Interactive Learning Moment - on stage 3 Team Columbia and Lance Armstrong put the hammer down in the crosswind and took 41 seconds out of all of Lance's contenders for the yellow jersey. These precious seconds were the difference for Lance between the podium and fifth place.

Follow the Leader Moment - the stage 4 team time trial course in and around Montpelier was a twisty, turny, technical affair. Several teams such as Skil-Shimano and BBox Bouygues Telecom saw their TTT trains derailed by one, very fast, decreasing radius right turn.  I should know, I almost when off the road on that turn while riding the course with the Garmin boys in the morning before the stage.

Never Give Up Moment - in the era of race radios it is a rarity that a breakaway will succeed when the peleton is smelling a field sprint. On stage 5 of the Tour, Frenchman Thomas Voeckler proved that not only can you fool the peloton, but you can do it solo. Chapeau Tom!

What Was He Thinking Moment - Cadel Evans' crumble in the third week of the Tour was well documented, but what about his attack near the summit of the climb out of Andorra when the peloton had almost 100 miles and two major climbs left to ride. There's strategy and then there's desperation. Wait, there is also bewilderment.

What Were They Thinking Moment - well, this moment actually occurred long before the Tour started when the race organizers decided to put the iconic Col du Tourmalet so far from the stage finish that even I had a chance of getting back on before the line.

NRA is Alive and Living In Europe Moment - I have been covering the Tour for over twenty years and I have never, ever heard of a rider being shot during the race. In what is clearly a very sad moment, guns have made their presence felt in the world's greatest bike race.

Why Can't We All Get Along Moment - it appeared to be purely out of spite that Garmin-Slipstream chased down the breakaway containing George Hincapie, keeping him out of the yellow jersey. I like the guys on the Garmin-Slipstream team and am still wondering why it was so important to keep an American on an American team out of yellow. A rising tide floats all boats.

Life Just Isn't Fair Moment - Jens Voigt is one of the most likeable guys in the pro peloton. His crash descending the Petit Saint Bernard was pretty horrific and put one of the most exciting riders out of the race. Check out Jens addressing his fans from his hospital room (thanks Andrew!): http://www.saxobanktakingthelead.com/?p=1217

The Mind is a Terrible Thing Moment - we will probably never know what Alberto Contador was thinking when he attacked, against his director's orders, on the final slopes of the Colombiere. However, given his pithy post-race comments about Lance Armstrong, the fact that his attack knocked Andreas Kloden off the podium making a place for Lance probably has even Alberto wondering what he was thinking.

The Winds of Change Moment - too bad the riders were subjected to very strong headwinds on the upper slopes of Mont Ventoux. The winds most likely muted the effects of the Giant of Provence and blunted Frank Schleck's chance to jump over Lance onto the podium.

Bruce

It doesn't take a rocket scientist to realize that, while Alberto Contador has the yellow jersey well in his grasp, the second and third places on the podium will be determined on the slopes of Mont Ventoux. Barring a complete meltdown, Saxo Bank rider Andy Schleck's 1'30" lead over Lance Armstrong, Andreas Kloden, Bradley Wiggins and his brother Frank Schleck should be enough to give him the second step of the podium.

So, Lance, Andreas, Bradley and Frank, who are separated by less than 40 seconds on the overall classification, will be riding hard, digging deep and generally throwing caution to the wind in an attempt to be top three in Paris.

Of those four, Frank Schelck has been climbing the best and appears to have the upper hand. However, this is the last difficult day in the Tour so no rider can claim to be holding back to be able to fight another day. It is "another day" when we get to Ventoux and because the stakes are so high, the attacks and the emotions will be at near chaotic level.

The climb of Ventoux from the quaint village of Bedoin is split into three distinct sections. The first 2.5 miles (4km) are flat or very gentle(3-4%) climbing. The meat of the ascent is the next 6 miles(10km) where the road is very steep (9.5-10%) average grade, the terrain features are a monotonous forest of trees and the road winds uphill in a seemingly unending series of shallow turns. There are no switchbacks to break up the monotony, only the pain.

When the climb reaches Chalet Reynard (House of the Fox) the terrain escapes the forest and enters a lunar landscape for the final 5 miles (8km) to the summit. The gradient kicks back to a manageable 8%, but above the trees it can be hot, windy or both. Overall the 13-mile(22km) ascent climbs 5300'(1600m).

