Sleeping Through a Bike Race

I slept through a concert by The Cult once. In the ninth row. I was tired, the seats were comfortable. I think the fact that I slept through basically the entire Tour stage this morning pales in comparison. Besides, Chris said it was boring.

Frenchman David Moncoutié won from a long breakaway - and no one in the breakaway was a threat to Lance's lead, so the break was allowed to go. I'm quite sure these stages are wonderful for the guys in the break (especially the guy who wins), but they're not terribly exciting to watch on television. The best story of the day, in my opinion, is that this is the first stage win for the French this year, and it happens to fall on Bastille Day. That's like an American team winning at America's favorite sport on the 4th of July. Great news for the home crowd.

Tom Boonen had to abandon the Tour today, unfortunately, as his knee was pretty badly injured in yesterday's crash. That means Norwegian Thor Hushovd is now the green jersey leader, and he has a 19-point lead on his nearest rival, Australian Stuart O'Grady.

I'd like to think I could stay awake tomorrow morning for Stage 13, but it looks like it'll be another day for a long breakaway. My consolation is that Saturday and Sunday look like they'll be really exciting. Again, I'm sure my opinion of them would be different if I were on a bike, but hey - the guys in the Tour have chosen their profession. They've made their bed. I'm just enjoying watching them lie in it.

(Yeah, that saying isn't working as well as I'd like it to, but you get the idea.)