2006 Tour de France update

I started following the Tour back in the mid 1980s when Greg LeMond became the first US rider to win. Since that time I have managed to follow the Tour and have been in Paris for numerous finishes, though I missed perhaps the most exciting finish in modern history when LeMond somehow beat French great Laurent Fignon (the last truly brilliant French rider) on the final day of racing. This year the Tour has been wild, with yellow jerseys changing backs seven times already. Yesterday, American rider Floyd Landis started the day with the maillot jaune and seemed to be in position to lock down the tour as the riders hit the toughest climbing day of the year but on the final climb, Landis cracked and ended up dropping over 10 minutes and dropped to 11th place.

Today, Landis took charge on the first climb and never looked back. He's now half a minute behind the leader from Spain Oscar Pereiron and in third place with a bland day on Friday followed by an individual time trial on Saturday. Landis does very well in time trials so this Tour is going to finish on Sunday as one of the most exciting that I can recall since the '80s.

After the doping problems that were announced just before the start this year many thought the race would be a dud but 2006 has been fantastic. I don't know if Landis can win but we will know by the end of Saturday who the winner will be in Paris.