Le Tour de Farce

Could the Tour de France get more fascinating - or more farcical? Firstly Alexandre Vinokourov has been expelled from the race for failing a doping test, and now the leader, Michael Rasmussen, has been sacked by his own team for breaking team rules and lying to them about his whereabouts during a time he was to have submitted to a drugs test. Rasmussen must be feeling shattered! Two years ago he had a time trial from hell in the penultimate stage of the Tour which cost him a place on the podium. And now, with the yellow fleece glued firmly to his back, he's been sacked, costing him an almost certain win in the most prestigious bike race in the world.

Now all that remains is to see if Cadel Evans can bridge a gap of just under 2 minutes in the final time trial of the Tour. If Evans stands on the podium in Paris, it will be the best result by an Aussie ever. C'mon Cadel, you can do it!