The stage to Mont Ventoux is history. (Video recap here.) Lance Armstrong posted the following message on his Twitter page:
Ventoux done. What a day!! I have never (ever) seen crowds like that @ the TdF. Unreal!! I felt great too and kept my "podium" spot. Happy.
Because of this morning's bike rally in Cleburne (report to come), I couldn't watch the live broadcast of the stage. I caught a two-hour replay in the afternoon. Lance looked good. His face wasn't contorted in pain, as it has been on previous stages, and he appeared to have no trouble covering Frank Schleck's many attacks. (Frank was trying to replace Lance on the podium.) Lance, his teammate Alberto Contador, and the Schleck brothers (Frank and Andy) finished together, less than a minute behind the winner, Juan Manuel Garate. There is no change at the top of the G.C., so Alberto Contador will win this year's Tour. (Tomorrow's stage into Paris is ceremonial, except for the furious sprint finish on the Champs Elysees.) Andy Schleck will finish second and Lance third. That's a good finish for Lance, given that (1) he has been out of cycling since his last Tour victory in 2005, (2) he got a late start on training, and (3) he broke his collarbone in May. If he participates in the Tour in 2010, as he says he will, he will do things right. Only two riders in the world can beat him (Contador and Andy Schleck), and now Lance knows what their strengths and weaknesses are. Here is tomorrow's final stage.
Addendum: Here are some gorgeous images.
Addendum 2: Get well soon, Jens. For those of you who haven't seen it, here is the crash.
Addendum 3: Here is a New York Times story about today's stage. Read the final paragraph.
Keith Burgess-Jackson, J.D., Ph.D. 
