Touroscopy - Stage 14 - The sprinters' last day!
Winners
Oscar Freire - The Spaniard triple World Champion is in green for a good reason. He is very wiley and strong and has been consistently finishing each day. Today saw him winning the bunch kick to the line ahead of long time rival Eric Zabel and giving himself a huge 47 point lead over Thor Hushovd in the green jersey competition. Mark Cavendish was over three and half minutes back on the day, a sure sign that the 23 year old is getting tired and is expected to leave the Tour as early as today before the mountains of the Tour really bite.
Losers
Team Barloworld - This team was the toast of the 2007 Tour de France with their man Mauricio Soler in the polka dot jersey after a masterful effort in the mountains and the entire team justifying their wild card entry into the race. Fast forward to 2008 and the team is in total disarray and will most probably lose their naming rights sponsor the day after the Tour ends. With their decimated through some bad luck (Soler and Cooke crashed out ) and a positive test from Moisés Dueñas it has not been the ideal second effort. But it was the positive test that has done the most damage. Rumour is that as soon as the Tour is done Barloworld will leave taking their money with them.
State of Play
Well this is the part of the Tour that the world has been waiting for. Sure we can marvel at the speedsters of the race but the real interest lies in the mountains and in the overall classification. Stage 15 heads into the Alps and will be the battle ground that will decide the Tour. In four days most of the secrets of the Tour will be divulged. Does Evans have the legs and the team to win a Tour? What plan does CSC Saxo Bank have for Evans and their own riders? Will Valverde and Vande Velde be a force? All to do for the riders of the Tour and one thing is for sure, the sprinters are done for the next few days and it is time for he big hitters to come out to ride.
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