[green iguana]

Armstrong letting guys like this go is one thing, Hincapie, Lanis, etc may not be able to afford giving up this much time.

Quote of the day. We'll see tomorrow if Dessel (3:50) and Mercado (6:32) are for real. Probably not Mercado...

[green iguana]

Probably not Dessel either - 31 years old, pro since 2000, 1st TdF.

[Ready4Freddy]

Both Dessel & Mercado are little guys, they can climb (& obviously have no problem descending fast :). Their 9'+ lead now depends on how well they can work together, and how much time the peloton decides to grant them - the peloton could still cut some serious minutes off the leader's time advantage.

Gonchar is obviously history, but 9.5 min is a pretty serious time differential even this early in the mountains, especially if they can add to it tomorrow, then not lose much on the 2?? flat stages before the Alps.