Stage 12 was the first stage where the favorites vulnerabilities or strengths in some cases were evident.

Obviously this is not the Alberto Contador we are used to seeing in the mountains of France. The guy has tired legs; he came in to the Tour with tired legs from the Giro d’Italia. He also has hit the pavement a lot but even that in part is due to being drained – from the Giro and from the boos by Tour fans.

Andy Schleck, top favorite for this year’s Tour, doesn’t look much better. He has struggled all year to find his legs and he continues to.

His brother Frank, however, isn’t struggling at all.  When he attacked yesterday just kilometers from the finish, he put the struggle in the others – he climbed with ease.

Yellow jersey holder, Thomas Voeckler, struggled big-time but he persevered the way only determined bike racers do and he kept the yellow.

Voeckler showed again today why he is not only a favorite in France, he’s a favorite among Tour fans and the riders. He is used to defying the odds too, there was no way he was going to lose that jersey on Bastille day.

The fact he had teammate Pierre Rolland with him at the end, crossing the finish line together, was incredible. Without Rolland, Voeckler would have certainly lost more time.

Their ride was the most impressive ride for me.

Team Leopard-Trek put the hammer down early and slowly shattered the peloton. Jens Voight continues to defy all odds – all understanding – just grinding it out in the front for what seemed like forever – until just a few were left. Did I say he is almost 40 years old?

Ivan Basso is obviously a serious contender. He will be on the podium this Tour I think. He’s another that seemed to climb with ease.

Cadel Evans was aggressive and although he lost a little time to Frank Schleck he continues to look strong.

Another impressive and phenomenal ride was by Sammy Sanchez, winner of Stage 12. Riders like Vanendert and Tom Danielson finished high and showed what appears to be a promising future in the Tour. It has been expected of Danielson but this is the first opportunity he’s had to come to the Tour. It certainly won’t be his last.

All in all, Stage 12 did not disappoint. It shook up the General Classification but not in a big way. Stage 14 is the next stage that looks to define the podium finishers in a significant way.

Stage 11 was a day for the sprinters and the requisite breakaway. Although to be fair, this breakaway of 6 worked well together and put the peloton through quite a bit of pain to catch them just before the finish – so kudos to the breakaway.

Kudos to Mark Cavendish too, who on a perfect bunch sprint kind of stage (albeit a rainy one) made the win look pretty easy, it certainly wasn’t close.

The real fun starts tomorrow –  MOUNTAINS.

And, not just any any mountains, but the Pyrenees.

Tomorrow is a particularly tough day with 3 major climbs, starting with a category 1 climb, followed by the HC rated (so bad, it is beyond category) Col du Tourmalet and then just to make sure no one has anything left, another beyond category climb, the Luz Ardiden with the finish line at the summit.

Whew!

Another factor that will play into Stage 12 is tomorrow is Bastille Day, France’s national day. That means the French riders and teams will want to make a good showing and if they can’t do that at least get in a breakaway so they can get camera time. Look for French national champion, Sylvain Chavanel, to be in the mix too.

For Tour leader and Frenchman, Thomas Voeckler, Bastille Day will play out differently. It will certainly serve as extra motivation to keep the yellow jersey; tomorrow will be so challenging he’ll need all the help he can get. For any rider losing the yellow jersey is tough, but for a Frenchman to lose it on Bastille day would be especially grim. Voeckler is one tough bike racer and will try his hardest to keep the lead and the malliot jaune.

Other things to look for:  Contador will try to gain minutes to reduce his deficit to the Schleck brothers and Cadel Evans as well as other well placed GC (general classification) riders. The Schlecks and Evans will most likely cover those so I don’t expect a major shakeup between the favorites. The favorites will most likely just check each other out, looking for signs of vulnerability and bide their time.  But who knows, in this Tour anything can happen.

The thing we can count on happening tomorrow – a grueling and exciting day of racing.

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!

This is how the yellow jersey wearer relaxes on a rest day at the Tour de France. (photo from VeloNews)