WICKED PISSAH!!! Just a great, great ride -- very impressive. All the more so, given that you were forced to be 15% overgeared (ouch!!! -- don't try this at home, kids).
Nice to see five Granite Staters and four Quebecois in the top 20 -- Genevieve Jeanson kicks ass (!) as usual. Also nice to see what I assume is Tyler Hamilton's bro' Geoffrey with a top 25 finish.
If anyone doubts the steepness of this wall -- extended sections at
> twice the average gradient of l'Alpe d'Huez -- check out the terrific photos of the 2002 race at:
http://www.jsmcelvery.com/2002mw.html Two dimensional photos never show this properly, but check out the obvious gradient in, for example: