Moving day at the TDF

Tomorrow morning is moving day at the Tour de France. It's not just a mountain stage, where the contenders and pretenders are clarified, but an uphill finish, one of only 3 in this year's Tour de France. The teams of Sastre, Menchov, and Schleck(s) may attack, but one of the likely scenarios may have Armstrong and Contador at the end, alone, going head to head. Even if you throw in one of the other contenders, if Lance and Alberto are in the lead group on the final mountain competing to win the stage, it will be one of the most intriguing stage finishes in Tour history.


Those in the know in cycling mostly favor Contador, a great climber in his prime, but all are cautious about counting out Armstrong despite his being 37. If one of them wins decisively tomorrow, it may be the winning blow as Team Astana may rally around that winner as team leader, effectively ending any intra-team competition.


So if you're going to wake up and watch one stage of the Tour de France this year, tomorrow is it*. TV coverage starts bright and early at 5am PT.


*The other stage to watch would be Stage 20 on July 25, the penultimate stage of this year's Tour, as it ends with a mountaintop finish at Mont Ventoux, widely considered the toughest mountain ever ridden in the Tour. I rode Mont Ventoux my first year watching the Tour in person, and that mountain nearly killed me. Climbing that mountain remains one of the top 3 most punishing physical feats I've ever completed.