By Chris Brewer

Well, today was a day most of us thought something would happen on Tour.  No one expected what did, though…

Lance Watch: coming out of the bus having visited with 3-time cancer survivor and just a good kid to hang out with, Jimmy Fowkes, LA was in a great mood.  When interviewed by Eurosport’s “Planet Lance” he responded to Vincent’s question, “When will you attack?” by saying, “It’s all about how good the legs feel.”  And with a wink and a nod, he noted the Tour was only 3 weeks long and time was running out.  You do the math…

Check out the photos from Stage 15 of the Tour de France.

Check out today's Behind The Lines as we go in front of the peloton again to check out the 20K Port de Balès HC climb. 

Tour de France
Stage 15: Pamiers to Bagnères-de-Luchon, 187.5km/116mi
By Cathy Mehl

One hundred years ago the Tour de France added the tough climbs of the Pyrenees to spice up the action and create tension and excitement in the race.  Mission accomplished. At the top of the final climb today,  race leader Andy Schleck (Saxo Bank) attacked only to immediately suffer a slipped chain as his closest competitors rode away from him.  Alberto Contador (Astana), Samuel Sanchez (Euskaltel Euskadi) and Denis Menchov (Rabobank) were already on the move when  Schleck dismounted and fixed his chain, then chased back to try to save his yellow jersey.  But the others were already away and gaining time.  Contador moved himself into the race lead with two more hard days to go in the Pyrenees but received mixed reactions when he stepped on the podium to receive the jersey.  Fair play or taking advantage of a bad situation?  Mechanical or mistake?  The debate will continue for quite awhile as the battle for the 2010 Tour de France enters the home stretch.

High Mountains Stage
Mon, July 19 —starts at 12:15 local time

About Stage 15
By Chris Brewer
While definitely a hard day in the saddle, the 21km descent to the line might give the main rivals a day to reset and see of anyone is showing signs of weakness via a strong paced ride to Bagnères-de-Luchon.  While they won’t make it easy, there’s not a lot of places to make a strong attack, so it could be a good tactic today to make it a solid pace and see if anyone cracks.