And we’re off!!!! Another exciting 22 days of spectacular racing across France. This is the race that year after year I look forward to the most.
The last few years have been dominated by Lance Armstrong and have created umpteen American racing fans obsessed with their man in Yellow. No mistaking it, he is a man in Yellow with all the races he’s won. This year will be his last and it will be by far the most important.
As a sport evolves the competitors naturally get stronger and faster, training methods change, and strategy is fine tuned. Armstrong and his team were the first to evolve and were met with success. Other teams have floundered for several years and I believe that they have finally caught up. If you thought that Lance was unstoppable this might be the year you are proven wrong. There’s no doubt that he has a mental edge and quite possibly still has a physical edge but the other teams are now organized and powerful forces.
To see my point look no further than this morning when David Zabriskie (#29) of CSC won the Individual time trial by 2.02 seconds over Armstrong. David was unseen previously due to a car accident in 2003 and has recovered enough in two years to return…with Force!
So, an exciting Tour awaits us all, enjoy the excitement.

Standings
Yellow: David Zabriskie
Green: David Zabriskie (worn by Armstrong)
White: Fabian Cancellara
Polka-Dot: none

Explanation of each Jersey:
Yellow: Overall leader in time.
Green: Points leader with points such as sprint portions and placement at the end of a stage.
White: Best young rider in points (must be 25 and younger).
Polka-Dot: Best climber (based upon points on climbs).