Stage 16: Irrepressible Tommy Voeckler

CEBU, Philippines - Tommy Voeckler is a cyclist you won’t like racing against. This kid from Martinique can’t climb, can’t sprint, can’t time trial- compared to the rest of peloton but he has something what most cyclist don’t have, a big heart that doesn’t know how to give up.

Today, he won his second stage, a mountain stage at that, in a route that suits his teammate, the climber Pierre Rolland, than him. He did it in front of a 38-rider breakaway that he shed off one by one until he arrived at the finish line solo. As I was watching Voeckler over live internet streaming, I could feel that only his mind was keeping the pedals turning in the last few kilometers. It was a powerful image indeed!

Cadel Evans, the defending champion, clearly doesn’t have his mojo this year. He was dropped on the second to last climb, and after a furious chase, he caught back and was dropped again. Evans was a painful sight. It is ironic that it’s in these kind of moments, as what Jim McKay describes as the, “agony of defeat”, that can endear Evans to the tifosis. Lance Armstrong at no time suffered like a dog in his 7 Tour wins and for that reason, he is respected but not loved.

For Bradley Wiggins, only a monumental collapse and teammate named Chris Froome can stop him as the first Briton to win the Tour. The strength of team SKY was so obvious that no one could attack the high pace they set on the mountains. Of the favorites, only Vincenzo Nibali had the audacity to try but the SKY duo was just too strong.  - THE FREEMAN