Today will be remembered as the ‘duel of the Tourmalet’. Schleck vs Contador, Contador vs Schleck. They crossed the finish line together after 5hr 3min of riding head to head. Contador took Schleck’s wheel most of the way up the 21km climb to the Tourmalet finish and only made one brief surge for a break away. Schleck showed he was Contador’s match on this, the toughest, of mountains today.
But alas, he has no hope of taking the yellow jersey now with only a flat ride and a time trial to come. The title will go to Contador on the podium in Paris – barring an unforeseen catastrophe.
The crowds on the route and final climb were as crazy as ever – and remarkably resilient for the cold, wet conditions. Most people in the final 15kms had been on the mountain for at least 3 days and some as long as a week.
As the tour heads for its denouement in Bourdeaux and then final transition to Paris, most of the suspense has gone but the caravan, hype and riding continues. Armstrong looks like bowing out, so this will be a bit of a testimonial to him over the last few days.
We had a rest today – no riding, especially because it was so wet and opted to watch the duel on TV. It was humbling to see the riders go over some of the same climbs and through the same towns as we have in the past few days. Humbling - because they are true athletes and ride at such a phenomenal speed and output rating hour after hour. Then back up and do the same thing again the next day, no matter what the weather. We are fortunate to ride in their shadow and share in just a bit of that reflected glory.
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