Okay, so I fell behind this weekend, figuring it would be the average, boring first week of the tour, and sure enough, something actually happened. I had to pinch myself...

The first stage looked all set for the formulaic procession that the organizers seem to think should dominate the first week of racing; you know, the race starts, some guys go off the front, they stay out until about 10 k until the finish, then, field sprint. And as expected, it was going that way when, the best possible thing that could have happened did.

El Pistolero lost a chunk of time. He was poorly positioned, as is his habit, when a pile of domino's fell in front of him. He must have had an incredibly forlorn look on his face. He was in the first line of guys still upright behind the mess, watching everyone else ride away from him. When all was said and done, it was over a minute lost.

Then the Team Time Trial. I don't think anyone was truly surprised by the result. The TT specialist heavy squads battled it out for stage honors, chrono-man hauled his charges to a good time and El Pistolero seeded time I'm sure he was expecting to lose. And now here we are... The main GC guys are all in front of the defending champ and he has no choice but to go on the attack. How cool is that. Throw the formula out the window, there's a battle royale on the horizon.

Now for sure we'll see who's got what kind of form. Today's stage was a hint of what's coming. A 2 k climb to the finish provided the opportunity for the GC men to test their legs and for the champ to start pulling back lost time. And he did his best. The real battle came down to him and the convict, while the other men all lost time. After all the talk of who's got what, the early season form guide looks to be the truth. Everyone must have known what attacks were coming today, but several guy's were unable to follow the wheels. When we get to the high mountains, expect to see El Pistolero riding in front on his own. And honestly, I just don't see anyone else winning on the famed Alpe.

The Schleck boys and the American pretenders might as well pack their bags, they may be a minute and a half plus ahead, but El Pistolero has them right where he wants them. They may be looking in the rear view mirror now, but in three weeks time, they'll be wondering how it all slipped away.

Honerable mention goes to Tyler Farrar for his win on Independence Day. If you only take one sprint stage in the Tour, that's not a bad one to pick. I'm not sure, but I do believe that makes him only the second American to take a road stage (not a tt) in each grand tour. Can anyone name the other guy?

And now, for the next few days, back to the snooze fest that the first week of the tour is...