Ventoux

Although the race up Ventoux was fun to watch, I got the feeling that the Tour organizers outsmarted themselves by putting it on the penultimate day after a back-end-loaded final week of mountain stages. Those guys were worn out, and they were all playing defense, except for Frank Schleck, who was probably the most worn out of the top 7. Still, the race was tense even if it didn't produce huge time gaps (well, unless you are named Evans, Sastre, or Menchov).

With Garate winning the stage, Rabobank finally has something good to take from the Tour. Otherwise, they might have found themselves in the Abandon category of my team evaluation.

Tomorrow the green jersey is up for grabs. There are two intermediate sprints that Cavendish ought to try to take if he intends to close the gap on THOR!.

When it's all over I'll name a TdF All-Star team and evaluate the teams. In the meantime, check out Jens Voigt's Halloween costume.