Quick Five: Stage 9

1)Brains still matter. Casar's stage win today was all about racing intelligence and good positioning. He knew how to take the finish and hit the front just at the right time, first through the corner and first over the line. Just like his last Tour stage win, it was based on making the right move, although this finish was much easier

2)This is not an old man's Tour, at least not for the GC. Evans and Lance have both suffered severely from the effects of crashes in the Alps, Klöden has had a few bad days and Basso isn't looking to sprightly. The only exception seems to be Christoph Moreau, who did a very good ride today, although he was towed in by the two strongest riders in the race.

3)Contador and Schleck are by far the strongest riders in the race. The two climbers have clearly shown that they are the top men in this Tour de France. None but each other can take their accelerations. Unfortunately for Schleck, he still doesn't have the kind of buffer over Contador to keep the yellow jersey through a long time trial. We have, however, seen some chinks in El Pistolero's armor, and Schleck will have plenty of opportunity to seek out and exploit them in the Pyrenees.

4)Sammy Sánchez is a top rider. For years we've seen him ride brilliantly in the Vuelta, but he has rarely animated races outside of his home country. Since his Olympic gold medal in Beijing, he's started to branch out a bit more, and this late bloomer could give a needed spark to the race in the final week. Watch out for him on the stage to Mende.

5)No good climber wants the polka-dot jersey. There's been no Virenque/Jalabert type long raid by a top mountain goat, and the GC men are still thoroughly uninterested in the King of the Mountains competition. As I've said for a long time, the only way to spice it up is by throwing in big (30 seconds to a minute) time bonuses at the top of climbs. The way things stand, a middling French rider looks like taking the polka-dots up to Paris.