Here is a video recap of today's stage of the Tour de France. Usually, the Tour starts in the north of France, where it's cool and wet. This year's Tour started in the south of France, where it's hot, dry, and windy. Many of the riders are suffering. The managers of Team Columbia-HTC put nylon-enclosed ice cubes into their riders' baguettes (food bags), which are taken aboard on the fly. I saw one rider remove the nylon and put it down his jersey, behind his neck. When I rode 100 miles in Waxahachie a couple of weeks ago, in 100º heat, I squirted cold water onto my thighs and neck from time to time to reduce my body heat. It felt good. Today's winner was Frenchman Thomas Voeckler, who was part of a six-man breakaway. He broke away from his breakaway companions in the final few miles and then bravely held off the charging peloton—by seven seconds! Here is tomorrow's stage.
Addendum: Voeckler's average speed for 122.1 miles was 27.17 miles per hour. These are the best athletes in the world, by far.
Keith Burgess-Jackson, J.D., Ph.D. 