I’m so sorry for having said all those wretched things about Floyd Landis. Yesterday, he certainly showed me some pain by faltering dramatically in the mountains. It was a terrible sight to see. Our little Mennonite churning the peddles slowly as all the other slaves chippered by, staring at the king in ruins. He had what the french cycling buddies call, a "fringale," a special kind of energy deficit you get if you don’t eat enough while riding. Horrible. I hate being hungry too. At least the "chicken," Michael Rasmussen, who owes that nickname more to appearance than to anything testicle-related, won the stage with great panache. Other winners of the Nardac Panache award are Carlos Sastre, for taking the initiative and exploding the peloton on the last climb, Axel Mercx, for sacrificing himself for his leader Landis throughout this most gruesome day, and finally Christophe Moreau, for also sacrificing himself for Cyril Dessel. Dessel looks prime to seize a spot in the top five, and perhaps the podium, if surprises are the name of this Tour.

Finally, my predictions for the Tour 2006: 1. Sastre 2. Pereiro 3. Kloden (revised after today’s stage to 1. Landis 2. Sastre 3. Pereiro).

Look for the time trials on Saturday to push Sastre over Pereiro, and the CSC to attempt something tricky on the HC climbs today. I think I’m in love with Bjarn Riis and his tricky domed head.

In other sports-related news, I’m going to have to give a solid nod to Gianluigi Buffon for staying with the Juve, despite relegation to the second league. Happy now Clémence? 

Update

Unbelievable! I turned on the television and Floyd Landis solo-attacked the peloton in the mountains. Is he trying to take his yellow jersey back even from ten minutes behind? He’ll have a more of a chance if he reaches the lead pack. OMG!! He’s reached the lead pack. This is really good news because it means Pereiro’s team will ride flat out to try and limit the time difference, leaving the field open for T-Mobile or CSC to attack for Kloden and Sastre. Great suspense on this stage!

Ok… the stage is over. That was amazing! Sastre really started eating into Landis’s time at the end but really lost it on a tight descent off the mountain. Pereiro keeps his yellow jersey but the Tour is far from over. The podium is effectively decided. One of those three, Landis being the favourite, will be the new King of the Tour. However, Sastre has been working on his Time Trials and his on the CSC team. Still, Landis’s incredible show of force and panache have completely revised all my previous statements. I’ve rarely seen such a beautifully courageous display of fight in the Tour. Wow!!! Not boiled bread at all.