Vive le Tour

Right, so the TDF is back, and my evenings are once again being planned around the delayed feed and highlights packages of the days racing.
Its weird - every time I mention to non-TDF junkies just how exciting a race it actually is to watch, I get this blank Icouldn'tthinkofanythingmoreboringthanwatchingcycling stare. I've given up trying to convince people now, and resorted to changing channels in the office at around 2:30pm each afternoon, with a gentle nudge on the volume control as the afternoon progresses and the peloton winds its way through some of the most magnificent fields, forests, hills and mountains, into the streets of the town that the race will finish in.

As for picking a winner this year - well its pretty wide open at this stage. Alexander Vinokourov has been labelled the favourite, and to be honest, if I had to back a rider this year, he would be the guy. He's the one who was so aggressive in the mountains during Armstrong's last three Tours, and was denied participation in last years tour due to his team pulling out at the last minute because half its riders (excluding Vino) were part of the doping scandal. After todays stage though, it'll be a tough task for him - he was involved in a nasty fall about 30km from the finish, and rode superbly to limit the damage but still ended up losing over 80 seconds. Will make things interesting in the days to come, as team mate Kloden now appears to be the best positioned rider in Vino's team (second place overall), and may take over leadership as a result. Watch Vino in the mountains though - he'll be deadly.

Yes folks, its mid-July, the evenings are long and cold, but one thing's for sure - the voices of Paul Sherwen and Phil Liggett are a familiar comfort at this time of year and the sights and sounds out of France are an exciting end to each day. Vive le tour!