SPOILER - Overall Standings After Stage 12

Here's how they stack up after losing an entire team before the start of stage 12. Only 158 riders left.

Take a look. The standings will probably remain this way until Alpe d'Huez in a handful of days.

1. EVANS Cadel 1 SILENCE - LOTTO 50h 23' 05"
2. SCHLECK Frank 17 TEAM CSC SAXO BANK 50h 23' 06" + 00' 01"
3. VANDEVELDE Christian 191 GARMIN CHIPOTLE 50h 23' 43" + 00' 38"
4. KOHL Bernhard 115 GEROLSTEINER 50h 23' 51" + 00' 46"
5. MENCHOV Denis 131 RABOBANK 50h 24' 02" + 00' 57"
6. SASTRE Carlos 11 TEAM CSC SAXO BANK 50h 24' 33" + 01' 28"
7. KIRCHEN Kim 41 TEAM COLUMBIA 50h 25' 01" + 01' 56"
8. EFIMKIN Vladimir 104 AG2R-LA MONDIALE 50h 25' 37" + 02' 32"
9. ASTARLOZA Mikel 22 EUSKALTEL - EUSKADI 50h 26' 56" + 03' 51"
10. NIBALI Vincenzo 67 LIQUIGAS 50h 27' 23" + 04' 18"
11. SANCHEZ Samuel 27 EUSKALTEL - EUSKADI 50h 27' 31" + 04' 26"
12. VALVERDE Alejandro 31 CAISSE D’EPARGNE 50h 27' 46" + 04' 41"
13. VALJAVEC Tadej 109 AG2R-LA MONDIALE 50h 28' 28" + 05' 23"
14. CUNEGO Damiano 71 LAMPRE 50h 28' 42" + 05' 37"
15. PEREIRO SIO Oscar 37 CAISSE D’EPARGNE 50h 29' 06" + 06' 01"
16. BOTCHAROV Alexandre 83 CREDIT AGRICOLE 50h 29' 12" + 06' 07"
17. SCHUMACHER Stefan 111 GEROLSTEINER 50h 29' 16" + 06' 11"
18. KREUZIGER Roman 65 LIQUIGAS 50h 30' 05" + 07' 00"
19. MONFORT Maxime 189 COFIDIS CREDIT PAR TELEPHONE 50h 30' 12" + 07' 07"
20. SCHLECK Andy 16 TEAM CSC SAXO BANK 50h 31' 39" + 08' 34"
21. TEN DAM Laurens 138 RABOBANK 50h 31' 53" + 08' 48"
22. MOINARD Amaël 187 COFIDIS CREDIT PAR TELEPHONE 50h 34' 54" + 11' 49"
23. CARRARA Matteo 93 QUICK STEP 50h 35' 04" + 11' 59"
24. CASAR Sandy 161 FRANCAISE DES JEUX 50h 36' 05" + 13' 00"
25. BRUSEGHIN Marzio 74 LAMPRE 50h 36' 29" + 13' 24"
26. DEVOLDER Stijn 91 QUICK STEP 50h 36' 41" + 13' 36"
27. FOFONOV Dmitriy 85 CREDIT AGRICOLE 50h 37' 09" + 14' 04"
28. SIUTSOU Konstantsin 49 TEAM COLUMBIA 50h 39' 07" + 16' 02"
29. KNEES Christian 153 TEAM MILRAM 50h 39' 44" + 16' 39"
30. FOTHEN Markus 113 GEROLSTEINER 50h 41' 13" + 18' 08"
31. POPOVYCH Yaroslav 7 SILENCE - LOTTO 50h 41' 14" + 18' 09"
32. GONZALO RAMIREZ Eduardo 125 AGRITUBEL 50h 41' 20" + 18' 15"
33. GOUBERT Stephane 107 AG2R-LA MONDIALE 50h 43' 15" + 20' 10"
34. MOERENHOUT Koos 135 RABOBANK 50h 44' 43" + 21' 38"
35. FEDRIGO Pierrick 141 BOUYGUES TELECOM 50h 44' 55" + 21' 50"
36. CIONI Dario 4 SILENCE - LOTTO 50h 45' 48" + 22' 43"
37. VELO Marco 159 TEAM MILRAM 50h 48' 47" + 25' 42"
38. VOIGT Jens 19 TEAM CSC SAXO BANK 50h 50' 05" + 27' 00"
