Dave Z. cutting George H. out of Yellow

I know there have been alot of comments about yesterday's stage into Briancon and Hincapie's loss of the yellow jersey by a scant 5 seconds, and, who's fault was it. Hincapie partly blamed Astana, while much of the venting has fell on Garmin. Let's get personal..... I'm with Lance on this one, Astana was setting a false tempo to prevent massive time gains like 15 to 20 minutes, which would certainly make Hincapie nearly as dangerous as Pereiro a couple years ago. When the gap went out to 8 minutes AG2R took over, and when they flailed is was indeed Garmin drove to the finish. And to be exact, it was Dave Zabriskie, front and center, driving it like a mad man. Now you can call that protecting Wiggins or whatever, NOT. Dave Z. was not on the wing, in the wind protecting Wiggins, he was at the top of the arrow head, down low, giving it all he had. Now that's personal. And it cost Hincapie yellow.

Another side of the story: Hincapie certainly knows how to cry and complain and look around for help from the others in the group. Whether it's L'enfer du Nord or Le Grand Boucle, Hincapie can be seen looking around and gesticulating, and for all his complaining, he could have saved those 5 seconds himself.

Tomorrow starts the Tour for reals

Andorra - Arcallis. The last time the Tour finished on this HC climb, the youthful Jan Ullrich rocketed away from all of his rivals to win solo and signal the start of a new era. Tomorrow starts the Tour for real and by the end of the day we'll have a pretty good idea who will finish in the top ten in Paris. In the meantime, Bradley Wiggins of the Garmin Slipstream team, has posted that he heard some news tonight that will shock the cycing world when the press gets ahold of the news. Uh Oh, looks like all the favorites might not even get to start. Get up early tomorrow folks and check your news, there may be some crap in there.

2 picks destroyed, Menchov and Pellizotti left their form in Italy

So much for the big talk and dreams from two of the Giro podium finishers a month ago, Denis Menchov and Franco Pellizotti were both shattered yesterday in the opening time trial. Menchov in 53rd and Pellizotti in 61st and both lost so much time that it will take an amazing team situation to put either back in contention. So much for overall Giro contenders doing well in France this July. On the other hand, Astana looks unbeatable with 4 riders in the top ten and a plethora of tactical choices at their disposal. Looks to me like it will be impossible for another team to win the overall, and by the way, look for Astana to take the team comp as well. Bruyneel could use all the props he can get by the end of July, he'll need the publicity now in order to secure the best situation for him and his team in the off season.

TOUR PICKS

TDF top 10 unless someone from this group gets popped or hurt in the next 12 hours.

1. Alberto Contador, Astana
2. Cadel Evans, Silence Lotto
3. Lance Armstrong, Astana
4. Andy Schleck, Saxo Bank
5. Carlos Sastre, Cervelo Test Team
6. Denis Menchov, Rabobank
7. Frank Schleck, Saxo Bank
8. Franco Pellizotti, Liquigas
9. Levi Leipheimer, Astana
10. Roman Krueziger, Liquigas

Side notes: Lance takes the opening TT and the jersey to get a good publicity splash right off the bat. Contador will be clearly the strongest rider, not only on Astana, but in the whole race. Thus, Lance will stay close in case Alberto suffers or crashes out while Kloden and Levi do the bulk of the pacing. Evans will remain a very solid rider that lacks the panache to win. Saxo's powerful brothers Andy and Frank will come up just short. Carlos Sastre, the defending champion, will not have the benefit of such a strong team as he did last year but will make the top 5 in his second GT in a row.

Greipel - Henderson - O'Bee in Philly

Congrats to me. Picked two of the top three in Philly and won the over/under on the 65+/55+ women's field at City Park.

Philly Classic
Columbia came, saw, conquered. Henderson launched Greipel for the W and had enough left to hold on for 2nd. I could see this coming also as Henderson is a former winner of this event and loves the course. If I had the guts I might have scored the exacta. Jonathan Cantwell ended in 14th, not too bad either.

City Park
Sure enough, eight 65+ men and only two 55+ women in that prime 4PM slot yesterday at City Park. The over/under was 10. If you had 11 or more, you lose. Didn't think it would be that close but I'll take it.

Side note: Not only did City Park not have a Pro race this year, the 2/3's race they did offer got screwed up anyway. Somehow the lead moto neutralized the field on the last lap of the 75 minute race without proper instructions from the officials at the finish, who wished to continue and score the race. Granted, strong wind and a bit of hail were mitigating factors that led to the confusion. However, when the lead moto yellow flagged the race, he was mistaken. Not sure the gap in communication but needless to say, those 2/3's racing weren't too happy to do the entire race only to have it shut down on the last lap and roll across the line like a tour. Perhaps this is the new way for Colorado promotors to stash a little extra cash. I'm sure they weren't refunding any entry fees after the fiasco and also withholding the prize money on offer. Congrats City Park, better luck next year, if there is one.

Philly Classic this Sunday

The most important one day cycling race in the U.S. is this Sunday, The Philadelphia Classic. Follow cyclingnews.com for live updates.

My top three picks:

1. Andre Greipel - Columbia
2. Kirk O'Bee - Bissell
3. Johnathan Cantwell - Fly V Australia

The short of it: Columbia is totally stacked with Greipel, Bernard Eisel, Greg Henderson and Edvald Boassen Hagen, there is virtually no way they can lose this race. Expect a Columbia controlled race and a small bunch kick of around 20 riders. Greg Henderson launches Greipel to the win with 200 meters to go as O'Bee and Cantwell are best of the rest.

History at City Park

Well, it's history, but not the kind I would prefer to report. This weekend at the annual City Park Criterium, there will be no Pro 1/2 race. NO PRO 1/2 RACE! Yes indeed, for the first time that anyone can remember, perhaps the first time in the history of the great State of Colorado, perhaps the country, the fastest racers will not be invited to participate.

What has the ACA been up to? An absolute travesty at best. In place of the traditional Pro 1/2 race, City Park will host a 2/3's race, no Pros and no Cat 1's, unless they're older than 35, will be allowed to race. I absolutely cannot believe this turn of events. And in the feature position, 4PM start for the Men's 65+ and Women's 55+ 40 minute race. WHAT? Is that going to be a combined field of 6?

Here's the bet, the over and under for participants in the 4PM 65+, W's 55+ race is 10. If you want to pick 11 or higher, I'll take 10 and under. Give me a call, I'll take your money.

Blaaaagggghhhh, what a yoke mang.