The Rootin’ Tootin Rest Day Wrangler

Thrills, Triumphs, Defeats, Skullduggery, and Politics.

While little has changed in the overall battle, the landscape of the race provided many memorable stories. After all, following only the GC competition in the Tour de France is like going to the county fair just to try the taffy.

Throughout the first 2 weeks of the race, there has been a lot of attention paid to the Team Sky camp as their stated goal to put a Briton on the top podium spot in Paris comes closer to fruition. To the casual observer, the team effort of Sky and the consistency of leader Bradley Wiggins

could be the feel-good hit of the summer, but the drama unfolds as one digs deeper. The sacrifice of sprinter Mark Cavendish

has going beyond selfless, as his chances for stage wins were regularly dashed by his duties of protecting the lead of Wiggins. Seen picking up bottles from the team car, this current World Champion has absolutely put his 2012 Points Jersey aspirations on hold. With Cavendish too tired from leader defense on stage 13, Wiggins chose to lead out Sky’s young Norwegian sprinter, Edvald Boasson Hagen,

in an ill-fated attempt at a stage win. In addition to Wiggins’ generosity as Boasson Hagen’s lead-out man, he showed his magnanimous side in stage 14, as he slowed the race to wait for those affected by punctures caused by tacks maliciously thrown on the road by spectators. Tensions rose within the team as super-domestique Chris Froom

has been lauded for being what many perceive as a more capable Tour finisher. Froom, lacking the diplomacy of Cavendish, has gone on record as saying he could win the Tour, but not with Sky.

Despite Team Garmin-Sharp’s

early race setbacks, the 2011 race’s best ranked team has gone on the offensive, with Garmin riders in many of the early breakaways. One break resulted in a stage win for David Millar

in Annonay Davézieux. Millar took the opportunity to remember late British racer Tom Simpson, who died in the Tour on the same day in 1967.

Garmin’s crash ravaged sprinter, Tyler Farrar

seems to be healing up and looking rejuvenated, though currently exerting a stranglehold on the Lanterne Rouge (the last-placed rider on General Classification). Expect him to give everything he’s got to win on the last day in Paris.

Flamboyant boy-wonder Peter Sagan has now clinched the Green Jersey in this year’s sprint points classification.

This significant triumph for the young Tour de France first timer came highly contested by second place rival Matt Goss of team Orica GreenEdge.

Goss’ pursuit of the Green Jersey turned devious, when a desperate sprint for the finish line, and a bucket of points towards the Green Jersey competition, on stage 12 saw him throwing elbows at Sagan mid-sprint.  The aggression was all for naught, as race officials relegated Goss to last place for the day, and awarded the points to Sagan.

Tejay Van Garderen continues to hold onto the White Jersey of the Tour’s Best Young Rider classification,

but it’s been complicated. His true potential unknown, Van Garderen has been in the role of defending team BMC leader, Cadel Evans.

Evans tragically lost time on stage 11, when he cracked on the last climb of the day. With Van Garderen assisting, Evans at times could barely keep pace with the young domestique. Van Garderen sacrificed time in his White Jersey lead to stay with Evans, but his status as a martyr came into question by stage 14. Cadel Evans was the hardest hit of the GC favorites on stage 14’s “Tack Attack”,

resulting in three punctures for the Australian, but the real danger to his podium aspirations came with his inability to get a new wheel. Standing on the side of the road, Evans struggled for several minutes holding his bike, as the team car was too far back. While Van Garderen heard the call to assist Evans on his radio, he claimed to have thought there were more teammates in arrears, and continued on with his leader stranded. The race was later neutralized, allowing Evans’ team BMC to pace him back to the front of the race, with no additional loss of time. Whether or not Van Garderen raced on to preserve his lead or if he truly thought his assistance was not required will be unknown, but rest assured that he received a vicious Australian finger-wagging back in the team bus that night.

The finale of stage 10 took heart-racing action to all new low speeds. After veteran and all-around-nice-guy Jens Voigt

bridged the gap to lead breakaway group containing veteran Thomas Voeckler,

the battle of the old men began. The pair picked off the remnants of the break, and closed in on the line in a hard fought and fatigued sprint that caused commentator Phil Liggett

to quote, “With all due respect… this is the slowest sprint finish I have ever seen”. Thomas Voeckler won the stage, but was too exhausted at the line to do the chicken dance…

With the race up to it’s ears in Basque fans as it rolls into the Pyrenees,

rivals to Wiggins’ dominance will have their last chance to win on the summits of Euskadi. 

Expect more trials and tribulations as the Tour de France enters the final week before the dramatic conclusion on Sunday along the Champs-Élysées, in Paris.