The Tour

Had Evans not ridden like a champion in the prior two stages, and really his performance all Tour was really impressive, I'd be ticked that he won in the race of truth. As it is, it's been a great Tour. I wish A. Schleck would have taken it all, but I think he erred in going with Contador on the Telegraph mistaking AC for his real threat when it was, pretty obviously, Cadel. Still, what Evans did was really amazing.

In any event, smarter people than me think so:

Reviews:

Who doesn't like a nice refreshing beverage, particularly when the day has been hot and sticky?  No one, that's who. Indeed, you judge a human society's generosity and all around greatness by the kind, quality, and quantity of its beverages. I like a nice seltzer or bubbly mineral water prior to the beer and/wine part of the evening. So when  I saw this:





I had to buy some. It's great. Sweetly, tart and very refreshing.

The Tour

Goodness me oh my. What drama and so forth. Thomas Volkler for battler of the century; nearly as exciting as Polidor.

Huh

Via everyone on the intertubes and their related nets:

The Tour

So I was wrong three times. When Andy Schleck got up and went, I thought: jesus, he's the second coming of Jan Ulrick; always attacking on the wrong mountain. When it became clear that Cadel was going to have to chase alone, I thought: Evans will lose another sixty seconds at least. When I watched A. Schleck stagger through the last km with that goofy, pain-stricken grin of his, I thought: Volkler is going to pop like a soap bubble and have to walk his bike in.

That was one cool stage.

UPDATE:
Thomas Volkler on his win:

“I was focused, that’s all,” he commented. “I had to be attentive to the wind and to the spectators who wanted to touch me. They hit my handlebars. I suffered but I followed the favourites. To keep the yellow jersey was beyond my expectations at Luz-Ardiden, then again at the Plateau de Beille, and now here at the Galibier. I’m not the kind of guy to congratulate myself. I do my job. I give everything. I can’t guarantee anything else to the fans other than the fact that I’m fighting. The suffering is enormous.”

The Immortal Eddy on Andy Schleck:

"It makes the history of cycling to see a rider like Andy Schleck take off from far away like that. It was risky, especially with the headwind, and what he did was the performance of a champion. He honours the grandeur of the Tour de France."

Citizenship is Too Good For Him

This:


Is Murdoch's Times of London's response to the scandal. Deport the bastard.