This was the first boring stage of the 2011 Tour de France. Although it wasn’t great for this fan, I’m sure the riders enjoyed it.

Things did get exciting when a late breakaway occurred with the yellow and green jersey in it. The sprinters teams reeled them in though and the end of the stage culminated in a bunch sprint. Yawn.

The surprise ending was that Mark Cavendish didn’t win. His ex-teammate, Andre Geipel, beat him at the line. In a rare event for any sprinter, Greipel actually came off Cavendish’s wheel and out sprinted him to the line. It had to be a very satisfying win for Greipel since he played second fiddle to Cavendish when they were on the same team.

That was about all the excitement of the stage. I was hoping for green jersey wearer, Phillippe Gilbert to win and for Tour Leader, Thomas Voeckler, to pick up a little more time on the favorites but it didn’t happen. I was surprised Voeckler got away; just wish they would have worked together better because they possibly could have held the sprinters teams off. Oh well, there were no accidents to speak of – so a good day all in all.

Stage 11 will be similar to today’s stage, even less hilly so the sprinters will come out to play. Put your money on Cavendish he will be chomping at the bit to win after today’s loss to Greipel.

 

Tour de France Fantasy Cycling Challenge

For the Love of Bikes team (4loveofbikes) scored just 94 points in Stage 10 with riders Thomas Voeckler (50) and Phillippe Gilbert (44). Unlike most people playing this game, I didn’t change my rider roster during the practice stage. Personally, I don’t think there should be a practice stage, I think all the points earned during the Tour from the beginning to the end should count. Plus, four of my riders being out due to injuries didn’t help either. Oh well, play on and hope for better results in the mountains!