TDF stage Un: Hello boys

And we're back. The Grand Boucle left the cloudy, cold city of Brest and raced across the cloudy, cold countryside of Brittany. In what everyone has been calling a 'break from tradition' (and what I'd call a breath of fresh air) the prologue was played out in the form of a 180km mash-fest, forcing the commentators to reach for tired old sayings like "on a day like this you can't win the Tour, but you can loose it"...

The interest for most was found 10 spots back, where Evans and Valverde played a day-long publicity/psychology game - fighting for what can only be called the Lance spot. Even on boring, flat sprinters days Lance used to sit up front to 'stay clear of the crashes' - cut also to put himself front and center as the Man. Who can't remember seeing the bridesmaid Ullrich hovering at the blessed one's rear - he must still dream of the logos on Armstrongs hind quarters.

Well, there was no clear winner in that game today, though I'd expect some more action in this first week, as the mind games start to give way to the leg games.

For reference, Valverde took the stage in what was both an impressive and potentially foolish sprint. His team will now inherit the responsibility for riding up front, but will that sap some valuable energy for weeks 2 and 3?...