39. DESSEL Cyril 101 AG2R-LA MONDIALE 50h 51' 10" + 28' 05"
40. LÖVKVIST Thomas 48 TEAM COLUMBIA 50h 52' 58" + 29' 53"
41. PINEAU Jérôme 145 BOUYGUES TELECOM 50h 52' 59" + 29' 54"
42. AERTS Mario 2 SILENCE - LOTTO 50h 53' 43" + 30' 38"
43. SZMYD Sylvester 78 LAMPRE 50h 53' 54" + 30' 49"
44. ARROYO David 32 CAISSE D’EPARGNE 50h 55' 14" + 32' 09"
45. ZUBELDIA Haimar 21 EUSKALTEL - EUSKADI 50h 56' 57" + 33' 52"
46. GUTIERREZ José Ivan 35 CAISSE D’EPARGNE 50h 57' 54" + 34' 49"
47. MILLAR David 198 GARMIN CHIPOTLE 50h 58' 27" + 35' 22"
48. GUSTOV Volodymir 14 TEAM CSC SAXO BANK 50h 58' 46" + 35' 41"
49. TIRALONGO Paolo 79 LAMPRE 50h 59' 32" + 36' 27"
50. SANCHEZ Luis-Leon 39 CAISSE D’EPARGNE 50h 59' 53" + 36' 48"
51. TANKINK Bram 137 RABOBANK 51h 00' 15" + 37' 10"
52. ZABEL Erik 151 TEAM MILRAM 51h 01' 15" + 38' 10"
53. DI GREGORIO Rémy 163 FRANCAISE DES JEUX 51h 02' 20" + 39' 15"
54. HINCAPIE George 47 TEAM COLUMBIA 51h 02' 56" + 39' 51"
55. FLECHA Juan Antonio 132 RABOBANK 51h 03' 14" + 40' 09"
56. LE MEVEL Christophe 87 CREDIT AGRICOLE 51h 05' 17" + 42' 12"
57. POZZATO Filippo 61 LIQUIGAS 51h 05' 49" + 42' 44"
58. LOPEZ GARCIA David 36 CAISSE D’EPARGNE 51h 08' 16" + 45' 11"
59. FREIRE Oscar 133 RABOBANK 51h 10' 14" + 47' 09"
60. DUQUE Leonardo 186 COFIDIS CREDIT PAR TELEPHONE 51h 10' 45" + 47' 40"
61. DUPONT Hubert 103 AG2R-LA MONDIALE 51h 12' 18" + 49' 13"
62. MARTINEZ Egoi 24 EUSKALTEL - EUSKADI 51h 12' 47" + 49' 42"
63. LOWE Trent 196 GARMIN CHIPOTLE 51h 14' 11" + 51' 06"
64. MONCOUTIE David 188 COFIDIS CREDIT PAR TELEPHONE 51h 15' 14" + 52' 09"
65. LANG Sebastian 117 GEROLSTEINER 51h 16' 17" + 53' 12"
66. POSTHUMA Joost 136 RABOBANK 51h 16' 33" + 53' 28"
67. CANCELLARA Fabian 13 TEAM CSC SAXO BANK 51h 18' 12" + 55' 07"
68. WEGMANN Fabian 119 GEROLSTEINER 51h 19' 04" + 55' 59"
69. AUGUSTYN John-Lee 52 BARLOWORLD 51h 19' 23" + 56' 18"
70. TSCHOPP Johann 148 BOUYGUES TELECOM 51h 19' 33" + 56' 28"
71. ARVESEN Kurt-Asle 12 TEAM CSC SAXO BANK 51h 20' 01" + 56' 56"
72. TXURRUKA Amets 28 EUSKALTEL - EUSKADI 51h 21' 34" + 58' 29"
73. VAUGRENARD Benoît 169 FRANCAISE DES JEUX 51h 21' 56" + 58' 51"
74. HESJEDAL Ryder 195 GARMIN CHIPOTLE 51h 22' 40" + 59' 35"
75. LE BOULANGER Yoann 167 FRANCAISE DES JEUX 51h 23' 50" + 1h 00' 45"
76. PORTAL Nicolas 38 CAISSE D’EPARGNE 51h 24' 59" + 1h 01' 54"
77. GERRANS Simon 86 CREDIT AGRICOLE 51h 29' 43" + 1h 06' 38"
78. MARZANO Marco 75 LAMPRE 51h 30' 02" + 1h 06' 57"
79. TOSATTO Matteo 98 QUICK STEP 51h 30' 53" + 1h 07' 48"
