Message #15679

[jim-ratliff]

My hat is off to those guys.  33 stitches from getting thrown into a barbed wire fence, and he's back on his bike after the rest day.

Very gratifying to see his teammates working to keep the polka-dot jersey for him by not allowing competitors to get climbing points.  And, seemingly, very respectful of the others not to try to take advantage of the situation.  More admirable than Contador's behavior last year when Schleck had problems.

And another great sprint finish yesterday.  I'm even beginning to understand that there actually strategy in getting the sprinter to the point where he has a chance to do what he excels at just as there is mountain stages and getting the GC guy to the point where he can do what he does best from the front of the pack -- but the culmination of the sprint is over with so quickly.