Break with Schumacher, Fedrigo and Ballan Stage 19: Roanne – Montlucon Carlos Sastre in yellow and Oscar Freire racing in green There was an early break with Martinez, Fedrigo, Schumacher and Ballan. Sylvain Chavanel finally won a Tour stage today so the French are happy. 

 Stage 18: St Etienne Burghardt outsprinting Barredo for the win in St Etienne Marcus Burghardt win in St Etienne  It was an exciting sprint with Marcus Burkhardt and Carlos Barredo playing cat and mouse the last kilometer until the finish line.  Burghardt won the sprint and Carlos Sastre is still […]

Stage 17: Alpe d’Huez Today was probably the best stage of the race so far.  The sky was blue all day, though a little bit cold on top of the mountain.  Carlos Sastre attacked early on the way up Alpe d’Huez and stayed away until the finish.  He won the […]

I had my last cappuccino in Italy this morning before leaving.   Today I drove the route over the first pass, the Col de Lombard which was a really long, narrow climb, filled with Italian cycling fans all on their bikes.  I stopped on the Col de la Bonette-Restafond, the highest road in Europe.  […]

Today was cold and wet in the Alps.  The route was practically deserted until we arrived on Prato Nevoso which is jammed with people, who will all be in front of us on the way down! I’m expecting a 4-5 hour traffic jam. There were some crashes on the descent of […]