
Leopard Trek had the gangster strategy today. It was executed flawlessly. Put 2 riders in the breakaway knowing that Andy will attack. Then have those 2 riders pull Andy to the end. That strategy gave Andy the 2nd overall, stage win, and 15 seconds behind Voeckler. BMC, Saxo Bank, and Europcar failed today. How did you not prepare for that Leopard attack? Actually, I take that back. I'm pretty sure they knew it was coming, just not that early.
Ain't no bike change is going to get you the yellow jersey. Just sayin' Conti. OH, and learning english probably won't hurt. Just sayin'. I have no idea what's wrong with the defending tour champ. For the past 2 weeks he's appeared sluggish. Maybe the crashes in the 1st week affected his mentality. I dunno though. Yesterday he looked like he may be returning to proper form, but from what I 've seen to day. He's dunzo.
Voeckler had a nice ride in yellow, but with only 15 seconds on Andy Schleck. Expect the golden fleece to be off his shoulders soon. Team Leopard Trek is just too strong of a team. That one two punch combo from the Schleck brothers is just too much to handle for most teams.
Evans is a damn beast. At 34, he's riding in his prime. Pulling the entire peloton by himself to catch Andy Schleck. What trips me out is that road racing wasn't his first discipline (mtb was). But his GC years are dwindling fast. People were saying this was his year to win. With only a few stages left, I'm not sure Evans can be in the maillot jaune in Paris.
Tomorrow's stage (19) will be even more exciting than today's (18). With numerous GCs still in the hunt expect a gangster finish on the Alpe d'Huez. The rider who wins the Alpe d'Huez usually rolls into Paris the number 1 overall. Just like Carlos Sastre did in 2008. EXCITE I HAZ ONE.