I bloody love this race. Just as it seemed over for my favourites just as it had begun, they are now back in contention. Andy Schleck looked out of it after the prologue, conspiring to lose 45 seconds to the likely winner, Contador. Wiggins did nearly badly losing somewhere near 30s. It doesn't seem like much, but Contador's time-trialling ability, so often a crucial factor, vastly exceeds that of Schleck and is superior even to Wiggins, an excellent individual rider, as showcased by his efforts in Beijing.
Aided by a well-timed, but ultimately race-ending, crash by his brother Frank, the monumental efforts of Fabian Cancellara, and the famed cobblestone roads of northern France, Schleck was able to keep with the elite leading group of 6, all of which were champions of some kind, and reclaimed a minute over Contador and even more over Lance Armstrong. Without Frank he is weakened in the mountains, but Contador has been off-key is recent months as well; a fascinating battle will hopefully evolve between the two. As for Wiggins, he was in the Contador group until the latter inexplicably dropped off the back end with less than a kilometre to go. The gains are far less than the minute gained by Schleck but at the same time he had less to claw back.
To cap it all was the second place finish by Geraint Thomas, the 24-year-old Welshman, which, thanks to a fifth place in the prologue, puts him in second overall, and into the white jersey.
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