CyclingRevealed's First Impressions '06

Prologue, July 1st, Strasbourg, 7.1 km ITT

Seven Year Itch

Today is the first day of a new Tour de France era. Lance Armstrong has retired with seven record breaking Tour wins to his credit. Now the world is waiting with great anticipation for what is expected to be the most open Tour in a very long time.

It is fitting that the race is starting in a city of incredible historical heritage, much of which is still visible to the visitor. The magnificent cathedral is the tallest surviving medieval structure in the world. At its base timber framed houses, canals and narrow streets evoke times long past. But if Strasbourg is a city of the past, this capital of the Alsace region is also a city of the 21st Century. Today it is the seat of the Council of Europe and the European Court of Human Rights. It also hosts a seat of the European Parliament, together with Brussels .

For today's Prologue the smart money was on CSC's David Zabriskie. His recent two time trial performances at the Tour de Suisse clearly demonstrated both his gift and current form for ‘the race of truth' . Also he won last years Tour prologue and then held the Yellow Jersey until his spectacular crash in the Team Time trial.

So who would challenge Zabriskie? Two Englishmen were the most favored. Olympic Pursuit Champion Bradley Wiggins had the pedigree and sheer speed for such a short TT. More questionable was the second choice, David Millar, who returned to racing today after a two year suspension for drug use. Although highly motivated to prove that he can still win, and win clean, he lacks racing miles.

And talking of motivation that, above all else, will decide the outcome not only for today but the entire Tour. Team morale especially in CSC, T-Mobile and Ag2r must be extremely delicate right now. For them and the entire Tour entourage the shocks of the past week obviously run deep. Hounded by the media and public alike maintaining athletic focus will be the toughest challenge of all.

SPECIAL NOTE: As we watch Millar come back from his drug use suspension one cannot help thinking about Tyler Hamilton and his high profile case. It has been almost two years since his case exploded in to the media. The root of his supposed cheating was blood doping. The efficacy of the test was very much brought in to question. The latest scandal from Spain seems to include extensive blood doping practices with a large number of riders. Since Tyler 's case why is it that we have not seen a single case of blood doping identified in the peloton? Surely Basso, Ullrich, Mancebo and most of the other 50 plus accused riders were tested over the past two years for irregular blood parameter readings. Has the testing process used on Tyler been quietly pushed aside due to concerns over its accuracy? Have the doctors creating the blood doping processes found ways to mask their activity? In the coming months there will be many questions, some answers and many excuses. Unfortunately some innocent people will get dragged down by the whole mess. Based on what we see now it could be that Tyler was the first to pay the price for scientifically flawed tests.

The drama of the past few days took a back seat to the start of the Tour de France. Flying throught the streets of Strasbourg Credit Agricole's Thor Hushovd surprised the favorites in prologue time trial and took the Tour's first Maillot Jaune of 2006. The 28 year-old Norweigan completed the 7.1 km course in 8'17".

Tomorrow : the race hits the open road with a flat stage and the first scratches to relieve the seven year itch will be made by the sprinters. Strasbourg to Strasbourg (with a short journey into Germany's Black Forest), 183km. Come back here for our report.

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