What will the podium contenders do on the climb? Alberto Contador and Andy Schleck should just follow the wheels of Armstrong, Kloden, Wiggins and Frank Schleck. Andy might do some work to help his brother get on the podium. Likewise, unless he goes off the reservation as he did in the final few kilometers of the Colombiere, Alberto Contador is in the unique position to help an attack by either Lance or Andreas Kloden succeed by helping set tempo.

The gap between the four contending for the final spot on the podium is small enough that they can wait to attack after reaching Chalet Reynard. Attacking during the steep section below is risky because the chances of blowing up and losing contact is very real.

However, since there are four riders so closely bunched, the guy who wants to stand on the third step of the podium will, most likely, have to drop all three of his rivals. It might be possible to drop one or two, but dropping all three will require either a vicious attack(s) or a very fast tempo and that might only be able to be accomplished by attacking early, on the steep section, and not on the slopes above Chalet Reynard.

My prediction is that Frank Schleck, aided by his brother, will attack on the steep section. He is behind the other three timewise so he has to drop them all. He is climbing well and is probably the best of the four at going for a long attack.

Since Lance is ahead of his three rivals on time, he just has to mark all three of them and make sure nobody gets away. He has said that, after Verbier, his strategy is to not go with sharp accelerations, but to ride his pace and try to "diesel" up to the attackers. I think Lance will have to respond directly to any attacks on Mont Ventoux. He cannot afford, both physically and mentally, to let any of his rivals go up the road.

Bradley Wiggins is the big unknown. Undoubtedly, the whole Garmin-Slipstream team will be working to set him up. He has climbed very well in both the Alps and the Pyrenees, but I think he will really have to go to some places he has never gone before in his cycling career to get the third spot on the podium. Somewhere in his soul is the key. Will he find it?

Andreas Kloden is the big unknown. Obviously, after Contador's needless attack on the Colombiere there is some new disharmony on the team. It is unclear where he will be headed next year, but if he is on the short list to join Lance's new team, he may be asked to ride in support of Armstrong.

But, heck, forget all the speculation and just bring on the race. I can't wait.

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No one will ever say that Italian professional Eros Poli was a great climber. At 6'4" and 195lbs he was built for power on the flats witness his Olympic gold medal in the Team Time Trial. But, in 1994, Eros tried something that which few have ever been successful. Poli tried to beat all the Tour's best climbers up and over Mont Ventoux. It was going to take a unique strategy of Eros was to lead over the Giant of Provence and then then 20 miles of flat roads to the finish in Carpentras.

Bruce: you needed to get a huge lead to be able to be first over Ventoux.

Eros: At the base I had 24 minutes. When I escaped it was 100 km of flat to the base of the climb. I said to myself 'if you want to win you need 24 minutes' because normally I lose one minute per kilometer and the climb is 22 kilometers so I will lose 22 minutes.  So, I thought I needed another two minutes to be sure

to the finish.  I had four minutes lead at the top on Pantani. With five kilometers to go I had a five minute advantage on the peloton so I said 'OK. It is done'.

Bruce: what was it like climbing Mont Ventoux? The steep section in the middle is very hard.

Eros: It is very difficult.  I did it this year with a group of Scottish guys and I thought "how could I do it that day? How could I go up that mountain?" It is so difficult.  There are no switchbacks, no corners. Just up, up, up in almost a straight line.  There is no possibility of a rest.  No possibility of recuperation. It is long.  It is an incredible mountain. It is the biggest mountain in the Tour de France.

Bruce: Now that you are retired what are you doing?

Eros: I work in insurance. Sometimes I organize holiday trips by the bike near where I live.  I live in Verona near the beautiful Lake Garda.  I organize trips, especially for American people and Australians.

Alberto Contador continues to demonstrate that he is the best rider in the 2009 Tour de France. After dominating in the mountains, he proved that he was equally capable in the time trials as he bested all his rivals by an impressive margin. While he narrowly beat time trial specialist, Fabian Cancellara, by three seconds, the first GC rider in the standings behind Contador was Garmin-Slipstream rider Bradley Wiggins forty three seconds back.  Lance Armstrong ceded 1'30" to Contador, but moved up to third place overall.