80. CHAVANEL Sylvain 181 COFIDIS CREDIT PAR TELEPHONE 51h 31' 17" + 1h 08' 12"
81. WEENING Pieter 139 RABOBANK 51h 32' 47" + 1h 09' 42"
82. FISCHER Murilo Antoniobil 64 LIQUIGAS 51h 32' 50" + 1h 09' 45"
83. VELITS Peter 158 TEAM MILRAM 51h 33' 37" + 1h 10' 32"
84. HUSHOVD Thor 81 CREDIT AGRICOLE 51h 33' 37" + 1h 10' 32"
85. PAURIOL Rémi 88 CREDIT AGRICOLE 51h 34' 36" + 1h 11' 31"
86. BALLAN Alessandro 72 LAMPRE 51h 35' 04" + 1h 11' 59"
87. SCHOLZ Ronny 118 GEROLSTEINER 51h 35' 44" + 1h 12' 39"
88. VAN SUMMEREN Johan 8 SILENCE - LOTTO 51h 35' 46" + 1h 12' 41"
89. ELMIGER Martin 105 AG2R-LA MONDIALE 51h 35' 54" + 1h 12' 49"
90. VAN DE WALLE Jurgen 99 QUICK STEP 51h 36' 45" + 1h 13' 40"
91. CLEMENT Stef 142 BOUYGUES TELECOM 51h 38' 16" + 1h 15' 11"
92. LELAY David 127 AGRITUBEL 51h 38' 26" + 1h 15' 21"
93. BONNET William 82 CREDIT AGRICOLE 51h 39' 04" + 1h 15' 59"
94. LEQUATRE Geoffroy 128 AGRITUBEL 51h 39' 24" + 1h 16' 19"
95. FROOME Christopher 57 BARLOWORLD 51h 39' 26" + 1h 16' 21"
96. VOGONDY Nicolas 129 AGRITUBEL 51h 39' 26" + 1h 16' 21"
97. PEREZ Ruben 26 EUSKALTEL - EUSKADI 51h 39' 27" + 1h 16' 22"
98. ARRIETA Jose Luis 102 AG2R-LA MONDIALE 51h 40' 00" + 1h 16' 55"
99. VERDUGO Gorka 29 EUSKALTEL - EUSKADI 51h 40' 29" + 1h 17' 24"
100. MÜLLER Martin 155 TEAM MILRAM 51h 41' 36" + 1h 18' 31"
101. BARREDO Carlos 92 QUICK STEP 51h 42' 07" + 1h 19' 02"
102. OROZ Juan José 25 EUSKALTEL - EUSKADI 51h 42' 49" + 1h 19' 44"
103. FLORENCIO Xavier 143 BOUYGUES TELECOM 51h 44' 13" + 1h 21' 08"
104. ROSSELER Sébastien 96 QUICK STEP 51h 44' 41" + 1h 21' 36"
105. ISASI Inaki 23 EUSKALTEL - EUSKADI 51h 46' 58" + 1h 23' 53"
106. VOECKLER Thomas 149 BOUYGUES TELECOM 51h 50' 10" + 1h 27' 05"
107. SCHRÖDER Björn 156 TEAM MILRAM 51h 51' 18" + 1h 28' 13"
108. CIOLEK Gerald 44 TEAM COLUMBIA 51h 52' 50" + 1h 29' 45"
109. HANSEN Adam 46 TEAM COLUMBIA 51h 54' 08" + 1h 31' 03"
110. KUSCHYNSKI Aleksandr 66 LIQUIGAS 51h 55' 11" + 1h 32' 06"
111. DEAN Julian 193 GARMIN CHIPOTLE 51h 55' 36" + 1h 32' 31"
112. BONO Matteo 73 LAMPRE 51h 55' 47" + 1h 32' 42"
113. HUNTER Robert 58 BARLOWORLD 51h 55' 48" + 1h 32' 43"
114. FÖRSTER Robert 112 GEROLSTEINER 51h 56' 43" + 1h 33' 38"
115. O’GRADY Stuart 15 TEAM CSC SAXO BANK 51h 57' 16" + 1h 34' 11"
116. PATE Danny 199 GARMIN CHIPOTLE 51h 57' 21" + 1h 34' 16"
117. RIGHI Daniele 77 LAMPRE 51h 58' 27" + 1h 35' 22"
118. WILLEMS Frederik 69 LIQUIGAS 51h 58' 37" + 1h 35' 32"
119. LEFEVRE Laurent 144 BOUYGUES TELECOM 51h 58' 57" + 1h 35' 52"
