Falling down

I'm not going to lie, some days being a reporter covering the Luna  Cycles Big Deal Fantasy Tour de France presented by Uncle Chuck's New School Pregreaser, "Put some glide in your ride!" is just not the glamorous, rock star lifestyle that I pictured it to be. Sure, the drinks flow copiously, the women are beautiful and all too available, and the food and accommodations would make a sheikh envious, but some days on the Fantasy Tour reporting beat are a lesson in grim determination; the grim determination to maintain a level of sobriety and focus necessary to get the story of the day's stage down and out to the reader. Today was shaping up to be such a day, and then a major crash occurred that sent the hopes of many GC men to shatter on the pavement along with their bodies.

I am ashamed to say that I missed it. Missed it totally and completely. I had popped inside the cafe that was serving as my base of operations to order a bit more of the fabulous champagne that is produced in this region, which is coincidentally called Champagne. A lovely young female local was taking great delight in discussing some of the activities available to a reporter like myself, when a great gasp went up from some of the patrons clustered around a tiny television showing the Tour. I tottered over to see what I'd missed, only to find that I had missed one of the most stunning incidents to date in this year's Tour. Dear reader, I'm sorry. I know I promised to not miss any other momentous events in this year's Tour, but this time I really mean it.

Anywho, Cadel and Wiggo seemed to have skated through. Peter Sagan took it to the pure sprinters and won the stage with Gorilla Greipel finishing second with what may prove to be a dislocated shoulder. Chapeau, gentlemen! There is little shuffling in the top 3 of the LCBDFTdFpbUCNSP, but I must point out the astonishing rise of Team Mas Fuerte, which now sits in 7th place overall and following the donning of the maillot jaune by Sylvain Chavenal in tomorrow's first climby bit of this year's Tour, they should rise ever higher. Dig in to that bucket of chicken while you still can Quint Ervin 'cause Mas Fuerte is comin'...