Stage 9 - Evans Elbowed Out of Race Lead

Poor Cadel Evans. As I blogged back in May, I've been warming to him recently. Despite the odd outburst, he's a quality rider, who seems to suffer from more than his fair share of bad luck. He was looking good in the Giro, but then got sick and it all went pear-shaped. Today, he started in the yellow jersey and aboard the obligatory yellow bike.

Then it all went pear-shaped when the road went uphill. It seems Cadel couldn't climb properly after he picked up a fracture in his elbow in that early crash on stage 8.



So, while Cadel was suffering and saying goodbye - yet again - to all hope of a major tour win, it seems to have turned into a two-horse race. Those two horses are, Alberto Contador and Andy Schleck. Or Bert and Andy.

In fact, if you can sit through all those commercials featuring the dour visage of Lance Armstrong, you can see their comedy double act on the TV during the Tour on Versus.

They're now sitting in first and second spots on the GC and seem to have shown that they are the strongest in the mountains. Now, it seems the only question is, which one will be in yellow come Paris? I'm sure they'll continue to battle it out over the rest of the mountains, not to mention that final time trial - where Contador is likely to slay Schleck for a couple of minutes.

And who will take that third step on the podium? At the moment, it's that Sammy Sanchez. But there's plenty of riders in the top ten who'll want to be under the number two. Chances are it won't be Brad Wiggins though. He lost more time today and is now some seven minutes behind Schleck. I know we all wanted him to do well, him being the great UK hope and all. I picked him for the Bile Beans more in hope than expectation, but at this stage in the race I'm not sure who I should have gone for instead.

So, to the scores, (also available in spreadsheet form, including Drew's team).

Still the Gherkins on top then, while just behind it's neck and neck with a bunch of teams hovering around the 2100 mark. Top score today went to Team OYFB, with an impressive 432, while Miffy's Random Riders could only manage a lowly 66. There's still plenty of race to come though, so there's plenty of time for teams to come good or go bad.

It will be stage 10 tomorrow then. Or stage dix, as they say in French. The race will be extra-French tomorrow, as it's Bastille Day. No more big Alpine climbs, so expect the big names to take it easy in the bunch and let a break get away to fight it out. Or will the sprinters teams try and bring the race together for a bunch gallop? As it's Bastille day, expect to see some Frenchies have a go at winning the stage and failing.