Le Tour Wraps Up Today and Tomorrow

Le Tour wraps up this weekend and I hope you had a chance to see yesterday's final mountain stage because it was SO GOOD! The positions were hard fought, the bodies that were banged up and in pain from the previous 2-1/2 weeks were pushed to the limit. It was epic and wonderful. Primoz Roglic (Lotto-Jumbo) won the stage with some amazing riding, and move forward in the all-around rankings to third place. Geraint Thomas came in second place, less than 20 seconds later, so the Yellow Jersey stayed on his shoulders. As long as he can make it through today's time trial without mishap, Thomas will be in the Yellow and on the top step of the podium when the riders enter Paris tomorrow. 

It's not a flat course for the individual time trial. The boys
aren't in the Pyrenees any more, but they are in the
foothills. This up and down course will be challenging
and require some technical skills as well as speed. 

Today the focus is on speed. It's time for the individual time trial and the final hurdle for most of the riders to get through. The team time trial was held so long ago it seems like a dream, but the individual time trial can make differences in final placement for all of the GC contenders. The general rule of thumb is riders won't win by the individual time trial, but they can lose. The times are very tight going into today. Geraint Thomas is in Yellow, but Tom Dumoulin (Sunweb) is only 2 min, 5 sec behind, with Primoz Roglic 19 seconds further back. Chris Froome, who fell to fourth place yesterday, is 13 seconds slower. 

It's not much of a ride into Paris. The riders actually fly closer
while the buses and fans quickly scurry to get into place
for Sunday's epic conclusion. I've been pushing for Geraint
Thomas to be in Yellow for most of the past three weeks.
Unless doom happens, I'll be very happy to see that. 

Dumoulin and Froome are both renowned for their time trials, so Thomas will have his work cut out for him. It's hard to make up a gap as large as two minutes, but it absolutely can be done. It's nail biting time! 

Late Thursday afternoon, this HUGE pile of black dirt was delivered
by very large truck. DH is now in the process of taking it down to
the patio level one wheelbarrow full at a time, and spreading it out
across the unpaved portions of the yard. He'll be planting grass
seed next week and then we'll see. We need the grass to grab hold
before the winter kicks in. 

Sunday will be the ride into Paris with the traditional team champagne as the riders take their time before entering the fabled City of Lights. Once in Paris, though, the riders get back down to business. The multiple round-a-bout sprinters fight on the Champ-Elysees is always entertaining and although Peter Sagan is ahead of his closest competitor by 271 points, he's still going to push for the win. It's something remarkable to win on the Champ. 

DH has shored up and hard packed the steep bank that
makes our final wall of defense between the creek
on the left and our house on the right. Here we're
looking south at the shed. The grass just to the
left of the shed is sod he placed earlier this summer. 

Lawson Craddock, our remarkable rider who was so injured early in the race, is still in it - in last place, but still riding. His courage and grit to keep on riding and collecting donations to help the reconstruction and repair of his home town's velodrome after hurricane damage has surpassed $150,000 now and is still growing. A courageous rider, Lawson Craddock. He'll be starting the time trials today as the last place rider. 

Looking north at the steep bank from the sodded area, you can
get a feel for how steep this is. We have to get this fixed
before we get erosion and run off which would cause
DH to have to re-dig the lower terrace. He'll be building
a pergola within a year or so where that single tree is standing
on the left. You can get the barest glimpse of our house to the
far left with the metal screen door and the downspout next to it. 

I've peppered today's post with photos of our backyard project this year. The large pile of black dirt arrived late Thursday and DH has been moving it down to the patio level one wheelbarrow full at a time to spread out. He'll put grass seed on that and burlap to help keep the birds from eating the grass before it's had a chance to sprout. He's also shored up the banks on the east side. These protect the house from flooding when our creek runs high after a serious rain. Sod will go down the steep sides within the next week or so. 

So, have a wonderful weekend. I'll be finishing up Le Tour and looking forward to next year. Vive Le Tour de France - best three weeks of bicycle racing entertainment EVER. I'll be back on Monday.