I heard Johan say that his team was like the team of old yesterday on the final climb up Plateau de Beille.  I think he meant that they played their cards perfectly to get the result they predicted at the start line in the team meeting.  The boys worked perfectly, only pulling at the front when they had to and when they pulled they made it worth while.  Both Hincapie and Popovych deserve a lot of credit for the work they did to dwindle the final group down, leaving Levi and Contador to turn the final screws; and turn the screws they did.   Alberto  was the only one of the contenders to counter Rasmussen's quick accelerations and in the end Alberto was to quick for Rasmussen sprinting past him at the line.  Both Contador and Rasmussen put time on the rest of the field.  Levi and Alberto moved up to 4th and 2nd in the GC; pretty good day.

The team was all smiles when I met up with them later.  They won the stage, Alberto is in white and they took over the team classification.  There was champagne at dinner, jokes and an air of relief.  I am sure the tension is back on for the start of todays stage but they took their time focusing on the good work they have done.  Martinez was the only one bold enough to suggest that he expected to be drinking champagne in France, only half joking.  The Team has put themselves in a very powerful position with two guys in the top five and less than a week of racing left.

It should be know that in the three times the race has finished on the Plateau de Beille the winner of the stage was the eventual winner of the Tour in all cases.  I am sure that Contador would see trading his white jersey for a yellow one as a significant upgrade.  With a lot of racing left this week, including 2 very hard mountain stages and a time trial, there is still room to win or lose.