"Yesterday, I dared to struggle... today, I dare to win."

Floyd's Big Day Out
That quote from Bernadette Devlin is a fairly accurate summary of the courage and tenacity displayed by Floyd Landis today at the Tour de France, as he reversed almost all of the 8 minute deficit with which he started the day. Those 8 minutes were the result of his inexplicable collapse on the ascent to La Toussuire at the end of yesterday's 16th stage.

The French sports newspaper, L'equipe, has criticized Floyd for his lack of panache. Is this the panache that les francais wanted to see? Floyd's response: "Panache that!"

It takes so much character for a guy to come back from something like yesterday's fringale. Today's stage will go down as one of the greatest performances in the history of the Tour. This Tour underscores the trials and tribulations of actually being human. You see Pereiro go from a disastrous day in the Pyrenees... losing almost half-an-hour, gaining it back with a big break - some say a tactical mistake - and perhaps losing it again in the final time trial to a guy who lost 10 minutes one day and then fights back with an amazing 150-kilometer solo ride the next! As my team-mate, Mack, would say, "that's bike racin'". You cannot script a better Tour. To borrow from Paul Sherwen: “This is panache, this is banging your fist on the table and saying I am the strong man, I will win the Tour”

Quote of the day - In response to a journalist's question of whether he expects to win Saturday's individual time-trial, Landis joked: "It wouldn't be any fun if I told you what was going to happen next!" .

My final thought, from les vallees of desperation to les cols of self-belief, this was an inspiring ride!