoning, this year is the cleanest in decades. There have spectacular, and dangerous crashes on nearly every stage so far this year, with one of the most spectacular and senseless coming on stage 9 when a car carrying a TV crew for French TV, swerved to avoid a tree on narrow roads, and crashed into Spain’s Juan Antonio Flecha, who then nailed Dutchman Johnny Hoogerland who subsequently crashed into a barbed wire fence. Both riders ended up back on their bikes, and finishing the stage with Hoogerland taking the polka dots.
So after a rest/visit your buddies in hospital day, its two more days of sprint points, then the contenders, or who’s left of them, turn to come out and play.
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