congrats to me

Kudos to Petacchi, he had to win every sprint today to win the little fishy jersey and he did it. Classy performance, and he won a final sprint that sounded uphill and didn't suit him. But without Bettini there to pip him, he took it. Evidently it will also be the same sprint for the World Championships, so that will be interesting. Winning the day again, was Pablo Neruda's Nudists. And the final GC win goes to my Unfrozen Taco.

Well, the 2005 Vuelta has been a blast, hope you guys enjoyed it too, i never thought i would win. Drop me a line and let me know what you thought of the new draft format. I know it's easier from an implementation point of view.

heras nearly got the stage

but it was Ruben Plaza, another great name or street address. Pan Blanco won today's stage and my squad broke the 1,000 point mark in the GC. So it looks like the Unfrozen Taco has this Vuelta in the bag. It would take a banner day by Vuelta Skelta to take back the lead, but my money is on Petacchi which would mean Pablo Neruda's Nudists.

Should be the last abandon of this year's Vuelta
OLE! lost David Canada who is not Canadian.

timed to perfection?

So there wasn't a sprint finish, and my man Haussler won the stage, putting me further ahead on GC. I'm not used to winning fantasy sports so commentary ends here. I'm thinking tomorrow will be a battle between Menchov and Sastre in the timetrial, but who knows.

Wouldn't be a vuelta stage without abandons...
Herradura Cura lost Santos Gonzalez
Senor Poopy lost Geslin and Guido Trenti
Pan Blanco lost the Cricket
El Rippo lost Perdiguero
Thor and The Basque Batallion lost the Termin-Aitor

i swear i didn't cheat

Nicki Sorensen won today's stage and nobody had him on their team. The real story of today's battle for the points was Eladio Jimenez who attempted to win the KOM in a single day. Unfortunately for him, there are no more mountains in the Vuelta. Fortunately for me, his points drove Unfrozen Taco to the win on the day and the lead in the overall. One has only to look at my team's performance in the sprint stages to know that this isn't a lock, i expect the lead may change two more times before Sunday. But we shall see...

More for Communidad Valenciana

Carlos Garcia Quesada won today along with A Spain in My Ass and that's quickly becoming one of my favorite jerseys. The tight battle for the overall spread out some with Brian's Vuelta Skelta forging a bit of a lead. Will it be enough? More mountains tomorrow.

gnashing teeth of a rabid vorpal cricket

One of my favorite riders, Paolo "the cricket" Bettini ripped it up today.

This little man, twirling an enormous gear, with his tiny frame sprinting ahead of this humongous peloton.

Due to the uphill sprint, he managed to stop the Alessandro "I'll win everything that's flat" Petacchi train.

Benefitting from his performance was none other than Taylor's Pan Blanco who won the stage.

With only five days remaining in the Vuelta, it's getting a bit crowded at the top. As of today, there is a tie between Dr. Brian'sVuelta Skelta and Jeff's Thor and the Basque Batallion for first place on the GC. A mere 7 points back is Taylor's Team Rookie led by Denis Menchov. I would be remiss if i didn't mention that my sleeping giant, Unfrozen Taco is close behind them. But the real intrigue might come from none other than Carrie Casagrande currently sitting in 7th, but only 135 points back and she has Heras. So anything could happen, if he goes on a tear. Stay tuned...

Wouldn't be a stage without some abandons:
Fruita Freewheelers lost stage-winner Bertagnolli
Las Mariquititas lost former NCS sprinter Julian Dean

125 lbs of fury, Heras Kicks Ass

Roberto rolled into the gold jersey today, while Denis Menchov crumbled like a Spanish version of a Chips Ahoy cookie. Seizing the day was Carrie Casagrande while the Vuelta Skelta maintained his narrow lead for the overall.

Only abandon affecting teams today was Las Mariquititas who lost Boonen.

unfrozen taco baby!

Eladio Jimenez won yesterday as did the Unfrozen Taco, finally! It only took 14 stages. Big win for my squad moved me up to 3rd overall, with Vuelta Skelta taking over the lead on GC.

Abandons continued profusely:
Herradura Cura lost Azevado
Vuelta Skelta lost Joachim
Pan Blanco lost Bellotti
El Rippo lost Tom Steels
Pan Blanco lost Manuel Beltran