My Boyfriend's Back

Well, almost. Fabian very nearly laid another beating on the field today in the final ITT of this year's TdF. But he got pipped at the line by some pistol toting punk who is refusing to concede anything to anybody these days. Let us just say that this agression will not stand. It is nice to hear, however, that Fabian employed the FGBC post-race rehydration program to help him "calm down" after today's bitter defeat. It only confirms my love for him. Skinny little Andy Schleck managed to hold onto his second place standing. And the man they call the Boss has climbed back onto the third podium step, even though he didn't turn in a very boss-like performance today. There are three guys behind him who are very close. This should make for a nice showdown on Ventoux. Pez it for more.

In the race that really matters, Johnny M and the Cricket tied for the stage win. We sent it to a countback, but it came back all the same. I suppose that had something to do with the fact that they both have the identical combination of Contador, Cancellara, and Moreau on their squads. It happens. In fact, it's a bit surprising that it hasn't happened more often. We've had plenty of ties so far. But they have rarely been for the much ballyhooed honours bestowed upon the day's first place finisher. Rachel and Ramon tied for the win on Stage 14. But it wasn't nearly as crucial a stage, so we let it slide. But we can't do that this time around. After convening with a gaggle of other FGBC heads of state, we have decided to set up a little arm wrestling match at next week's TNR to determine who is entitled to claim sole bragging rites as the winner of Stage 18. Best two out of three. Some will recall that this has happened before. The Secretary and Jonny B once squared off. I believe the Secretary won the match 2-1, but I can't recall what it was for. Anyone? On the other hand, we could just let the results stand. On the plus side, this would allow us to claim that we've had an astonishing 17 different winners over the 18 stages of the Tour that have been completed thus far. Brad the Impaler was third on the day. He had 310 points. Thank heavens nobody ended up tied with him. He'd probably rip your arm out if it came down to an arm wrestle tiebreaker.

In the overall race, we have seen it coming for a while now. But now it has finally happened. King Andy has been unceremoniously tossed from the podium. He'd been on there since the very first stage. But the Impaler has muscled his way onto the final step and pushed our beloved vicarious racing hero from his rightful perch. Brad now sits at 2964 points to Andy's 2914. It's not over yet for Andy. But at the same time, it doesn't look like Brad is through claiming victims just yet either. After today, he's only 88 points back of Greg the Lunchbucket Kid's second place spot, and he's starting to make that funny sound he makes when he's ready to pounce. This is serious, Greg. But don't panic just yet. It doesn't always go well for the Impaler when he gets all excited like that. Meanwhile, Melissa's overall lead continues to grow. It's up to 172 now, as she has reached 3224 points. Wow! Finally, the tie for the lanterne rouge has been broken. Mark S has moved ahead of the Fraggle by 55 points.

Results and standings here.