Knock-Out Timetrialing

Good afternoon and welcome to our live coverage of Knock-out qualifying for the 2010 Tour De France . It's been an exciting season so far with La Pistolero dominating for most of the year but The Tall Skinny Dude has not stopped the pace of development and seems to have been making big strides . The Tall Skinny Dude team has been leading so far this week and looking good so we'll see how it goes .

Our pit-lane reporter , Peter Mindsor spoke with Little Tex this morning and says he claims to feel good and will be going for the pole . It's good to see the old warriors still giving it their best in hopes of reclaiming lost glory .

And the track is about to go green so back to live coverage . In the first session , the usual back markers take to the track first . These are the men new to time trialing , with low team budgets and who have truly struggled to drag themselves thru the mountains . Among them is The Swiss Time Machine . Coming from a long way back , he is still a favorite for a top grid position and so far , is posting some very impressive sector times .

But wait , Johann Van Summeren has crashed right at the pit lane entrance and has brought out yellow flags . No one will be able to set a fast time while the crews are cleaning up the debris he left on the track . How embarrassing it must be to simply fall of the ramp like that .

The track has gone back to green and we're now in the qualifying two session . So far , The Swiss Time Machines early sector times are holding up and he's still in the lead . Little tex is on the road but is obviously struggling for grip . He just hasn't been able to find his old form this year and he's in danger of not making the cut . The rest of the big hitters are hitting the track and while they're putting in respectable times , none of them are really threatening the leader board . The Russian , however does seem to be putting in better times than The Spanish Golden Boy which should see him move up the grid .

And now final time-trialing begins . This is what we've been waiting for . The posturing and gamesmanship is over and only raw speed will be able to secure the pole . The Tall Skinny Dude has tried to get the better of La Pistolero , but somehow , La Pistolero has managed to get out last on a quickly improving track . That should be an advantage .

The first two sector times are very even . They're fighting a tense back and forth battle , niether man threatening the pole position , but making it hard to choose between them . But it's in the third and final sector that La Pistolero's setup seems to tip the balance . He does a personal best sector time , moving him solidly ahead of The Tall Skinny Dude . It's not enough for pole position on the day but certainly enough that , barring unforseen disaster , the championship should be his .

Well it's been another exciting qualifying session . The final sunday of the season looks sure to be a thriller . Be sure to join us tomorrow at Noon eastern standard time on your local Fox affiliate for full coverage of the 2010 Tour De France Gran Prix .