Traditionally the first day in the Alps is considered the day when the race leaders go for the kill to assert their supremacy. It is generally the day when the riders who are in the contention for the top honors in the General Classification take the climbs seriously and put on a show of their life. After all the Alps are the toughest mountains in the sport and when it is Alpe d’Huez, no one can afford any letups.

On the final climb of the day, the tough Alpe d’Huez with an average gradient of 10d and the avg. speed not exceeding 8m/hr, the serious contenders of the race finally came to the fore to show why they are the best in the field. With the peleton breaking up at the start of the mountain and all the riders in the initial break falling away the leaders – Landis, Sastra, Leipheimer, Menchov, Evens and Kloden put up a show worthy of the best of the tours.

Even though the day was won by a relatively young rider named Frank Schleck, who by the way is a rider of the future, the leaders came home close on his heels to set up the race for the final showdown in its last week. 6mins is all that which separates Landis, who is leading the race, to Leipheimer who is currently in the 9^th place. All the above leaders are in there and with 2 more days left in the Alps, it’s anyone’s tour now.

Landis looks like the firm favorite as he is yet to crack in any of the stages. He was rather unfortunate in the individual time trial last week when he had to change his bike but expect for that he has looked totally in control. His only weakness could be his team who cannot support him in chasing down break-aways but if the peleton decides to give him a hand, he could take the tour easily.

With none of my favorite riders in the tour this year I am backing Leipheimer to take the yellow jersey at the Champs-Elysees. Even tough he is quite down in the overall I think he has what it takes to spring a surprise in one of the remaining mountain stages. He has the Vinokourov style of riding which appeals to me and his composure is a sight to watch. Had he been lucky in the first week he would have been in the top 3 now but that’s what makes this tour so amazing.

Once again the tour showed why the sport takes men of out of world character to compete in it. Jens Voigt, who has already won a stage in this tour, sacrificed himself on the Alpe d’Huez to the extent that even after an accident which injured his shoulder, he got back on the bike to set up Schleck for the victory. Such is the courage and strength of character of the men in the tour that when Voigt finally finished the day the whole tour stopped to applaud him. It’s a great race, this Le Tour and its sad that so few people follow it in India.

Every race is a story worth repeating a zillion times for the sheer strength and courage of all the 190 riders in the tour where each and every rider is a true hero. Anyone who can ride 3500 miles in 21days, in hot sun and bone-chilling cold showers, without breaking any rules, sitting up for riders who have fallen off even when there is a chance to win and having the camaraderie of waiting up when the opponent is lagging behind in order to beat each other in a fair sprint is something that needs to be applauded in the highest of decibels. It’s unfortunate that the skeptics of this sport are so many. I just hope that they realize what it takes to do what these riders do in 21days.