My workout today was mile repeats. I ran three reps with a one-minute rest in between. This was a "cruise interval," so I was running at "tempo pace," rather than all out. My splits were: 6:27, 6:19, and 6:19. Since I was aiming for 6:30, I might have run a little too hard. I could feel myself going lactic on the last rep, so I must have slipped over my anaerobic threshold. I followed up the repeats with four sets of 30 seconds hard, 90 seconds easy. I was toast by the end. Training too hard is almost as bad as training too little, so I need to be careful.

Tour Talk

I called another one! I figured if Columbia could set up a train and keep Cavendish from getting blocked, Cavendish would win the stage. That's exactly what happened. And too think they were once criticized for having "too many sprinters." It's a formula that's working out for them; they're one of the most successful teams in the Pro Peloton.

Mauricio Soler, my pick to win the King of the Mountains Jersey, abandoned shortly into the stage. He never really recovered from his day one crash. With my favorite out, I've decided to keep my eye on Rémy Di Gregorio of Française des Jeux. I kind of forgot about him when I made my initial picks, but he's a pure climber on a French team that has no contender for the overall GC. He's young, though, so I don't know how he'll hold up over three weeks.

Alejandro Valverde took a tumble today. He didn't appear too badly hurt, but he landed on his knee. That particular joint is rather important in cycling. Since he's abandoned the tour because of a sore knee in the past, this bears watching.

Poor Nicolas Vogondy of the wildcard team Agritubel rode in the breakaway all day, only to be swept up by the sprinters within spitting distance of the finish. During the replay, I noticed him shaking his fist in frustration and disappointment as the first wave of sprinters blasted by. He managed to hold on for 21st place, back with the second-tier sprinters and the first-tier lead-out men. The peloton certainly sliced it very fine today.

Stage Six: Aigurande to Super Besse — 195.5 Kilometers

This stage has a summit finish, but the slope is neither exceptionally long, nor exceptionally steep. Assuming an early breakaway doesn't stay clear, the stage should go to an attacking rider who can climb well. My pick is Riccardo Ricco. Look for Thomas Veockler to go early in an attempt to hold onto the Polka Dot Jersey for another day or two. Sylvain Chavanel, currently second to Voeckler in that classification, will certainly go as well.  ¶ 12:26 AM