It may be unlucky for some, but Stage 13 in the Pyranees yesterday kept me watching. The stage covered many mountains, finishing at the Plateau de Beille. Lance Armstrong, chasing his sixth consecutive tour win was once again left with a sole real rival in Ivan Basso. Everyone else was losing time or even getting off their bikes.
But the greatest performance of the day was by the French rider Thomas Voeckler who’s been hanging on to his yellow jersey for dear life for nine days now. And despite most people thinking he was certain to lose it in the Pyranees – he’s still got it with an amazine effort to keep his losses down. He now has 22 seconds on Armstrong. The French crowd loved it and gave him an enormous roar as he crossed the line. The drama of the tour is wonderful, and credit where it’s due – ITV2’s coverage is utterly superb, with a great team all round.