Carlos Slays the Queen

60 kms of uphill road, with over 1300 ft. of total climbing. The Queen stage was no doubt a killer. But Carlos Sastre killed the killer Queen today. Attacking at the base of the Alpe d'Huez, he climbed it all alone to take over the yellow jersey from his teammate, Frank Schleck. Team CSC had a plan today, and it was kind of obvious what they'd try to do. Garmin-Chipotle DS Matt White predicted as much:

I don’t think that l’Alpe D’Huez stage will be critical. I can tell you CSC ’s tactics now – Sastre will be sent up the road tomorrow, they have to try and isolate Menchov and Evans, they’re the danger men in the TT; but I don’t think Sastre is strong enough to do the job they need done. Apart from Schleck there’s no one going to have a team mate with them in the finalé. Menchov, Kohl, Evans, Christian – it’s going to be mano à mano.

His only mistake was to misjudge the strength of Sastre. The Schleck brothers helped by taking turns attacking Evans and the other contenders, which not only weakened their legs, but caused the group to slow down a little bit each time they'd been caught. This worked to Sastre's advantage. And by the time they reached the top of the mountain, he took 2.15 from Evans. He ends up with a cushion of 1.34 for Saturday's 53 km ITT. That may not be enough to get him the win, but it's enough to keep things exciting right up to the end.

Highlights here.

The top 5 are as now follows:

1 Carlos Sastre Candil (Spa) Team CSC - Saxo Bank 74.39.03
2 Frank Schleck (Lux) Team CSC - Saxo Bank 1.24
3 Bernhard Kohl (Aut) Gerolsteiner 1.33
4 Cadel Evans (Aus) Silence - Lotto 1.34
5 Denis Menchov (Rus) Rabobank 2.39

In the FGBC TdF Pool, Fuck It, Let's Go Bowling picked up the stage win. Colin predicted it last night at the F&H. The two other teams with Sastre--Don't Stop to Smell the Flowers and Nothing Stops a Party Barge--finished 2nd and 3rd. Team Runner Up remains in the lead for the 5th consecutive day. But Team Toulouse moves into 2nd place as Zed's Dead, Baby drops into third, rueing the ill-fated decision to take Cunego instead of Sastre. It's so clear in retrospect.

Stage 17 Results:

Fuck It, Let's Go Bowling (Colin) 285
Don't Stop to Smell the Flowers (LeAnn) 240
Nothing Stops a Party Barge (Donna) 235
Team Toulouse (Vic) 225
The A Team (Adam) 200
Frequent Flyers (Tom K) 150
Farm Team (Tinker James) 140
Zed's Dead, Baby (Chris) 140
Los Lobos Soundcheck Disaster (Bill) 140
Poison Ivy Weedwackers (Hal) 140
Dolphin Ankle Tatoos (Ian) 120
Sturmy-Archer All-Stars (Kevin) 80
Annie Proffitt's Kids (Rachel) 75
You Suckers Don't Have a Chance Against the King (Andy) 75
Team Runner Up (Mike) 70
You Like Samurai Swords, I Like Baseball (Arlene) 65
Bacon Wrapped Hot Dogs (Jonny M) 60
Powered by Veggies (Jonny B) 60
English on the Ball (Matt) 60
Mylie Sigurdur's Wheels of Fury (Dallas) 20
Viva Italia (David S) 15
Arms Akimbo (Brad) 0
Turn up the good, turn down the suck! (Paddy & Naomi) 0


Overall Standings:

Team Runner Up (Mike) 2595
Team Toulouse (Vic) 2220
Zed's Dead, Baby (Chris) 2190
Los Lobos Soundcheck Disaster (Bill) 1985
English on the Ball (Matt) 1865
Powered by Veggies (Jonny B) 1835
Nothing Stops a Party Barge (Donna) 1780
Farm Team (Tinker James) 1590
Frequent Flyers (Tom K) 1580
Mylie Sigurdur's Wheels of Fury (Dallas) 1555
Fuck It, Let's Go Bowling (Colin) 1545
Bacon Wrapped Hot Dogs (Johnny M) 1475
You Like Samurai Swords, I Like Baseball (Arlene) 1465
You Suckers Don't Have a Chance Against the King (Andy) 1345
The A Team (Adam) 1325
Dolphin Ankle Tatoos (Ian) 1290
Sturmy-Archer All-Stars (Kevin) 1140
Arms Akimbo (Brad) 1060
Annie Proffitt's Kids (Rachel) 1015
Poison Ivy Weedwackers (Hal) 880
Don't Stop to Smell the Flowers (LeAnn) 820
Viva Italia (David S) 505
Turn up the good, turn down the suck! (Paddy & Naomi) 410

OTT: Daniel Ledwell, I Have Made You a Mixed Tape