Those non-bastards! Kenny van Hummel flirted with elimination today but seems to have made it home with some five minutes to spare, 45 minutes behind the winner and some 27 minutes after the autobus. He now owns a commanding 39-minute lead for the Lanterne Rouge over second-last-placed Belarus champion Yahueni (the Hooter) Hutarovich. Contador and Lance get all the ink today, but nobody made a more audacious play for a classification than KVH -- adrift all alone from the Col des Mosses to the finish, no help for miles, and staring hors delai elimination in the face. But he survived, as he always does.
Much respect. You know, Lance Armstrong's first professional race was the 1992 Clasica San Sebastian, where he finished dead last. Just sayin'.