On the race course today it was all about the Schleck brothers. They took the stage and made some time on Lance, but since those dudes are slow as molasses when it comes to the TT, Lance should be able to leap frog over them and work his way back into second place. Unfortunately for Lance, the next day is Ventoux and that's where Andy Schleck will go hard again and attack.

Contador did a big bone headed move today when he attacked while the Schleck brothers were riding tempo. All that did was animate the brothers who then proceeded to stay with Contador, while Kloden got dropped! It was a complete knuckle headed move - why didn't AC just stay on their wheels and keep Kloden close? It makes no sense and what it tells me is that it comes down to an issue of trust and Alberto doesn't trust his teammates.

Today's stage was hard, it was vicious. They made four big climbs and it rained on and off. How bad was it? It was so bad that Cadel Evans rode in with Thor Hushovd! Although it must be said that Thor rode a great race today, no doubt inspired by Cavendish taunting him as a rider unworthy of the green jersey. Cav should've waited until Paris to say that because the mighty Thor went on a tear today to not only secure the green jersey, but to rub it in Cavendish's face. Thor's ride to day was just another reminder that when a rider has incentive that they can be dangerous enough to move mountains.

As for Cadel Evans? It's not looking good for the Aussie these days. I will say that for some riders, once you know you can't win the Tour de France that it frees you up to win other races. At this stage of the game I think Cadel might have trouble expecting a whole team to be built around him and the Tour – it's just not realistic anymore. Cadel needs to be pragmatic and a lot less nervous...I've never seen any rider be more uncomfortable in a media interview and that's where he wastes a lot of his needed energy.

Tomorrow's time trial will be a good show. The 40k distance is just right after two weeks of racing. If it was more than that it would be a death march. Lance should do fine and although it's been over week since he was in yellow, lets not forget about Cancellara.

Zappy, did you say you're going to Montana for a Gary Fisher bike launch? I think I need my own bike line. “Roll” is a good name for a bike brand don't you think? If I did my own bike, they would be known for being sturdy enough to withstand Armageddon and they would have to built in the U.S.A.. Nothing with my name on it would ever be associated with China.

(To Bobke's point, I am currently in the wilds of Montana at the 2010 Gary Fisher road bike launch so please be patient about Bobke's column in the next three days).