poor guy
My long-shot GC hopeful, Mauricio Soler of Barloworld, abandoned at the 12 km mark of Stage 5 today. He broke his wrist in a crash in Stage 1 and has been hurting ever since. Apparently he had been hoping that yesterday's time trial would give him a chance to recover a bit (yeah, racing a time trial can be considered a recovery day in the Tour de France), but it didn't really help enough.
I don't know where the hell Robbie McEwan has been this year. He wasn't even in the top 10 of the points classification at the beginning of this stage. Not that I'm complaining or anything, as I'd be perfectly happy if I never had to see Robbie McEwan again. And the guy I want to win the points classification, Thor Hushovd, was in 2nd at the beginning of the stage. He's behind Kim Kirchen, who's not really considered a sprinter, so right now Thor is basically winning, with no Robbie McEwan in sight. \o/ (Robbie McEwan's team is focusing on supporting their GC contender, Cadel Evans, which may be part of his problem. Boohoo.)
And Mark Cavendish of Team Columbia pulls out the win for the stage! Awesome.
Image used under a Creative Commons license from adambowie.