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93rd Tour de France - presented by

Stage 13, Béziers - Montélimar, 231K

15 July

Dust Devil's Daily Wrap
Super Jens!

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

Awesome! Jen Voigt is the rider I would most like to be like. He is such a powerhouse of a rider who is always ready and willing to put the hammer down and go 150% all out. Any team that has him on the books is getting a lot of return for their investment, that's for sure!

For awhile there around 10k to go, I wasn't sure he had the gas to pull off an attack to win. They were going to have to shake Manuel Quinzato, and Sylvain Chavanel was looking the most frisky at that point. I thought that Chavanel would actually attack and leave the break and ride in solo.

So, with Oscar Pereiro as the new Maillot Jaune, the leadership again changes hands in this year's Tour. I think it will prove to be a wise decision to let the jersey go for Landis and Phonak. Their squad is not experienced in defending leadershiop at the Tour and doing that for another seven stages could prove to be pretty taxing. Sure, it's a gamble to let somebody like Pereiro into that position, but it's also a gamble to work your team down to the nub. To me, it seems like the wiser gamble. I think, in time, we will all see it was a good choice.

Tomorrow, we head into Gap, and that will remind us all of the horrific accident Joseba Beloki had in 2003. Pereiro is not likely to lose hold of his lead tomorrow (barring accident or catastrophic failure), so it should likely turn out to be a breakaway of opportunists.

We will see!!
- The Dust Devil

1 Jens Voigt (Ger) Team CSC 5.24.36 (42.513 km/h)
2 Oscar Pereiro (Spa) Caisse d'Epargne-Illes Balears
3 Sylvain Chavanel (Fra) Cofidis 0.40
4 Manuel Quinziato (Ita) Liquigas
5 Andriy Grivko (Ukr) Milram 6.24
6 Robbie McEwen (Aus) Davitamon-Lotto 29.57
7 Bernhard Eisel (Aut) Francaise Des Jeux