FTDF Stage 16 - Thor is Stylish in Gap

There was no sign of the Curse of the Rainbow Jersey today, as Thor Hushovd took another stage win on the road to Gap. He's having a great race this year.

It was yet another tough day. The rain came down, and the pace stayed high, until a breakaway formed after 60km of non-stop attacks. As Thor and Ryder Hesjedal worked over Edvald Boasson Hagen on the way to the finish, there was finally some action amongst the GC contenders, on a stage that was expected to provide few surprises. So it was Alberto Contador who started it all with an attack on the final climb. Only Evans and Sanchez seemed to be able to stay with him, while the Schelcks and Voeclker were left behind.

The biggest loser of the day was Andy Schleck, who lost over a minute to some of his biggest rivals. It seems he thinks it's a bit unfair that a Tour contender should be expected to go downhill as well as up. He's in for another bad time tomorrow then, as the race will head from Gap.

To Pinerolo in Italy.

And after a healthy dose of Alpine climbs, poor Andy will have to go down another hill.

Oh, the scores. Well, I may still be king of the mini-league, but even Thor couldn't save me from the onslaught of the those other teams in the overall competition, and I'm down to third. Short of some kind of miracle tomorrow, I think I'll be slipping down some more.

Oh well, so much for my main team. I've just picked a Live Scores Bile Beans team for the Alps, and after a poor showing in the Pyrenees, I'm sure the new squad will earn me some hard cash in the next few days.