Wednesday Night at the Oval, and Tour Chatter

Gee, the NASCAR course is considerably easier than the P course. Imagine that. I think I finished in the top twenty. If I could actually sprint, I may have done better. Good fun, though. Maybe I’m not ready to give up on the Oval just yet.

Really impressive ride by Thor Hushovd. Though he finished the stage in the first gruppetto (ahead of Cadel Evans?), Hushovd took the green jersey competition by the horns today by breaking away over not one, but two category one climbs to take maximum sprint points. Mark Cavendish may win every contested sprint in this Tour, but Hushovd proved he deserves the green jersey. Cavendish, of course, will complain ’til Paris (and beyond) because he was relegated for dangerous sprinting earlier in the week. Yes, Cavendish is likely the best sprinter in the world, but he is beyond arrogant, and still several years out from being a genuine contender for the green jersey.

Also, a fine ride today by the Schleck brothers, who pushed Bradley Wiggins and Lance Armstrong off the podium with a strong ride. Yes, Alberto Contador hung on, and likely benefited from their attacks (neither Schleck is a particularly good chrono rider, so they would need huge day on Ventoux to take the yellow jersey). He did manage to further sow seeds of discontent with the rest of Astana when he attacked late in the stage and managed to drop his only teammate in the break, Andreas Kloden. Of course, Contador clearly didn’t need any help sticking with the Schleck brothers, but I’ll be curious to see how Ventoux shakes out.

I also don’t think, unlike most of America, that Armstrong has much of chance in the time trial tomorrow to make back time for the podium. Yes, he’ll ride better than Frank and Andy, but I suspect that they will go absolutely nuts on Ventoux and dump everyone but Contador. And I suspect, as the media has hinted, that if Contador goes into Ventoux with a healthy lead, that he will be more than happy to work with the Schlecks to bury Armstrong and the rest of Astana.