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Could Denis Menchov have lost the Tour de France on his rather wimpish descent from the Col de la Bonette? Quite possibly.

Menchov, the 30-year-old Russian known better for his uphill tumbles than his downhill spills, showed the timidity of a duck on ice as he edged slowly, hands firmly on the brakes, down to the sleepy town of Jausiers at the end of stage 16.

Having succeeded in staying with the CSC wagon upwards on this year's highest climb, the Rabobank rider undid all his good work by losing 35 seconds to his main rivals and now sits 1'13" off the yellow glow that is Frank Schleck's bony torso.

Whether it boils down to a dodgy breakfast made by his own private chef, or shoddy translation work by his own personal interpreter, or even the late arrival of his tailor-made mattress in the team hotel the night before last is as good as anyone's guess.

But all Blazin' Saddles knows is that both he and Menchov have egg on their faces.

You see, Blazin' cut out the poor humour to write a serious blog for a serious online newspaper on Tuesday, and in it he opined that Menchov was clearly the favourite for victory in Paris. It's the last time he listens to Chris Boardman's point of view...

Geronimo-Barlo!

In Denny's defence, he may well have heard on race radio about the close shave of Barloworld's Tour debutant John-Lee Augustyn.

Ever since Schleck major patented the head-over-handlebars-over-cliff move in June's Tour of Switzerland, it has been all the rage - first Oscar Pereiro trying his hand (and breaking his shoulder) and now 21-year-old Augustyn playing lemming.

Having crossed the summit of the Cime de la Bonette in pole position - determined to make amends for his team's quite frankly rotten three-week sojourn in France - the Tour's youngest rider overshot a tight right bend and literally rode off the edge of a cliff.

Luckily for him, the combination of a steep gradient and soft(ish) ground meant he somehow escaped with cuts and bruises despite sliding 20 metres down the dusty slope - more than can be said for his bike, which disappeared down the incline.

In fact, so far did his bike roll that it became futile - not to mention dangerous - for the South African to try and get it. Instead, he waited at the highest mountain pass in the Alps until his team brought him a replacement.

Now Blazin' Saddles has often seen riders discard their water bottles for watching spectators, but offering someone your bike must be a first.

Barloworld roll-call of dismay

Mauricio Soler: Retired with broken wrist before the mountains.

Moises Duenas: EPO clanger.

Felix Cardenas and Paolo Longo Borghini: Retired with sore knee and broken collarbone respectively after being involved in the same crash.

Baden Cooke: Retired tired.

Robbie Hunter: involved in Pereiro's two-wheel bungy jump.

John-Lee Augustyn: Face-first down a ravine but lives to retire another day.

Chris Froome: Attacked in stage 16 but lost his legs.

Giampaolo Chuela: Nursing Augustyn to the finish line at Jausiers has been his most notable contribution as yet.

Dutch Oven

Wednesday's stage 17 to Alpe d'Huez, via the minor hills of the Galibier and Croix de Fer, is what all fervent fans have been waiting 12 months for - a final showdown in the Alps between the race favourites.

The 21-hairpined finale will be carried out in fierce heat amongst a throng of orange, with Alpe d'Huez being a favourite spot for the Dutch due to their illustrious record of winners on its precipitous, winding slopes.

One man who is hoping to improve his record on this monster of a mountain is ITT-favourite Cadel Evans, who said: "I never had a good day here, that's my problem. I think this will be the third time I race l'Alpe d'Huez, so maybe third time lucky. We hope!"

Given Menchov's loss on Tuesday, and Bernhard Kohl's continued persistence, it will not only be team CSC looking to put a dent in the Australian's hopes.

Tour shorts

- A big shout out to Jens Voigt, whose self-effacing brilliance never ceases to amaze.

- Chapeau to the French, who recorded a superb one-two thanks to Cyril Dessell and Sandy Casar.

- On a less trumpet-blowing note, Saddles notices with interest that Gerolsteiner are said to be in talks with Red Bull over a sponsorship deal for the new season. So, Kohl's team are going to replace naturally sparkling mineral water with an injection of super-boosted, sticky taurine that is - strictly-speaking - illegal in France and only available in hooky cornershops? What will Christian Prudhomme have to say about that one?!

Plat du Jour:

A nice raclette, some pickled onions and a shot of the dangerously green Chartreuse, traditionally distilled by monks.

Lanterne Rouge

As the Ricc-EPO fall out continues, it emerges that the Saunier Duval riders are standing by boss Mauro Gianetti.

The magnanimous Swiss apparently "encouraged us to get involved in humanitarian projects, teaching the importance of the human and ethical aspects associated with cycling beyond sports results".

Apparently Floyd Landis, Marco Pantani and Alexandre Vinokourov did their bit for society too. Doesn't change much, mind.

Felix Lowe / Eurosport