Surprise, Surprise

I never did expect for a sprint finish on stage 19, but it happened. What was a relatively boring race turned into a very exciting finish. Mark Cavendish was not supposed to win this stage. There were too many climbs, a 9km climb near the finish, the finish line was on top of a small incline and he started his sprint too soon. Great job by Team Columbia getting Cavendish to the finish and great job by Thor Hushovd to stay on his wheel and only lose 5 pts in the green jersey race. Had Thor not been there his green jersey would be in jeopardy. Lance was only able to gain :04 sec on Andy Schleck and now remains in 3rd 1 min. 10 secs. behind Andy. Can't wait till tomorrow.

How does this sound: New Team (Radio Shack) managed by Johan Bruyneel with Lance and Levi?

Prediction for stage 20:
I haven't been doing that well predicting the stages this year and this is the most crucial stage of the race. What I'd like to see is Lance attack, crack the Schlecks and get 2nd. Actually I now would like to to see him win, but I doubt that will happen. Andy and brother Frank will do the attacking and will not let Contador out of their sight. Look for Lance to win stage, but time differences won't change the leaders.

Results of 19th stage:
1. Mark Cavendish, (GBR), Team Columbia, 03:50:35
2. Thor Hushovd, (NOR), Cervelo,
3. Gerald Ciolek, (GER), Milram,
4. Greg Avermaet, (BEL), Silence-Lotto,
5. Oscar Freire, (ESP), Rabobank,
6. Jerome Pineau, (FRA), Quick Step,
7. Fumiyuki Beppu, (JPN), Skil-Shimano,
8. Nicolas Roche, (IRE), AG2R,
9. Christophe le Mevel, (FRA), FDJeux,
10. Martijn Maaskant, (NED), Garmin-Slipstream, all same time

Overall standings after 19 stages:
1. Alberto Contador, (ESP), Astana, 77:06:18
2. Andy Schleck, (LUX), Saxo Bank, +4:11 minutes behind
3. Lance Armstrong, (USA), Astana, +5:21
4. Bradley Wiggins, (GBR), Garmin-Slipstream, +5:36
5. Andreas Kloeden, (GER), Astana, +5:38
6. Frank Schleck, (LUX), Saxo Bank, +5:59
7. Vincenzo Nibali, (ITA), Liquigas, +7:15
8. Christian Vande Velde, (USA), Garmin Slipstream, +10:08
9. Christophe le Mevel, (FRA), FDJeux, +12:37
10. Mikel Astarloza, (ESP), Euskaltel-Euskadi, +12:38