For one day only: No thread on the Tour de France.

[HuckleB]

Unless there already is one, which there may be, but I couldn't find it.

OK. So this non-thread is just a ruse. You should have known that since it existed.

Big break today, with five riders, now nearing the finish, still 14 plus minutes ahead of the main peleton. Thomas Voeckler looks to take yellow, and the crashes have taken a toll on some favorites. Armstrong's right-hand mountain man, Manuel Beltran, is getting medical attention and has dropped from the main peleton. It's unclear if he can continue. McEwan also crashed, and then had a flat right as he neared regaining the peleton.

[HuckleB]

1. Another fall in the peleton, Armstrong still riding.

[HuckleB]

2. The back and forth of the three remaining leaders has been incredible!

O'Grady wins the stage. Voeckler will take the yellow from Armstrong.

The top five:

1. Stuart O'Grady (Australia) Cofidis
2. Jakob Piil (Denmark) CSC
3. Sandy Casar (France) FDJ
4. Thomas Voeckler (France) BLB
5. Magnus Backstedt (Sweden) ALB

[HuckleB]

3. Peleton finishes 12:36 behind O'Grady. Armstrong now sixth in GC.

The top seven in the GC standings:

1. Thomas Voeckler (BLB)
2. Stuart O'Grady (COF) at 3'13"
3. Sandy Casar (FDJ) at 4'06"
4. Magnus Backstedt (ALB) at 6'03"
5. Jakob Piil (CSC) at 6'58"
6. Lance Armstrong (USP) at 9'35"
7. George Hincapie (USP) at 9'45"

No word on Beltran, or if any other major rider was seriously affected by today's falls. McEwan came all the way back to take sixth in the stage, it appears, so he's looking OK.

[Redhead488]

4. Is Voeckler any kind of threat

to win the Tour? Or is Lance still in good shape?

[HuckleB]

5. No. The Posties wouldn't have let the break go like this, if he was...

The Posties still spent a lot of energy leading the peleton today, with T-Mobile and Phonak sitting back most of the time. That's actually more worrisome, though they chose not to increase the pace to chase down the five in the break. It's classic TDF, the break, the riders back-and-forth at the finish, and the real GC contenders waiting it out, conserving energy.

[HuckleB]

6. Still, it's a great day for France!

It's likely that the five in the break will struggle and suffer big time the next two days. The joy of victory is always short in the tour.

[HuckleB]

7. McGee out with back pain. Crash victims all finish, stay in race.

Including Postie Beltran, three ohter Posties, ex-postie Roberto Heras of Spain, Italian sprinter Alessandro Petacchi, McEwan, and Dutchman Michael Boogerd.

[HuckleB]

8. Armstrong to skip Olympics.

http://www.nytimes.com/2004/07/08/sports/olympics/08CND-LANC.html