Originally Posted by michaelmc

I've had a ton of respect for Gerdemann since last year's TdF Stage 7. He was climbing the Colombière in a two-man breakaway, then shot away from the other guy (Fovonov) as if he were standing still 5k from the top. He descended like a madman with his torso more or less below the saddle, and solo'd into a first-place finish with a huge circle of salt around his lips from dehydration. He didn't even get off the bike before he was carried into a trailer for, I hope, rehydrating. It was impressive and a half.