Tour Stage 13

Watching this bike race continues to surprise me, as an experience of a sporting event. I know now what a peloton of almost 200 riders looks like. I learned that in the first week. Now, in the mountains, on the most brutal stage so far, it chokes me up to see the peloton with no more than 20 men in it. To see riders such as Iban Mayo struggle, and his teammates rally around him, and persuade him to continue when he clearly intended to drop out. He was done, but they pushed him, they touched the small of his back, gave him little pats and nudges -- and he went on up the mountain. Not so for Tyler Hamilton -- he appears to be gone.

Another unexpected pleasure has been seeing Thomas Voeckler, the young Frenchman, work to keep that yellow jersey. The announcers on OLN keep using the word "courage" when they speak of him; it's a very good word.

Lance still has four teammates with him.

Jan Ullrich is still in the race, near the front, with two or three teammates.