120. ROY Jérémy 168 FRANCAISE DES JEUX 51h 59' 12" + 1h 36' 07"
121. KRAUSS Sven 116 GEROLSTEINER 51h 59' 12" + 1h 36' 07"
122. CHEULA Gianpaolo 54 BARLOWORLD 51h 59' 47" + 1h 36' 42"
123. MC EWEN Robbie 6 SILENCE - LOTTO 52h 02' 14" + 1h 39' 09"
124. SORENSEN Nicki 18 TEAM CSC SAXO BANK 52h 02' 24" + 1h 39' 19"
125. TERPSTRA Niki 157 TEAM MILRAM 52h 03' 24" + 1h 40' 19"
126. JALABERT Nicolas 126 AGRITUBEL 52h 03' 37" + 1h 40' 32"
127. GRABSCH Ralf 152 TEAM MILRAM 52h 04' 25" + 1h 41' 20"
128. COYOT Arnaud 33 CAISSE D’EPARGNE 52h 04' 27" + 1h 41' 22"
129. STEEGMANS Gert 97 QUICK STEP 52h 04' 55" + 1h 41' 50"
130. MORI Massimiliano 76 LAMPRE 52h 05' 26" + 1h 42' 21"
131. BRANDT Christophe 3 SILENCE - LOTTO 52h 06' 14" + 1h 43' 09"
132. QUINZIATO Manuel 68 LIQUIGAS 52h 07' 13" + 1h 44' 08"
133. GILBERT Philippe 165 FRANCAISE DES JEUX 52h 07' 14" + 1h 44' 09"
134. BICHOT Freddy 122 AGRITUBEL 52h 08' 31" + 1h 45' 26"
135. HOSTE Leif 5 SILENCE - LOTTO 52h 09' 32" + 1h 46' 27"
136. HAUSSLER Heinrich 114 GEROLSTEINER 52h 09' 46" + 1h 46' 41"
137. FEILLU Romain 124 AGRITUBEL 52h 10' 37" + 1h 47' 32"
138. FRISCHKORN William 194 GARMIN CHIPOTLE 52h 11' 21" + 1h 48' 16"
139. DE JONGH Steven 94 QUICK STEP 52h 12' 06" + 1h 49' 01"
140. MAASKANT Martijn 197 GARMIN CHIPOTLE 52h 12' 18" + 1h 49' 13"
141. RENSHAW Mark 89 CREDIT AGRICOLE 52h 13' 30" + 1h 50' 25"
142. GERARD Arnaud 164 FRANCAISE DES JEUX 52h 13' 31" + 1h 50' 26"
143. BURGHARDT Marcus 42 TEAM COLUMBIA 52h 13' 33" + 1h 50' 28"
144. LANGEVELD Sebastian 134 RABOBANK 52h 13' 46" + 1h 50' 41"
145. CHAVANEL Sébastien 162 FRANCAISE DES JEUX 52h 13' 59" + 1h 50' 54"
146. BRARD Florent 183 COFIDIS CREDIT PAR TELEPHONE 52h 14' 26" + 1h 51' 21"
147. CAVENDISH Mark 43 TEAM COLUMBIA 52h 15' 09" + 1h 52' 04"
148. LANCASTER Brett Daniel 154 TEAM MILRAM 52h 16' 24" + 1h 53' 19"
149. ENGOULVENT Jimmy 84 CREDIT AGRICOLE 52h 16' 51" + 1h 53' 46"
150. DUMOULIN Samuel 185 COFIDIS CREDIT PAR TELEPHONE 52h 17' 14" + 1h 54' 09"
151. GARCIA ACOSTA Vicente 34 CAISSE D’EPARGNE 52h 17' 43" + 1h 54' 38"
152. CHICCHI Francesco 63 LIQUIGAS 52h 18' 30" + 1h 55' 25"
153. CASPER Jimmy 123 AGRITUBEL 52h 18' 40" + 1h 55' 35"
154. EISEL Bernhard 45 TEAM COLUMBIA 52h 20' 14" + 1h 57' 09"
155. RIBLON Christophe 108 AG2R-LA MONDIALE 52h 20' 15" + 1h 57' 10"
156. AUGE Stéphane 182 COFIDIS CREDIT PAR TELEPHONE 52h 24' 53" + 2h 01' 48"
157. SPRICK Matthieu 146 BOUYGUES TELECOM 52h 25' 25" + 2h 02' 20"
158. VANSEVENANT Wim 9 SILENCE - LOTTO 52h 29' 19" + 2h 06' 14"

