Course: Post to Post
Distance: 3 Miles
Time: Not Timed

Comments: Today is the first day on path back to fitness. I ran three miles at an easy pace. It didn't hurt, but I felt really slow. Maybe with some training, my race times will start to look a little better.

I honestly didn't expect a break-away to go clear in yesterday's stage. Break-aways generally succeed the day after a rest day, not the day before. At least McEwen was the best of the rest, making my prediction of his victory partially true.

Tuesday's stage should be interesting, as it's rather short and it follows a rest day. I'm predicting a break-away victory, and I'm giving it to Juan Antonio Flecha. He rode well in the classics this spring, and if he's going to win a stage, that one's probably it. If it comes down to a bunch sprint, I believe Boonen is due.

Since there is no racing today, now is a good time to codify the rules of the Phil and Paul Drinking Game.

The game takes place only during the race time commentary—this includes the lead-in, but none of the pre-race show—and it only works if you listen to Phil Liggett and Paul Sherwen exclusively. Bob and Al just drive you to drink, no game involved.

Take one drink each time you hear the following phrases or words:

• "Special" (Most often expressed as, "Something Special.")
  
• "Lance Armstrong" (Excluding the segue to his daily interview.)
  
• "Around about" (Only when used as an approximation, not as a reference to road furniture, e.g., "they're traveling around about 52 kilometers an hour.")
  
• "Road Furniture"
  
• "Bike Rider" (what else would they be riding?)
  
• "Undulate/Undulations"
  
• "Picture Break-up"
  
• "On the Rivet" (Take an extra drink if Paul goes on to explain what "on the rivet" means.)
  
• "On the Limit"
  
• "Dose/Dosing his Effort"
  
• "Turn/Turned a Pedal in Anger"
  
• "Very Much" (Paul used to say this all the time, especially phrased as ". . . pay very much attention to . . ." but he seems to have drifted away from it. Still, it slips out occasionally.)
  
• "Spot of Bother"
  
• "Desperate"
  
• "Touch of Wheels"
  
• "Harry Potter's Magic Cloak" (This is a new one they seem to use this a lot when refering to Robbie McEwen.)
  
• "Diesel Engine" (Sometimes Turbo-Diesel. Used to describe a rider's pedaling style.)
  
• "Off the Back"
  
• "Ticking Over the Pedals"
  
• "Chunks of Time"
  
• "Massive"
  
• "Fraction"
  
• "Kick/Kicking Up"
  
• "Respite"
  
• "Going Backwards"
  
• "Poor Old" (Such as "Poor Old Levi Leipheimer's not doing well in today's time trail.")
  
• "Disappearing"
  
• "Overcook/Overcooked/Overcooking"
  
• "Losing/Lost its Impetus"
  
• "Cracked/Cracking"

Take an extra drink any time these words or phrases are used in combination. For example:

"This bike rider* will need to dose his effort* over these slight undulations* if he wants to do something special* today."

Four hits in one combination would equal five drinks.

Take a drink any time Phil calls someone or something the wrong name. For example: If he calls Guiseppe Guerini "Guido Trenti," take a drink. If he calls Yaroslav Popovich "Viatcheslav Popovitch," take a drink. If he calls Bouygues Telecom "T-Mobile," take a drink. If he calls France "England," take a drink. Be especially vigilant because he's not always corrected. (And those are all real examples, by the way.)

"Suitcase of Courage" is worth three drinks. You probably won't hear it, but every once in a while Paul pulls it out of his garment bag of clichés and hangs it up for all to see.

This list is up for additions or amendment, so please let me know if you think it needs tweaking.  ¶ 8:53 PM