I still think Cadel looks pretty good for the GC. We'll see tomorrow if anyone can gap him, then the TT should be his.

This has got to be one of the best tours in a long time.

Simply amazing! A bold move by Andy and it paid off. My take is that this all came down to a gamble that Contador would crack. If he had been in good form, he would have been able to either pull in the mid-race break or sit back and then explode in the last 10K to catch Andy and leave him and the rest behind. But they must have felt strongly that with enough pressure, the ghost of the Giro effort would arise and put Contador down. They were right! He's toast now.

Big effort by Cadel to pull the chase group and limit the losses. I don't think anyone can accuse him of being a wheelsucker today. That type of response was a dream come true for Voeckler and he hung in there again to keep the yellow yet again. Unbelievable.

Great result for Andy, but I think this puts Cadel in the driver's seat. Andy needs more than this 57 second lead going into the ITT. Will he be able to do that tomorrow after today's effort? Possibly, but I don't think so.

Tomorrow ... someone will win, (or lose), this year's edition of the TdF. Meaning, by this time tomorrow, we will know who the eventual winner will be. As George said, the best Tour in years.

There's also the Frank S. card, too; he had a relatively "easy" day today. If he's on good form, he could rip some legs off tomorrow, and I doubt either Schleck would care if the other attacked him as long as one of them wins GC in the end. If Evans is within a minute of whoever's leading after tomorrow's stage, then, yeah, I guess you have to look to him as the favorite for yellow on Sunday.

looks like the music cycled on AC's Ipod. Muct have been expecting "we are the champions" and got "another one bites the dust". What a roll of the dice Andy made on a monsterous climb.

Rats!

My tivo ran out of time before Andy ran out of miles. Then my TV refused to televise the 11:00 version on it's whole screen. I had to watch the end of the race through my little preview window.

Probably.

But I am reminded of LeMond vs Fignon in '89.

Time trials do make a difference... sometimes.

I agree, Cadel is in the driver's seat. I really think he's the all round strongest rider out there. If Andy doesn't put a serious cushion between Cadel and Tommy, well - it's podium for Andy, I think, but not in yellow. Voeckler just continues to amaze me! What an inspirational rider! I'll hands down give him my coveted "Prestigious Best Suffer Face in the Pelloton Award", and you know what - he's really throwing it all down. What an athlete! What heart!!

I totally agree, what a great Tour this year!

Maybe, maybe not. The ITT could still play a big part.

Voeckler needs to buy Cadel's dinner tonight, if it was not for the pull and the pace Andy would be wearing the yellow. I don't think Voeckler could have done it on his own, he barely did it with help.

I agree with some comments above ... a great TdF.
Terrific performance by A Schleck today, no question; I'm not a fan of the brothers S., but one has to admire the move.
Voeckler: who cares if he rode Cuddles' pace; he has put in the gutsiest performance, all things considered, all round ... no matter what happens tomorrow/Saturday -- Chapeau.
What I am most pleased about is Cuddles' effectively limiting his losses; if (IF) he can do the same tomorrow, and come out within a minute or so of AS/FS, all else being equal he should be able to move into yellow after the ITT.

I am in awe... Leopard Trek did amazing things today, and tomorrow it will be more of the same, only this time it will be Frank that goes on the offensive, and everyone else will be marking Andy, so he might get away... reminiscent of when Sastre won Alp d'Huez a few years ago... Frank was in yellow, and Carlos launched his bid and won. my earlier prediction of Contador, Sanchez (not Sousa) and Evans (not necessarily in that order) seems to be totally off... but who would have expected Andy to do what he did today? Allez Andy! and here's to VOekler...impressive that he is still in it. However, anyone else can do tomorrow what Andy did today. It is a great tour with a lot of excitement, and a half dozen guys or so that still have a legitimate shot at the podium.

train safe-

Very rarely does one do it on his own; that's why they ride on teams. Having another rider do work from which you benefit is not at all uncommon. Twice that I've seen, A.C. had Sammy Sanchez doing work for him. But, yeah, I might buy Cadel a beer or dinner.

Maybe the best suffer face, but Cadel's war face was, IMO, much more impressive. I've never seen him look so, well, almost angry. His face was practically a cartoon pose, like something out of an old Sgt. Rock comic book.

Don't forget that Cadel and the others have ridden quite a few miles behind the lead of Voeckler's teammate (can't remember his name).

I need a blood transfusion after watching that suffer fest at altitude. That was badass.

Yes, no one wins this race on their own.

Unbelievable. I just spent a weekend riding at 7-9,000', of course not putting in near the effort they have, and it's amazing what the lack of O2 does. Your heart just won't work at that altitude. Some stupendous efforts...

So tomorrow the race of truth really becomes the race of truth for this year's TdF. I can't wait. What great entertainment this has been.

It has been indeed ... and the ITT tomorrow really is the 'decider', after all this.

Since this is a Contrador thread and I was late to work this morning 'cause I stayed home to watch the climb up Alp D' Huez... I have to say Contrado is winning me over. I never liked him; was always suspect of his skills and didn't like his swagger but he is showing me that he is a champion, regardless of his position in this race. Coming off the Giro I am surprised his placement in the Tour and his ride today, was courageous.

It hurts me to see Voecker lose the yellow jersey... you could see in his face everyday, wonder that he still had it. He tied hard, way beyond his capacities, every day to keep it. Today was no expection... he should be proud of his performance. As to the Schlenks and Evans, oh hum, bored of them already. I guess I want Cadel to win but I am not excited about it. To me, the stars this year were Thor, Thomas and Alberto and my favorite Mark Cavendish. Hope he made it through the mountains today... any one if he made the cut off?

He is still shown as the green jersey leader on the offcial website, so he must have.

I believe I would have had more respect for AC if he hadn't had his lawyer postpone his hearing on drug use till after the TDF. If for no other reason than if he would have won but lost his hearing it would have been a bummer for for the next two guys on the podium.

I get that but... it doesn't take away the heart he displayed today... I look at those drug hearings as something separate and apart from the Sport of Cycling... if it's later determined he used, then my opinion of him will be different.