Le Tour update

Today's stage was great from a fan's perspective and it gave me a small glimmer of hope for the fantasy squad. I didn't think I would move up much since everyone has Armstrong and theoretically eveyone should have Alejandro Valverde, the winner of the stage. The way that the game is structured, Valverde was the only rider in his grouping that is even riding in this year's Tour. So, I was somewhat suprised today when my team jumped from 405th place to 295th place. I suspect some people did not read the pre-race coverage very closely and picked other riders from Valverde's group who ended up not being selected for their team's Tour squad.

Armstrong's contract at Tradesports.com surged 22 points today. The market is effectively giving Armstrong an 82% chance of victory. I think that's about right. I think only illness, a crash or some sort of incident can keep Armstrong from winning his seventh.