Landis bites back

A distraught Landis told the press on Wednesday evening that his Tour de France was over following his collapse on the demanding Stage 16, won by Michael Rasmussen.

But the 30-year-old has gone for broke with a remarkably audacious solo attack on the first-category Col de Saisies, over 120 kilometres from the finish line.

Landis currently rides in pursuit of a leading group of escapees after the yellow jersey, Oscar Pereiro, and all the race favourites failed to latch on to his wheel. Crossing the summit of the Saisies, Landis had built up a lead of 3'10" over his rivals - still some way short of the eight minutes or so he needs to be back in yellow, but it's a start.

It remains to be seen whether this was the naive move of a desperate man, or an inspired attack which could change - once again - the outlook of this amazing Tour.

Once over the Col de Saisies, the remaining 147 riders will face four further climbs, including the HC Col de Joux-Plane, before the downhill finish at Morzine.

Sean Kelly: "Here in Morzine it's another difficult stage today, and I'm looking for something for my favourite team and rider, so I'm looking for a performance from CSC and the rider Carlos Sastre because for me he is the big favourite today and he will win the stage in Morzine."

Jens Heppner: "I have the same problem, I can't look beyond my favourite, and that is Andreas Kloden. He will win today and this will probably allow him to win the Tour.

Jacky Durand (in a chocolate shop): "What prediction can I give you? How about a Belgian story to go with these Belgian chocolates? Right, the winner today, since Landis is in difficulty, will be Axel Merckx, the Belgian rider from Phonak."

Richard Virenque (in a lingerie shop and speaking like a girl): "Hello, hello... My bet today is Michael Rasmussen. He still has got the legs for the polka dot jersey for the stage in Morzine with the climb of Joux-Plane. Rasmussen will win. (Holding up a pair of spotted pants) Do you want this nice polka dot jersey?"

A most interesting stat to get us started. Who do you think would be the yellow jersey if the Tour de France was simply the Tour de Montagnes? This will surprise you... adding up the times recorded over all the mountain stages, the hypothetical leader is none other than former maillot jaune Cyril Dessel! Thanks to his courageous ride to Pau in Stage 10, the Frenchman leads Carlos Sastre by 30" and Andreas Klöden by 1'34". Evans, Menchov, Moreau and Rogers are all there, but there's no Floyd Landis in the top ten, while actual yellow jersey Oscar Pereiro is eighth, 28'06" adrift due to his skocker in the Pyrenees. The Spaniard's saving grace: that 30 minute lead in Stage 13 to Montélimar.

Only 67 riders crossed the finish line of Stage 16 within the prearranged time limit. All the others would have been eliminated if the commissaries had not increased the limits set initially. Luckily the race rules state that it is possible to do so, since over 20% of the riders participating on that stage were in the gruppetto.

"When you speak about [seven-time King of the Mountain turned Eurosport commentator] Richard Virenque winning in Morzine in 2003, I can still see him now. What a solo run down into the town. It was mayhem. Morzine is a very little town, you have to go down a little cable car to get to the town centre, and when it's packed with people, it's a really nice theatre for a cycling race with the riders so close and accessible. Virenque came back from his doping suspension a couple of years earlier and the fans certainly forgave him for being naughty. They knew as the saying goes that you can't turn a cart horse into a derby winner and this was a derby winner."

After the three toughest days of the Tour, riders will need to stock up on calories. Might we be so bold as to suggest Tartiflette (the potato equivalent of macaroni and cheese) washed down with a red Savoyan wine. Yes, we'll admit that they don't have the substance of the great French wines, but they're not for sipping, they're for partying. Both whites and reds are grown throughout the Alps and the most famous red is the Gamay de Savoie, but the newsroom favourite after a hard day on the slopes is the Mondeuse. Dark in colour with a quite woody taste, Mondeuse is unusually light on the palate. That means it can stand up to the sometimes overpowering taste of a fondue or raclette without clogging the plumbing. So when Floyd Landis said after losing ten minutes on Wednesday that he wanted a beer, we knew it had to be in jest. Mondeuse, that's the stuff.