A lot has happened since my last post.  The first rest day passed, the race started to take shape, the sprinters got another chance at some glory and I visited the oldest city in France.  Here is a quick recap and some info on what has been going on. 

What happens on a rest day? For starters, not a lot of rest.  The staff usually blows off a little steam at a party the night before, hence the funny picture.  They can't get to crazy because they have to work during the rest day.  The typical rest day usually consists of a press conference, some riding, some laundry and some bike work.  The athletes cannot take the day completely off the bike because their bodies would protest the following day with massive amounts of tension.  So they ride easy, active recovery, for an hour or two.  This means the bikes have to be prepared to ride and then washed and prepared to race the following day.  Since Tigne is in the mountains most of the teams drove down to some flatter roads to make the days training a little easier on the riders.  Everyone gets to relax a little on a rest day but it is by no means a day off.

Tuesday was the best day of racing that I have seen in a long time.  There was a lot going on, some breaks, some big climbs and behind it all the race for the yellow jersey really began to take shape.  The final climb on the day was the Col de la Galibier.  I had the opportunity to ride the Galibier when I was in France for the Dauphine, it took me almost two hours to ride up and down it, while these guys seem to do it in half that.  It was great to see how strong they are compared to the average cyclist.  After Tuesday people started to talk about who is looking good and who is not.  Alberto and Levi are both on the looking good list while Vino may have very well kissed his chances of wining the Tour goodbye.  Since Vino was the favorite going into the Tour and he cracked, there is a lot of buzz surrounding who might be able to fill his shoes. 

Wednesday and Thursday should have been relatively straight forward and easy stages, good for a break or for the sprinters.  However the days turned out to be brutally hot and the pace was savage.  I was told that the team went through 160 bottles each day, that is 15-20 per rider!  Vino seemed to find a little form and Moreau fell victim to him and his team flexing their revived legs.  Bad for Moreau good for us; Moreau lost enough time that everyone is saying that he is out of contention.

That leads us to today.  I can’t help but look past today’s stage even though it is a difficult rolling hill stage that could catch some by surprise.  All the fun is ahead of us.  9 more days of racing, 2 mountain top finishes, 2 time trials and the grand finale.  Tomorrow we will see if Rasmussen has improved on his TT.  “A TT doesn’t lie, it puts you in your place” that is what Chris the mechanic tells me.  I can’t wait to see where our guy’s place is........  There is a lot of speculation around the young rider from Spain, Alberto Contador.  He is riding exceptionally well but is not know for being an incredible time trialist.  Will he be able to rise to the occasion?  Will Levi do what he has showed up to even thought the UCI forced him to change his super aerodynamic position?  Only time will tell.