14 H 43 - Simoni Almost Quit...
Gilberto Simoni was dropped early in today's stage. The Saeco team leader has stated that he hasn't got good form at this year's Tour. And today he almost quit the race. He unclicked from his pedals, dismounted his bike and climbed into the team car at the 22km mark. After a brief discussion with his director, however, he got back out of the car (which was idle) and got back on the bike.
It took the two-time Giro d'Italia champion 27km to rejoin the peloton but, at this point in time, he's still part of the 2004 Tour.