Landis leader on road at one point
In the peloton, meanwhile, only Oscar Pereiro’s team seemed interested in working, and in fact the Casisse d’Epargne squad burned off all but two escorts for Pereiro in an effort to take back some of Floyd’s lead, which swelled to more than nine minutes, making Landis the overall leader on the road. Incredible!

Floyd’s move was perfect. On a hilly stage with tricky, technical descents, the pack couldn’t harness the power of the draft. On uphills, they can’t climb too fast without dropping riders, and there’s minimal draft. On downhills, they’re strung out to turn corners and can't use each others’ slipstream for pacemaking. And as I’ve pointed out in previous columns, Floyd is a very fast descender.

With 30 miles remaining, CSC went to the front of the pack, and on the final climb, T-Mobile got into the act, despite the fact that Patrik Sinkewitz was the only rider to stay with Landis. But Floyd burst away from Sinkewitz and soloed the Col de Joux-Plane with a heroic ascent. The field was strung out behind, massive carnage as riders simply struggled to ride their own pace.

It didn’t matter. Teams massed at the front, and couldn’t close on Landis. CSC’s Carlos Sastre launched a determined move with 20 km to go, but it was too late. He made up some time on Landis and made up a little bit on Pereiro, but Floyd was away to stay, going over the top of the final climb 5:07 ahead of Sastre, and a whopping 6:52 in front of Pereiro in the yellow jersey.

Landis was the ultimate picture of determination. He never rested, even in the final meters of the finishing chute — he sprinted the final kilometer, and didn’t raise his fist in triumph until he was well past the line. He wanted every possible second.

It all comes down to Saturday
Friday's mostly flat stage 18 shouldn’t create changes in the overall standings. With three small climbs mid-stage, there’s no realistic opportunity for someone to grab any significant time.

That means the race will be determined Saturday, in the 36-mile individual time trial.

If Landis can recover adequately over Friday's course, he will be the man to beat Saturday. He was the strongest rider in the first time trial, in stage 7, finishing second only because he had to swap bikes in mid-stage.

And, as I wrote Tuesday, if Landis is within a minute of the leader entering the time trial, he should take the maillot jaune. (His coach Robbie Ventura even told OLN that he thought Landis could make up two minutes in the time trial.)

But it’s not over until it’s over. Floyd could have another bad day. He could fall flat. Someone could slip away Friday on a surprise break, when Phonak can’t respond. Nothing is out of the question — it’s been that kind of Tour.

But Floyd’s ride Thursday didn’t just establish him as the man of the moment, it makes him the man of the Tour. And that means he’s going to be tough to beat.