Stage 17: Il Falco

Paolo Savoldelli of Italy, right, reacts as he crosses the finish line ahead of Kurt-Asle Arvesen of Norway, to win the 17th stage of the Tour de France cycling race between Pau and Revel, southwestern France, Wednesday, July 20, 2005. (AP Photos/Christophe Ena)

Discovery wins it's second stage of the Tour and Lance retains the yellow jersey with the same lead on Basso. II Falco, "the falcon," is Paolo's given nickname for his fearless decending skills. His downhill skills were particularly vital to his 2005 Giro win, when his descent down the last mountain of the penultimate stage managed to close a gap between him and the leading group, saving the win for himself. The Giro (Tour of Italy--the first of the three major 3 week stage races with the Tour of France and Tour of Spain later this summer) took place earlier this summer.

Barring some freak accident Lance is just a few days away from his 7th consecutive Tour victory and Team Discovery is on the verge of taking over the overall Team classification lead from T-Mobile.