Today's stage: 99 mile stage with a climb over 11,000 ft finishing with the only summit finish of the race.
Who won today's stage? Levi Leipheimer (Radio Shack) attacked on the final climb gaping the field to take the win over Sergio Henao (Gobernacion de Antioquia) and Frank Schleck (Leopard-Trek).
What matters in the GC race? Leipheimer took over the race lead by winning the stage. He also took a 10 second time gap over the other contenders to establish himself as the overwhelming favorite in this race right now.
Biggest surprise: Leipheimer's attack. He even said it himself in the post race interview. He has never won a race in that fashion with an explosive attack. War of attrition, yes. Time Trial, yes. Explosive mountain attack, not until today when he followed Frank Schleck's wheel and realized they had gapped everyone else leading to his own attack.
Biggest disappointment: The race itself was long and boring until the end. Having a huge early climb can sometimes cause a great race, but sometime it ends up like today. Breakaway escapes, peloton meanders until they need to chase, peloton catches break before the end, sprint/climb to the finish. It ended up a by the books stage in every way.
Other items of note: Robert Gesink (Rabobank) along with Leipheimer continued the redemption from France we have seen at the Vuelta in Spain. Gesink and Leipheimer both had an awful time of it in France because of crashes... Former leader Patrick Gretsch (HTC-High Road) was with the group until halfway up the climb before being dropped. He lost over a minute on the day, but the GC was never his target.
What is coming tomorrow? A difficult stage headed to Aspen. The climbs include Cottonwood Pass and Independence Pass. Looks like a stage for a climber who can descend considering Independence Pass is 20 miles from the finish.
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