Only two days into the Tour de France, and already more drama than in years past. Day one, Englishman David Millar of the Confidis team was on his way to capturing his second ever Tour prologue, a good ten seconds ahead through most time checks, when his chain came off. His team had decided to do away with the inner chainring up front, and in doing so, removed the front derailleur. The cobblestones of Paris shook the chain off his chainring. He managed to reach down to replace the chain without losing any fingers and sprinted hard, nearly winning anyway. He finished second.
Today, in stage two, with just a few hundred yards to the finish line, in a right hand turn, a Kelme rider's foot came out of his pedal and took out FDJeux's Jimmy Casper. With everyone sprinting in a pack for the finish, that one fall triggered a massive pile-up. Sadly, the two leading American contenders not named Lance, Tyler Hamilton and Levi Leipheimer, both sustained serious injuries and are probably out of the race. Hamilton, the CSC team leader, broke his collarbone, and Leipheimer, the Rabobank team leader, broke a bone in his back. Both are former teammates of Lance Armstrong on the USPS team and looked to contend for podium spots. It's a real shame for the Americans and confirmation that nothing is guaranteed for Lance in the drive for five.
Lance is okay. He went down in the crash and sustained some road rash, but nothing more serious than that. His bike was no longer rideable, so he borrowed his teammate Chechu's bike to cross the finish. Armstrong sits in 7th, still in great position to attack in the mountains. Tomorrow I head off to Switzerland and then France to catch the Texan in action.