I Could've Been a Conta-ten-dor

It only seemed appropriate, with the road tilting upward in the Pyrenees, to have a Spaniard grace the top of the blog. In the 1990's no one had ever seen a force as indomitable as Miguel Indurain. "Big Mig" won five consecutive Tours from 1991 to 1995, being dethrowned in 1996 by 'Mr. 60%," Bjarne Riis.

Since that time, cycling mad Spain has been searching for his replacement. Many, like Iban Mayo, Alejandro Valverde, Haimar Zubledia, Juan Miguel Mercado, Jose Marie Jimenez, and Juan Manuel Garate, have all been tabbed as "next," but none has ever been a real contender in France.

Photo: AFP

Enter the precocious talents of 24 year old Alberto Contador (Discovery Channel). After today's victory at Plateau de Beille, Contador sits in second place on the GC with a more than realistic opportunity to win the Tour. With the full strength of Discovery Channel, and with two cards [in Contador and Levi Leipheimer, who currently sits in 4th overall] for Johan Bruyneel to play, we will all see how strong Michael Rasmussen truly is over the next 5 days of true racing [rest day on Tuesday and Sunday is more-or-less celebratory].