A Summit Finish in the Pyrenees and Minions at the Olympics

Welcome to Stage 17 of Le Tour de France. Sunday is starting to loom in the thoughts of the riders, but there's still a lot of miles to go before Paris. Today we're still in the Pyrenees and we end on a steep summit climb. After fantastic riding for the past 16 stages, it's looking as though if Tadej Pogacar (UAE Team Emirates/UAE) can hang in there, he'll be wearing Yellow on the way in to Paris. He's got a solid five minute lead which doesn't sound like much, but in a race where winners are determined by seconds, five minutes is actually a lot. Fifty-three riders have abandoned the race for a variety of reasons, but the remainder face a tough day in the high mountains today. 

We only have today and tomorrow in the Pyrenees, but look 
at today's profile. The start is deceptive - the roads are still 
narrow and winding. At the end is the Hor Cat mountain peak 
finish on Col du Portet with an average grade of 8.7%. Ooof! 
It's Bastille Day in France. Will a Frenchman be able to 
upset Pogacar and win on their independence day?  

The stage starts with kindness, but that rapidly fades to challenge followed by challenge, followed by a penultimate challenge on Col du Portet. There's nothing more challenging than hitting the highest peak at the end of a long day's race, and having the finish at the summit. It should be a very exciting stage. 

                    If you can't view the video above, here's the You Tube link for you 

                    to follow ( https://youtu.be/lnzT5S5ey3I ) . I adore the Minions, 

                    and really love the Olympics Minion commercials. 

On a totally different note, I'm sure my long-time readers know I adore the Minions. Have you seen the two Olympics commercials the Minions have been appearing in? I've got the gymnastics autograph with Simone Biles and the swimming session with Caleb Dressel to share with you. I'll put links separately into my text also just in case the You Tube links don't come across well in the end post. Every time I see Minions I smile. They just make me very happy. I have them in my car and at work and of course, my car's nickname is Minion. I'm surrounded by happy yellow "helpful" entities. 

                    The swimming video is equally dear. Minions in the pool, Minions 

                    either swimming or with floater tubes. A hoot! Again, I'll post the 

                    You Tube link here in case the video doesn't transfer over to your 

                    platform. ( https://youtu.be/su2YvRYHRm8 )

I'm sending some photographs of Egyptian sunrises to my tattoo artist. I don't want the solar disk on my head to look like a red birthmark. I want it to look like the sunrise with the Eye of Horus on top of it. I'll get those sent off today. It's going to be a very full day though. I have a TON of stuff to try to get done today, so I'd probably better plug in the photos and head out. Have an excellent day and please, stay safe and be kind. I'll be back tomorrow.