The tour isn't always seen by Americans as a tough man sport. I was just told the other night that in fact cycling was not much of a boy sport even. Well, I prefer to not even engage people like that in conversation about my beloved cycling as they surely won't get the romantic flavor of seeing the brutal climbs of the grand tours or the rugged cobbles of the classics. More stories can be told of near death experiences on the bike through cold and heat or simply overcoming the will to stop when the mind of a mere mortal would have got off the bike many miles or days previous. Wrecks at speeds of 40mph are not unheard of and yet cyclists put themselves into these situations day after day.
This years tour is not short on the already expanding details of a few riders fight to keep riding. Frank Schleck broke his clavicle in three places on stage 3, Cadel rode stage 9 with the yellow jersey and a broken arm and many more are suffering without much fanfare. Garmin cyclist David Millar rode today's stage by himself battling to make the time cut while nursing injuries and some illness. Read about it here.I remember racing in Colorado Springs-Garden of the Gods, after a night of major intestinal problems. The days near 100 mile race I completed with a bottle of Pepto in my back pocket as my only means of fuel. Needless to say, most "men's sports" contestants would have taken a time out or got an IV at half time. A luxury not afforded the sport of cycling. A real mans game.
After 9 stages of the 2010 Tour de France, the field has been ripped apart by crashes and the Alps. The 8th stage brought down Lance Armstrong after 3 crashes and a loss of over 10 minutes. One day of horrible luck in the Tour did what other cyclists couldn't do for seven straight years. The 9th stage started with Cadel Evans of Australia in the yellow jersey but by the end of the day Cadel lost over 8 minutes to Andy Schleck and Alberto Contador. It was also revealed that Evans had suffered a fractured arm on stage 8. Cadel battled to the finish and showed a lot of emotion with teammate Stever Morabito after they crossed the line. 
So I got the new Iphone 4 and just in time for the Tour de France. Since I don't get to work until just before the stage usually ends, I need my Tour fix from waking up till I get to work. So, luckily the Tour is streaming live on my phone! Versus has a cool application where you can stream the Tour with Phil and Paul - direct from Versus TV. Also, the stages are available to replay at any point.