The term "nervous" is on every rider and manager's lips when asked to describe the demands of the early phase of the race, but what they mean is more complex than a few shivers of anticipation at the prospect of a tricky bit of road or two.
"That's one that haunts me," shivers Garry Trudeau, now celebrating the 25th anniversary of the cartoon strip that 300 American papers have taken from the comic pages to run on the editorial page.
Even so, what he is proposing to do to public services if the Conservatives are re-elected is sending shivers down many a spine, as the consequences of a "long-term plan" that favours tax cuts at the expense of public services and national defence become more and more manifest.
Mclean shivers and grimaces.
BMS rejects his allegations and insists ImClone would be most valuable if fully integrated into BMS a notion that sends shivers down the spines of pharma-haters in the biotech camp.To see how difficult it can be even for Mr Icahn to get his way, look to the saga at Biogen Idec, another American biotech firm in which the gadfly billionaire owns a stake.
It will be "increasingly difficult to look at the economy of north and south except as a sort of island of Ireland economy".The phrase "island of Ireland" in the mouth of a British minister sends shivers down the spines of Protestants in Ulster who are permanently uncertain of Britain's commitment to the union.
And now turmoil in Russia is sending shivers through almost every emerging market.The IFC index of emerging stockmarkets has fallen by 19% in dollar terms over the past month, leaving share prices at barely half their level in July last year.
Still, the speed with which India's external balance is worsening raises questions about its financing.In this section Rotten yet robust The last, best game Subcontinental shivers Hard act to follow Clean slate A foreign affair ReprintsIn the six months to September, India's exports of goods were 21% greater than in the same period last year.
Since flies breed faster than mice (another favourite "model"), results should come more quickly.If that idea sends shivers down the spines of people who have seen "The Fly", they should be reassured.
Booking financial instruments at fair value would expose this practice for the lie that it is a prospect that sends shivers through banks across Europe.
The sight of the German chancellor and the French and Russian presidents issuing joint statements on an international crisis sent shivers down a few spines in London and Warsaw.
