If you bet on Valverde to win the Tour

you lost your money today. There were several key cyclists whose Tour ended today: Valverde, Fast Freddie, and Erik Dekker. Very sad to see these guys go down; I really was hoping Valverde would be a serious GC threat. Now an American win looks more likely. Can't rule out Cadel Evans.

Also, I was wondering if Phonak was going to attack today; it's probably too early to do so, but Landis was at the front. Then again, given how many problems occurred in the peloton, it was a wise move.

I was really happy to see Kessler pick up the win - but I admit I feared he'd have a repeat of yesterday's experience when he was caught with less than 100km to go.

Oh, did anyone notice the reference to there being TWO captains for Gerosteiner? Totsching AND Leipenheimer? What's that about??????