Pop the cork

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BEIJING -- I know this is going to sound like sour (chardonnay) grapes.

My faithful readers would remember how I bet a bottle of champagne with my USA Today colleague, Vicki Michaelis, that the French would derail Michael Phelps’ quest for eight gold medals by winning the 400-meter freestyle relay.

And I also wrote how risky that was, given French athletes’ well-justified reputation for coming apart when the pressure was on.

Which is exactly what happened Monday.

Why else would a French journalist sitting next to me have said, ‘We choked.’?

Before you start running to the comment button to remind me that Jason Lezak’s otherworldly anchor leg was the difference, let me point out the following:

The French anchor, Alain Bernard, is world record holder in the 100, with a personal best of 47.50; Lezak’s personal best is 47.58.

Bernard had a lead of 59/100ths of a second when he went into the water.

And then he swam like a rookie, going out too fast in the first 50 meters and hanging so close to the lane line he pulled Lezak along in his ‘draft,’’ or wake.

There are not enough adjectives to describe how astonishing a swim Lezak pulled off, with a split of 46.06 seconds that defies credulity.

Bernard still should have been good enough to beat it with the advantage he was given by his teammates.

So, Vicki, when we drink that Laurent Perrier, we will give the unexpected toast, ‘Vive Lezak!’

The French? They always are toast.

-- Philip Hersh