Breakaway Bingo

Every once in a while the breakaway survives. And at this point in the Tour, it's pretty much dumb luck that determines who's going to be in it. So long as you're out of overall contention, you've pretty much got a chance if you're willing to work. Of course, it helps if the guys behind aren't interested in riding hard. And whether it's because they were tired from the hard days in the Pyrenees or because they'd lost interest in the race after all the garbage with Vino and the Chicken, the peloton was not up to chasing today. So the breakaway stayed away. It wasn't ever really in question once things got established. And it turns out my boys were the ones whose numbers came up lucky in a big way today: Bennati and Fothen took first and second. Millar hung on for fifth, Hunter was there in the sprint, finishing 11th, and even Cadel picked up a few points by finding his way into the back end of the top-20. Those five guys collected a whopping 387 points today, and wrested the yellow jersey out of Matt's firm grasp for the first time in a long, long time. Wow. I was expecting Matt's sprinters to increase his lead. Maybe tomorrow.

At least that's how things played out in the clean version of the FGBC TdF Pool.

Stage 17 results:

1) Chris - 387
2) Matt - 108
3) Jonny G - 92
4) David L - 87
5) David S - 84
6) Jonny B - 70
7) Charlene - 52
8) Hal - 37
9) Cheryl - 29
10) James - 5
11) Rachel - 3
12) Johnny S - 0
13) Vic - 0

General Classification after stage 17:

1) Chris - 1886
2) Matt - 1845
3) Rachel - 1234
4) James - 1219
5) Jonny G - 1158
6) Charlene - 1148
7) David L - 1052
8) Cheryl - 997
9) Vic - 996
10) Hal - 987
11) Jonny B - 741
12) Johnny S - 438
13) David S - 426

I still think Rachel's team is the one to beat. And Matt stands to gain some big points yet if we get the bunch sprints that are expected tomorrow and Sunday. Something tells me the yellow jersey is going to jump around a bit in these final three days of the Tour. Finally.

Over in the dirty pool, here's how things look:

1) Matt - 2489
2) Chris - 1784
3) Jonny G - 1631
4) David L - 1443
5) Jonny B - 1137
6) Rachel - 1117
7) James - 1107
8) Charlene - 1040
9) Hal - 983
10) Cheryl - 949
11) Vic - 926
12) Johnny S - 887
13) David S - 742

Crazy. Three more days to go.

OTT: Anton Barbeau, It Won't Be Long Till the Banjo Patrol Comes Along