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93rd Tour de France - presented by

Stage 9, Bordeaux - Dax, 170K

11 July

Dust Devil's Daily Wrap
Dos para Freire

Dust Devil's Daily Wrap, Stage List, Stage Profile, Photos

I wasn't too thrilled at the prospect of another sprint stage for today. I got to say though, that The Dust Devil was most pleased with the result.

For me, Oscar Freire is a lot like McEwen in that he is a very crafty sprinter. Neither has a sprint train that they rely on to deliver them to the line. Most of Freire's wins are the result of very smart riding and blazing speed. Plus, he is Spanish and for that reason is utterly cool.

After the stage, I saw an aerial view of the sprint and was blown away by McEwen's turn of speed. It looked like Boonen, Hushovd and Freire were going to lock horns for the final sprint. McEwen had to have been a good several bike lengths behind the trio. In the last few hundred meters he came out of nowhere. His turn of speed was absolutely ferocious.

My attention now shifts from the flats to the high mountains, and I gotta say I'm damn excited about that. I half expect the big heads of state to watch each other and not deliver too many death blows. After all, there is still another long TT in which to hammer the opponents. I'm thinking a little climber like Rujano, Mayo or Gárate will do something special. The boys in Orange (Euskaltel-Euskadi) really need to do something big. They are in their back yard and with thousands of orange clad Basques chanting your name, that has to give you some motivation.

Well, my inspiration is running empty just like my cup of espresso so I guess this is a good time to say ciao! A presto!!

~The Dust Devil