Stage Nine...

Stage Nine:
1st: Oscar Freire - Spain - Rabobank - 3:35:24
2nd: Robbie McEwen - Australia - Lotto - 3:35:24
3rd: Erik Zabel - Germany - Milram - 3:35:24

Overall:
1st: Serhiy Honchar - Ukraine - T-Mobile - 38:14:17
2nd: Floyd Landis - USA - Phonak - (+ 1:00)
3rd: Michael Rogers - Austrailia - T-Mobile (+ 1:08)
Other notables:
5th:Andreas Kloden - Germany - T-Mobile (+ 1:50)
7th: Cadel Evans - Australia - Lotto - (+ 1:52)
8th:Dave Zabriskie - USA - CSC (+ 1:53)
11th: Paolo Savoldelli - Italy - Discovery (+ 2:10)
17th: George Hincapie - USA - Discovery (+ 2:30)
23rd: Yaroslav Popovich - Ukraine - Discovery (+ 2:37)
36th:Egoi Martinez - Spain - Discovery (+ 4:33)
72nd: Levi Leipheimer - USA - Gerolsteiner (+ 6:43)
114th: Jens Voight - Germany - CSC (+ 11:34)

Yellow Jersey (Overall Leader): Serhiy Honchar
Green Jersey(Top Points Earner): Robbie McEwen
White Jersey(Best Young Rider): Marcuz Fothen (Germany)
Red Polka Dot Jersey (King of the Mountain): Jerome Pineau (France)
Yellow Numbers (Best Team): T-Mobile
Red Number (Most Competitive): Christian Knees (Germany)

Big news yesterday on the break day. Floyd Landis, the one American who's actually primed to go and win this thing, dropped a major bomb on the cycling world. Apparently, due to a fall back in 2003, he has developed avascular necrosis in his right hip. Basically, bone cracked in the joint and prevented blood flow to the bone. The hip is, essentially, dead. The condition results in constant pain, which oddly enough in Landis's case is less severe when he is on a bike. The only option is surgery, which will likely occur within a month or to of the conclusion of the tour. No one has ever come back from such a surgery to race professionally again. Not that such odds mean anything to American cyclists. Greg Lemond, the first American to win the tour, did it again after being shot in a hunting accident. And then there was this guy Lance Armstrong - look into it on your own. So yeah, it's not affecting his riding, but that still sucks. On the brightside, he's having his best season ever. Only time will tell what comes next. With that hanging over the heads of the riders, stage nine began. It was the flatest stage of the tour, which makes the fact that tomorrow is a mountain stage even tougher. The breakaway did not survive, and it ended in the best sprint finish of the tour, Freire beating McEwen by a quarter of a wheel. McEwen was very gracious - he did get to keep the green jersey though. One crash on the day at the back of the Peloton, but all the riders involved got back up and finished with the group. The field remains at 170 riders, 6 having dropped (the ones mentioned and Fabio Sacchi who dropped with bronchitis before stage six). Tomorrow is where the sprinters' time at the top comes to an end. The treacherous Pyrenees loom ahead. Stage ten probably won't show many attacks, but stage eleven is going to be absolutely brutal. How exciting! Unfortunately, I don't quite know how I'm going to fit stages eleven through thirteen in with work and visitors and such...but it will be happening. No way I'm missing the best stages of this tour. So to all my guests, if I dissappear for two to four hours, don't worry - I'm just highly devoted. I love you all very much still. But tomorrow is my day off, which means there will be no issues in watching. Thank goodness =)