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Once again, the power of the yellow jersey is revealed. Even though Sastre did not defeat Evans today, he finished closer to him than he ever has and well within the 1:34 he needed to stay in yellow. Evans never seemed to be able to find his rhythm today. Vandevelde had a terrific ride but had too much to make up from his fall on the descent a few days ago. It is a shame b/c he rode a super Tour otherwise.
Interesting bits from the post-race interviews: Schumacher lost radio contact during the TT and had no idea where he was time-wise. He said, “Maybe I pushed the wrong button. I don't know.” He said he was cross-eyed at the finish and had to ask what place he had come in.
The director sportif of Gerolsteiner said that Bernard Kohl is in need of a doctor as he rode himself to complete exhaustion.
Do you think Frank Schleck let Sastre catch him to spur him on to ride stronger and stay in yellow? It would be an interesting tactic, if true.
One more thought- the biggest difference IMO between Sastre and Evans is the teams. CSC Saxo Bank has the Yankees of cycling. Every name is recognizable. On the Alpes D’Huez, CSC had 4 guys up in the front whereas Evans was alone. Cadel just didn't have the team support that would have helped in in the attacks and also kept him fresher for this last TT. It was like he was trying to win the TdF alone against Sastre and his entire team.IMO, Evans either has to switch to a stronger team or convince Silence-Lotto to recruit more and better guys.