SPOILER - Top 57 in Stage 12

Yep, you guessed it. George Hincapie finished the stage in 57th.

Here's the list.

1. CAVENDISH Mark 43 TEAM COLUMBIA 3h 40' 52"
2. CHAVANEL Sébastien 162 FRANCAISE DES JEUX 3h 40' 52" + 00' 00"
3. STEEGMANS Gert 97 QUICK STEP 3h 40' 52" + 00' 00"
4. ZABEL Erik 151 TEAM MILRAM 3h 40' 52" + 00' 00"
5. FREIRE Oscar 133 RABOBANK 3h 40' 52" + 00' 00"
6. CHICCHI Francesco 63 LIQUIGAS 3h 40' 52" + 00' 00"
7. HUSHOVD Thor 81 CREDIT AGRICOLE 3h 40' 52" + 00' 00"
8. DUQUE Leonardo 186 COFIDIS CREDIT PAR TELEPHONE 3h 40' 52" + 00' 00"
9. DEAN Julian 193 GARMIN CHIPOTLE 3h 40' 52" + 00' 00"
10. HAUSSLER Heinrich 114 GEROLSTEINER 3h 40' 52" + 00' 00"
11. MC EWEN Robbie 6 SILENCE - LOTTO 3h 40' 52" + 00' 00"
12. CASPER Jimmy 123 AGRITUBEL 3h 40' 52" + 00' 00"
13. HUNTER Robert 58 BARLOWORLD 3h 40' 52" + 00' 00"
14. ELMIGER Martin 105 AG2R-LA MONDIALE 3h 40' 52" + 00' 00"
15. BALLAN Alessandro 72 LAMPRE 3h 40' 52" + 00' 00"
16. KIRCHEN Kim 41 TEAM COLUMBIA 3h 40' 52" + 00' 00"
17. SIUTSOU Konstantsin 49 TEAM COLUMBIA 3h 40' 52" + 00' 00"
18. FLORENCIO Xavier 143 BOUYGUES TELECOM 3h 40' 52" + 00' 00"
19. FÖRSTER Robert 112 GEROLSTEINER 3h 40' 52" + 00' 00"
20. EVANS Cadel 1 SILENCE - LOTTO 3h 40' 52" + 00' 00"
21. GONZALO RAMIREZ Eduardo 125 AGRITUBEL 3h 40' 52" + 00' 00"
22. MAASKANT Martijn 197 GARMIN CHIPOTLE 3h 40' 52" + 00' 00"
23. PEREZ Ruben 26 EUSKALTEL - EUSKADI 3h 40' 52" + 00' 00"
24. DE JONGH Steven 94 QUICK STEP 3h 40' 52" + 00' 00"
25. POPOVYCH Yaroslav 7 SILENCE - LOTTO 3h 40' 52" + 00' 00"
26. CANCELLARA Fabian 13 TEAM CSC SAXO BANK 3h 40' 52" + 00' 00"
27. KREUZIGER Roman 65 LIQUIGAS 3h 40' 52" + 00' 00"
28. SCHLECK Frank 17 TEAM CSC SAXO BANK 3h 40' 52" + 00' 00"
29. VANDEVELDE Christian 191 GARMIN CHIPOTLE 3h 40' 52" + 00' 00"
30. RIGHI Daniele 77 LAMPRE 3h 40' 52" + 00' 00"
31. COYOT Arnaud 33 CAISSE D’EPARGNE 3h 40' 52" + 00' 00"
32. SANCHEZ Samuel 27 EUSKALTEL - EUSKADI 3h 40' 52" + 00' 00"
33. PEREIRO SIO Oscar 37 CAISSE D’EPARGNE 3h 40' 52" + 00' 00"
34. MORI Massimiliano 76 LAMPRE 3h 40' 52" + 00' 00"
35. CUNEGO Damiano 71 LAMPRE 3h 40' 52" + 00' 00"
36. RENSHAW Mark 89 CREDIT AGRICOLE 3h 40' 52" + 00' 00"
37. MENCHOV Denis 131 RABOBANK 3h 40' 52" + 00' 00"
38. VOIGT Jens 19 TEAM CSC SAXO BANK 3h 40' 52" + 00' 00"
39. POZZATO Filippo 61 LIQUIGAS 3h 40' 52" + 00' 00"
40. SASTRE Carlos 11 TEAM CSC SAXO BANK 3h 40' 52" + 00' 00"
41. FISCHER Murilo Antoniobil 64 LIQUIGAS 3h 40' 52" + 00' 00"
42. CARRARA Matteo 93 QUICK STEP 3h 40' 52" + 00' 00"
43. FLECHA Juan Antonio 132 RABOBANK 3h 40' 52" + 00' 00"
44. TANKINK Bram 137 RABOBANK 3h 40' 52" + 00' 00"
45. KRAUSS Sven 116 GEROLSTEINER 3h 40' 52" + 00' 00"
46. VALJAVEC Tadej 109 AG2R-LA MONDIALE 3h 40' 52" + 00' 00"
47. KOHL Bernhard 115 GEROLSTEINER 3h 40' 52" + 00' 00"
48. GUTIERREZ José Ivan 35 CAISSE D’EPARGNE 3h 40' 52" + 00' 00"
49. MILLAR David 198 GARMIN CHIPOTLE 3h 40' 52" + 00' 00"
50. CHAVANEL Sylvain 181 COFIDIS CREDIT PAR TELEPHONE 3h 40' 52" + 00' 00"
51. ISASI Inaki 23 EUSKALTEL - EUSKADI 3h 40' 52" + 00' 00"
52. MOERENHOUT Koos 135 RABOBANK 3h 40' 52" + 00' 00"
53. KNEES Christian 153 TEAM MILRAM 3h 40' 52" + 00' 00"
54. BARREDO Carlos 92 QUICK STEP 3h 40' 52" + 00' 00"
55. AUGUSTYN John-Lee 52 BARLOWORLD 3h 40' 52" + 00' 00"
56. ASTARLOZA Mikel 22 EUSKALTEL - EUSKADI 3h 40' 52" + 00' 00"
57. HINCAPIE George 47 TEAM COLUMBIA 3h 40' 52" + 00' 00"

