Interesting

I watched the last part of the stage in the Tour de France yesterday not expecting to see much action from the race contenders. Shaun Kelly said that it was highly unlikely that Contador or any of the other hopefuls would try anything on the final short Category 2 climb but he was wrong. The Spaniard made three stinging attacks on the way up the climb and it was only Cadel Evans and Samuel Sánchez who were able to keep up with him. In the end, Cadel Evans took the most time from the race leader Thomas Voeckler.

Today they race from Gap to Pinerolo. With one Cat 1 climb, a couple of Cat 2 climbs, a couple of Cat 3 climbs and a downhill finish you would not expect to see a lot of action from the top riders but who knows, they may not wait until the three Hors Category climbs of Thursday or the finish on Alpe d’Huez to take their stance.

The weather could be the deciding factor, it poured down for most of yesterday’s stage and is not expected to improve until Friday. Some riders don't perform well in rain and those that do take full advantage of that.

By the way, this year will mark the 100th anniversary of the first climb of the Galibier in the race and the finish on Thursday at 2,645 metres will be the highest in the Tour’s history. Fascinating stuff eh!