Tour de France

The good thing about being in Mummy Mode at the moment during the school holidays is that I've got time to watch the Tour de France.

Today it's Stage 11 in the Alps, short but tough.  But these men are tough.  Unbelievably tough.

In an earlier stage, in a race littered with spectacular crashes, Andre Greipel fell and dislocated his shoulder, but after having it popped back in, got on his bike and not only finished the race, but sprinted in a fight for the line, only narrowly coming in second to Peter Sagan.  They're that tough.

Although Bradley Wiggins is in yellow jersey position, and hopes to be until Paris, I'm cheering for Cadel Evans of BMC.  He's gritty. He's an all-rounder.  He's Australian.  And he doesn't winge either.

This is him in the 2010 Tour.  He crashed in Stage 8 and broke his elbow, but got on his bike and kept on going.

(Joel Saget/AFP/Getty Images)

(Obviously, this is in no way a purely gratuitous image - I'm making an important point.)

The Tour is really engrossing because it's not just about first past the post - it's all about team tactics, and races within races.  

And sweaty men in lycra.