Exactly my feelings. Good job that feller left his gate open eh?

Not one but two visitors into his back yard.


And the [imaillot jaune[/i at that.

Certainly was!

Today should be an epic stage. Shame the Schlecks have added the cold to their list of dislikes.

Not watching it - but have seen a text update. Looks like Andy is not gaining Schleckonds but minutes on Bertie, Cadel etc. 4 minutes gap on the maillot jaune. Perhaps Andy does have the minerals to be the winner.

Although from the sound of it there is the fear that he could blow up any time soon. Come on Cadel!!!

What a stage, I wish I wasn't working because one hour of highlights isn't enough
Stop the Race, Voeckler deserves the win!

It was class.
Have to admire Schleck, he went for it so far from home.
Just as well Evans chased him down otherwise it could have all been over and great effort from TV to hang onto his shirt tails. His face said it all as he crossed the line.

All beautifully set up for a battle royale going up the Alpe tomorrow.

One of the best stages I've seen in years, finally somebody went on an all out attack to try and win the tour. Voeckler somehow managed to keep the maillot jaune.

Schleck needs more seconds with the time trial to come.

If he's got the strength to take more time out of CE and TV today then he'll be a worthy winner in Paris.

If Schleck has it in his legs to take more seconds today then he deserves it. Finally some panache from one of the 'original' contenders.

The peleton is going to expect a Schleck attack today though so it might be harder to get the original break. Maybe it might have to be a Frank attack who will have plenty in his legs today.

Other option is for Basso to go on the attack. We've not seen much of him yet. Maybe he'll take Cadel with him. He might have a face you'd never tire of punching but I'd love Cuddles to to it.

Wiggins.....where would he have been on GC right now if the stories were right about him being on the upward curve form wise?

Couple of post-Tour talking points for the cycling fans.

Is it time that one or more of the three time trials (prologue, Team TT and individual TT) made way for more racing stages on Le Tour?

With the 2012 Olympic road race course being relatively flat and suited to the sprinters, is there merit in GB picking a team to deliver the likes of Cav to the front and give the team best chance of a gold medal, rather than just picking the best individual riders and leaving them to it?

To be fair they did leave out the prologue this year and the TTT last year. I do think however that having it on the last proper day of yellow jersey riding that it can benefit the stronger TT rider who can afford to lose a good few seconds in the mountains. I wonder how it would influence the teams riding if it was much earlier in the race. Would it ensure more attacking in the mountains as a strong TT rider like Cadel/ Wiggins can afford to keep a steady momentum up the hill knowing they can claw seconds back in the TT.

As for the Olympics I'm sure that the course has been specifically routed with Cav in mind and Team GB will be going all out to deliver him across the line first. He's the only rider we have who you could definitely say has the potential to win a road race as long as he is well protected around the circuit. You could argue he doesn't even need a lead out train as he's shown on numerous occasions that he knows how to jump trains to keep in the position he needs to be in to kick out to the finish.

Oh and thank you Cadel for winning me £40 at the bookies

I'f I'm honest I wouldn't have picked Cadel to win the tour before it started if I'm honest, but for whatever reason I'd convinced myself at the end of the 1st stage, that he would win it. After being alert enough to stay out of trouble, his 2nd place just behind Gilbert seemed to be a statement of intent to me.

As someone has mentioned, he's got a face you could punch all day (the whiny voice doesn't help), but I was delighted to see him win it.

Been listening to the Spokesmen round table podcast today and I can't believe the schtik Cadel Evans is getting for winning.

Let's look at the facts.

2 TT stages. Yes - that's 2. Countless uphill finishes and several proper high mountain stages. Cadel deserves the highest level of Chapeaux for winning this Tdf against several mountain goats.

Andy Schleck should have won. But he didn't have the b@lls to make it happen. He was far more worried about losing than winning. If he stays like that he will never win the Grand Boucle.

So in answer to the question about TT's. This year was a year where the TT should have had even less impact on the GC. The issue is that if Frandy had spent less time looking behind them than powering up the climbs the TT would have been meaningless. Instead - they played into Cuddles hands.

I won £67 on Cuddles - top work fella - I'd happily spend it all getting close enough to him to punch him relentlessly in the face - the whiney, characterless goon. Top bike rider though.

Team HTC folding at the end of the year.

Is it all now set for Cav to join Team Sky, maybe even Mark Renshaw going with him?

It would be some lead out train for him with Wiggins, Thomas and EBH already there.

If he does join it will be very interesting to see how they balance their priorities of looking after Wiggins as a GC contender, and getting Cav stage wins.

Fo exactly this reason, I wouldn't be surprised if he joins Garmin-Cervelo

It depends exactly where his priorities lie.

Does he want to be the all conquering hero of the Tour de France or does he want to win the Olympics next year and become a British hero. Sir Cav please stand up.

If it is the latter then it has to be Team Sky. If it is the former then it could be Sky but I'm not so sure. Definately not Garmin. There is after all no 'I' in team. It has to be a team with serious wedge like Sky or Green Edge.

Cav this year could win the Worlds along with his five stage wins in the Tdf, 2 in the Giro and a likely green jersey and multi stages in the Vuelta. If he's lucky this will get him a 3 minute slot at the SPOTY in December. Meanwhile....the BBC will give a ten minute homage to F1 and go over the top on Darren Clarke winning the Open.

However......if he was to win the Olympic road race this would give cycling a massive boost in the UK. Especially if he did it while wearing the World Champion rainbow stripes.

It makes sense for the future of cycling in this country to have the highest profile rider in a British team. I don't think there is another team out there who is right for him just now.

There's no way on gods green earth that Wiggins is gonna do lead out for Cav. You can't be a lead out rider and a GC contender. Same goes for Thomas. If he's the future GC contender and a much needed lieutenant for Wiggo in the mountains you can't waste his energy helping cav. It would also mean a big re think about EBH who has shown that he is now ready to push on after a year of injury worries.
The problem you have if Sky take on Cav is that you need a full team to push from 1KM to the end. Chaps like Danny Pate do lots of unseen work maintaining the pressure by keeping the speed high throughout the day. Sky may not actually be the best place for Cav to go to.

Fair play to ITV4. Were kicking off in Benidorm. www.touchline.tv/cycling/itv4-to-screen-2011-tour-of spain

Fair play to ITV4. Were kicking off in Benidorm. www.touchline.tv/cycling/itv4-to-screen-2011-tour-of spain

Renshaw has gone to rabobank!

Well that's the end of a beautiful partnership. He wants to have a go at winning a few races himself. I cant say I can blame him. He has been awesome for HTC and deserves his chance to win for himself.

So no one watching the Vuelta then?

not since i realised the commentators on itv4's coverage are not a patch on those for le tour (and Cav withdrew)

Same here. Struggling to watch it with those commentators.

In the middle of moving house so temporarily lost Eurosport.Tried watching the highlights but the guy commentating makes me want to self harm.

But then again I've always struggled to get 'back up' for the Vuelta.

I try to pace myself through the cycling season but come the end of le tour i'm afraid I'm all 'peleton'd' out.

I'd definately be taking more of an interest if I had access to Eurosport though. I like Matt & Ned and thoroughly recommend you listen to the Real Peleton podcasts they do. But who the chuff is the Aussie guy calling the action?