Sunday, 11th July, 2010
Racing brilliant among the chaos of Tour de France

IT'S surely been one hell of a week at the Tour.

A very stressful and tiring one for many, when you throw into the mix a substantial dose of drama and chaos and with plenty of crashes, it has still made for some tremendous racing.

We started with a Prologue in which some of the main contenders for the overall win in Paris on July 25 put in a rather disappointing performance, made even more difficult due to the wet and slippery road conditions.

Then we had the crash-filled finale to the first stage, followed by the riders opting to neutralise stage two.

But that was more than made up in was a fantastic third stage, a mini Paris-Roubaix over cobbles in northern France.

On the down side we saw Frank Schleck (Saxo Bank) abandon the race after crashing heavily, Lance Armstrong (RadioShack) puncture at the worst possible moment, while an under-performing Alberto Contador (Astana) was a far from happy camper.

The immensely talented Andy Schleck succeeded in taking vital seconds on his main rivals on the stage, while Cadel Evans, the world champion from BMC Racing, put in a very laudable ride as well.

Garmin Transitions lost one of their GC contenders when Christian Vande Velde crashed heavily and was forced out of the race.

The Argyle tartan-clad armada then had the misfortune to see top sprinter Tyler Farrar crash and break a bone in a wrist, hampering his chances on the flatter stages where the quick men came out to play.

It took Mark Cavendish, the Manx Missile on the HTC-Columbia squad a few days to get his timing right and once he did, thanks in large part to the hard work of Mark Renshaw, saw him win back-to-back stages.

The double by Cavendish has put him right back in the race for the green jersey where Cervelo’s Thor Hushovd leads narrowly.

Bad luck continues to follow Robbie McEwen from Katusha. He sits third behind Hushovd, but the veteran Queenslander could have done without the television camera guy from stepping into his path, knocking him off his bike in the process banging his already bruised right elbow.

It has been a very painful first week for one of Australia's top cycling exports to Belgium.

McEwen has been an orphan among the peloton to have spent energy on those hard parcours of the first week.

There is little doubt in my mind it has left most of the survivors with a substantial overdraft.

Listen to any experienced rider or sports director and they'll soon tell you that precious energy needs to be harnessed and used wisely on any three week Grand Tour.

Hats off to Sylvain Chavanel from Quick Step for taking back the yellow jersey at the expense of Saxo Bank's Fabian Cancellara on Saturday.

But Chavanel starts the second week looking over his shoulder with Evans menacingly poised to once again don the golden fleece.

This is where the bigger boys come out to play as the race goes deep into the Alps.

It's going to be interesting to see who plays his cards first and how.

Will it be Evans? Armstrong? A Contador or Bradley Wiggins from Team Sky?

My head says Andy Schleck could just spring a surprise with Aussie veteran Stuey O'Grady, as always burying himself for the greater good of the team.

Another Aussie I'd like to see more of at the pointy end of the race is Michael Rogers from HTC-Columbia.

I think the ``Dodger'' is cherry-ripe for a strong ride through the Alps and reduce the three minute deficit he currently has next to his name.

So, expect to see all the big names come to the front with all guns blazing on the road to Morzine before a well-deserved rest day tomorrow.

*Scott Sunderland won an Australian road title at 19 before turning professional and spending 15 years in the saddle racing in two editions of the Tour de France. Since hanging up his race bike, Sunderland, from Inverell, NSW, successfully turned his hand to management with CSC, Cervelo and Team Sky