As a photographer, I'd like to defend the human artistic element in photographing and videotaping the Tour as it happens. You can't point and shoot elegant images from some remote location. The immediacy and drama of the story in the picture would be gone.

I do agree, however, that there needs to be a restriction on cars and motorcycles driven by people who are not specifically trained in how to drive in close proximity to cyclists. When that Getty Images motorcycle took out the rider a few days ago and dragged his bike 200 yards, I was horrified, but when that car hit Flecha and Hoogerland yesterday, what the hell was that driver thinking? You can see in the video that he was actually speeding up! I think the driver was trying to impress the VIPs in the car by getting them up at the front of the leaders, probably looking at them closely himself, then glanced back at the road, boom there's a tree, and he swerved out of instinct.

I could only read a few words of the French transcript about the car. Could someone translate that, please?

I'm amazed at Hoogerland back up and riding this morning. What a hero indeed.

And what someone else said about rodeo riders having nothing on cyclists. Amen! 8 seconds. Feh.

Roxy