Finally saw riders pushing their bikes
 

Spoilers below

We got spotty coverage of the Tirreno-Adriatico here in Canada, but I will take anything I can get. There was a half-hour highlight show of stage 3, then it was repeated the next day when somebody screwed up. We got 2-hour coverage of stages 6 and 7.

There was a section of 27% on stage 6, and the cameras caught at least one rider pushing his bike up a section that was not quite that steep. Other riders were weaving back and forth across the road to lengthen the path, like I sometimes do. Never before seen the pros do that either.

Sagan beat Cavendish in a sprint on stage 3, which surprised me.

Fifty two riders abandoned on stage 6, and Andy Schleck was the first. He's got a long way to go if he is to contend for the Tour.

Nibali was outstanding on stage 6. He, Sagan and Rodrigues were an uncatchable trio in the final kilometres, with Sagan getting the win but Nibali taking a commanding overall lead into the final stage, a short time trial. Froome lost the leaders jersey with a time almost a minute behind the winners.

Tony Martin won the time trial and Nibali did enough to easily retain the title. Froome retained second while Rodrigues dropped from third to fifth, allowing Contador to take third overall.

On stage 3 there were a bunch of climbs approaching the end and Cannondale/Sagan attacked the pure sprinters to wear down their legs. Cavendish's team was gone by the end and he was drafting Sagan. Greipel was in front but didn't have the legs. Cavendish started his sprint too late, and was badly positioned, he didn't have enough room to get around Sagan until too close to the line, looked like he needed another 20 meters. Sagan is an amazing combination of speed and climber, he's not as fast as the Cavendishes in a flat sprint but if there's climbs leading up to the finish he's very strong. And he can climb too, witness stage 6. Brilliant rider.

If you have the opportunity watch some of the Belgian Ardennes classics starting next week. If its raining you can see half the peloton pushing their bikes