is it just me ...

... or did the final couple kilometers of the Tour pretty much wrap it all up in a nutshell?

Total chaos ~ with every player throwing their cards down on the table, a slapping of wild hopes and held breaths.

Discovery's move, i thought, pretty much summed up their Tour. A plan with execution just off enough to make them look a wee bit silly. Ekimov pulls out the gauntlet and smacks the pack in the chops with it at a bit over a k to go. It strings the group out something fierce and each squad looks like they've wapped once or twice with the panic stick. Ekimov is reeled in and then Hincapie drives out of the group, Popo on his wheel ... we can see the blueprints for this plan ballooning out from Hincapie's noggin like a Family Circus thought bubble. I mean, everyone can.

But, poor Georgey doesn't have the gas to last ... no one would. After a few short seconds, Popo launches off Georgey's wheel, well short of anything realistic. A valiant effort but they are swallowed up, chawed upon, and shat out.

Davitamon used an arsenal to control the pack for 50k, Horner and VanSummeran phenoms in the service. But in the final K, all their matches are crumbing cinders on the sides of the Chomps and McEwen is left to strike out on his own.

The French, throwing themselves like legionnaires into the colonial sands ... utter futility.

Zabel there ... because he is always there when the race comes down strength and desire.
Behind.

And Thor ~ waiting, watching, wanting it more than any other drives to the line in one of the toughest sprint finishes in a long time. These boys were flat out, strung out, torn outside in and insides bleeding to stay in contention, stay at the front ... finally pushing aside all the pain, all the doubt to hurl themselves toward a silly little line, and cross it first.

The Tour.