SPOILER - SPRINT FINISH

UK rider - and Team Columbia rider Mark Cavendish has won his third stage of the 2008 Tour de France.

THREE STAGE WINS in only his second Tour de France.

Second place is Sebastian Chavanel.

So fast. So cool. Great finish.

If you have access to the telecast, make sure you see the finish.

Standings to come. Big shake-up in the standings because of the doping issue with Ricardo Ricco.

SPOILER - 3.5KM To Go

All together again and the pace is blistering. 64.8KMH! I don't know what that comes out to but the riders are all single-file because they're going so fast.

In the time that I've typed this, they have gone all the way down to 2.2KM to go. Holy moses. Team Columbia is moving to the front and keeping the pace SUPER high.

Just now, at 1.5KM to go (can you believe it?) QuickStep have jumped forwrad and it's a mad bunch at the front.

Here comes the sprint finish.

SPOILER - 11KM To Go

With a mere 11KM to go to the finish, three breakaway riders have a tiny 0:14 lead over the peloton.

That tells me that even with the wind at their backs, they'll be gobbled up soon and a mad dash will ensue for the line.

Saab word for stage 12

The Fly to the Finish Sweepstakes word of the day is...

"Throttle"

Good luck.

Two Riders lead 58 miles to go

With nearly 60 miles to go, two riders lead stage 12.

These two are ahead by more than two minutes. They are both Frenchmen.

Gerard and Dumoulin are the two cyclists in the breakaway.

The rest of today's updates will be spoilers and will be posted after 9PM EST.

In future Tours de France, I might just podcast this event live.

Saab Fly to the finish code word coming up.

Numbers

Just after the start of today's stage 12, team Barloworld rider Baden Cooke abandoned leaving the Tour with 158 riders and just 10 intact teams.

Insanity. And Barloworld has been decimated. Not as bad as Saunier Duval I guess.

Stage 12 Overview, Picks and Comment

With 11 stages in the books, here's how the next stage shapes up.

It's a 168.5KM blast along the bottom of France. With few climbs (just one category 4 to even mention), this stage is really going to be fast. It's almost all downhill and should feature a massive sprint near the end.

With Thor Husovd riding well (finishing 13th in stage 11) and Robbie Mc Ewen yet to be heard from, I'm CERTAIN that these two will battle it out in a sprint for the ages.

The stage runs Lavelanet all the way to Narbonne.

In Cycle Sport America Magazine, they say,

A flat transition stage takes the peloton away from the Pyrenees to the mediterranean.

Simple. True. Fast. Fun.

We're more than halfway through the 2008 Tour de France. Coming soon is Alpe d'Huez and other fun stuff. I'm having a blast. I hope you are too.