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93rd Tour de France - presented by

Stage 10, Cambo-les-Bains - Pau, 193K

12 July

Dust Devil's Daily Wrap
Magnífico Miguel!

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

Today's stage was pretty much what I expected, except that I didn't think the French teams would fare quite so well. I mean they took the top two places, the yellow jersey and the climber's jersey in one fell swoop. Which bring me to my next point. The bicirace.com boys and I were trying to remember the last time someone took the yellow and polka dot jerseys on the same day. It was none other than Tricky Dicky (a.k.a. Richard Virenque) in 2003.

My hunch though is that Dessel dug pretty deep with today's exploits and will pay the price dearly tomorrow. I don't expect that he will keep the jersey beyond tomorrow. In store for the peloton are five categorized climbs over such brutes as the Tourmalet, Col d'Aspin and Peyresourde. This will be a golden opportunity for the big guns to inflict major damage on their opponents.

Word has it that Mario Cipollini popped up at the Liquigas bus giving advice to his ex-teammates on sprinting. This reminds me of a funny story I like to tell. Last summer my wife and I were vacationing in Lucca and we had just checked into our hotel. As we were walking out we both saw Cipo ride by solo after evidently having finished a training ride. He looked as fit as ever. The funny thing is nobody was paying him any mind. He was just riding along this neighborhood street as cool as you like. I was so dumbfounded that I couldn't even form the words "Cipo" to get his attention. My wife finally yelled it but he had just turned the corner. Oh well, I may not have gotten a picture with him or an autograph, but it's a memory I'll have forever.

Cipo had his share of critics out there, but can anyone honestly say that it't more exciting watching McEwen, Zabel and Boonen sprint? I think not. He could back up every bit of flamboyance with real sprinting prowess. That's what made him so enjoyable to watch.

~The Dust Devil