Stage 5

Flat Flat Sprinter's stage

The break got going at 5k of 187.5k. Really, do you have a chance? That is a long day with just 3 guys splitting the work. I don't want to ride 100k with 20 people sharing the work. They did it until two of them were caught with 6k to go, and the third attacked and was caught with 5k to go. At one point they held an 8min gap. The peloton was drinking coffee and eating donuts, then they had enough and started the chase at 100k to go.

HTC, Cervelo, and Lampre went to the "sharp end" and got the party started. The work that they put in erased the gap and it turned into a spectator friendly sprint. (sorry NASCAR fans no crashes) Cavo did go back in time (I know for a fact Marty helped with Doc's DeLorean) and found his legs from last year's Tour. I'm pretty sure that he had an "extra" gear on today that he didn't have yesterday. It was nice to see Cavo get emotional on the podium. All is well in the HTC camp.

Thor has a pretty good hold on the Green that Petacchi gave up today.
Fabian is still holding down the fort in Yellow and will for a few more days, unless something crazy happens (with this Tour who knows?) he will keep it until stage 7.

Can Ryder take over Garmin's GC spot? Do they have a choice? Work for that guy, he's got a killer name, and he can climb. Tyler is not doing too bad, even with a bummed wing.

Other than a couple of Cat 4 climbs toward the end, tomorrow should end in a sprint finish. So, does Cav have it back? Thor is in Green, but I'm not seeing the great sprinter. YET? He is consistent, I'll give him that.