TdF Update

After one of the toughest stages in this year’s Tour, the general classification remain mostly unchanged. Discovery allowed Alexandre Vinokourov to break early in the stage, and the T-Mobile rider beat Columbian mountain goat Santiago Botero at the finish. The pair finished roughly 2 minutes ahead of the yellow jersey group, but after his terrible ride on yesterday’s stage, Vino couldn’t even crack the top 10 in the GC. He has, however, roughly matched the deficit held by his teammates, a little over four and half minutes behind Armstrong.

Despite the relatively quiet stage, the Discovery again exterted its strength by keeping several riders with Armstrong on the final Hors Categorie climb, including George Hincapie, who generally isn’t considered a climber. The pesky Michael Rasmussen is still only 38 seconds behind Armstrong in the GC, and he will likely be marked by Discovery as the race enters the Pyrennes this weekend, though he shouldn’t be a factor during the final time trial.