The Tour

The Tour de France has been exciting to watch this year. I don't care for Cavendish, but you still have to give him his props for winning four drag races, with the beautifully choreographed assistance of his teammates. For GC focused fans (yours truly included), the first dozen stages have been fairly uneventful. Well folks, this is about to change, and maybe as soon as Friday. There are five or six stages in the next week that could yield some epic bike racing. Team Astana still has all the appearances of a shaky house of cards-Contador's little sprint at the conclusion of Stage 7 either was an act of an impulsive spoiled brat, or a declaration of exasperation over having Lance as a teammate. Armstrong has shown that he can hang on the flat stages, but the question of his climbing prowess has not been answered, in my opinion. I think he is relaxed & focused, but without the unquestioned loyalty of his team, I think he will have a very difficult week ahead. So, here are eDLoNNiE's predictions for the podium; 1) Contador, 2)Andy Schleck, 3)Armstrong.