Undoubtedly, the biggest surprise of the day was Saxo Bank's Andy Schleck who, while finishing 1'45" behind Contrador, was only a minute back of Bradley Wiggins and 15 seconds arrears of Armstrong. As a result, Andy has solidified his second place overall and given how he has been climbing, looks good for the podium and the white jersey in Paris.

The final place on the podium will be a tight battle as four riders, Armstrong, Wiggins, Kloden and Frank Schleck are all within a 34 seconds going into the rendezvous with Mont Ventoux. If you go on racing form alone the nod goes to Frank Schleck, but don't count anyone out when the podium is in play.

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The details of Lance Armstrong's new team are surfacing. The primary sponsor will be Fort Worth-based Radio Shack. Details are forthcoming. Check out www.teamradioshack.com

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Robbie Ventura is one of the two on-the-scene interviewers for Versus TV. I sat down with Robbie to talk about his job.

Bruce: what is the hardest part of your job?

Robbie: it is stressful, but also exciting to do course reports. When the camera is on it looks a lot easier than it actually is. You are standing out on the course and there are fans who are hoping that you screw up. There is a little bit of stress there but it is also the most rewarding getting through the stress and putting out a good product.

Bruce: Does it help with the interviews that you were once a professional bike racer?

Robbie: Yeah, I think so. They respect that I have been a professional before. I think that makes it easier to talk to them.  But, also just understanding what they are going through and being sympathetic to that, I think they can see that and feel that in me as a reporter. I am very fortunate that most riders have welcomed me so far. The ones that you don't know that well are obviously challenging to talk to. Definitely it is a big help knowing the riders a bit and creating relationships.

Bruce: Versus goes out to a wide audience. What kind of slant on cycling is versus trying to bring to its viewing audience.

Robby: I think a big part of it is education. I think the more knowledge the fans have about the sport, the more they learn about the sport the more they will have the passion and excitement that we currently have for the sport. In Europe the fans are more knowledgeable about the inner workings of the sport, the teamwork, the bikes, the technology. If we can bring that amount of knowledge and information to the fans in the United States our audience will continue to broaden.

That niche group of hard-core cycling guys who only want to talk hi-techie slang which is fun for me to talk about as well, but unfortunately sometimes we are kind of handcuffed and we want to make things as simple as possible for 90% of our audience who don't understand the complexities of the sport.

Bruce: who is your favorite guy to interview?

Robby: I love Vande Velde. I think Vande Velde is funny. He gives great answers. He is really honest. He doesn't always give that kind of like perfect answer. He talks from the heart. You can tell he's an emotional guy with a lot of passion.

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I shot a few photos of the riders coming through the final kilometer of the time trial.

This could be George Hincapie's last Tour de France. He crashed yesterday in the rain and is toughing out some major shoulder and arm pain.

Bradley Wiggins was one of the favorites to win the time trial, but came up a bit short. Still, he was the best-placed of the GC contenders behind Contador.

Andreas Kloden rode a good time trial and is now in fifth place overall. Notice the different equipment used by the members of Team Astana.

Lance's effort was a bit less than he had hoped, but his consistent riding throughout the Tour has kept in third place.

Alberto Contador was going so fast, my camera couldn't keep up:-) He now leads his closest rival, Andy Schleck by 4'11".

There is way too much going on at the Tour at the moment for one posting a day so I am going to add an additional posting to catch some of the other story lines.

First off, for those of you following the Lance and Alberto saga, the headline this morning in France's leading sports newspaper l'Equipe was "Contador is the Boss." Clearly, l'Equipe felt that Alberto seized control by attacking in the final kilometers of stage 7 to Arcalis-Andorra. Lance remarked to the press after the stage that Contador's attack had not been part of the plan for that stage which further emphasizes l'Equipe's point that Contador took the initiative.

This is a very interesting situation made even more so by the fact that both Levi Leipheimer and Andreas Kloden are also riding very strongly. While people are focusing on Lance and Alberto, if either one or both of them have a bad day, Levi or Andreas could assume the leadership role. It is a bit of a long shot, but the possibility is there. I am hoping that the Lance/Alberto affair doesn't end up causing the whole team to crumble. They are clearly the strongest team. Does Johan need to step in and lay down some ground rules?

Adding to the suspense, both Alberto and Lance were randomly picked for doping control at the end of stage 8. Because of this, they had to sit around together in the medical trailer for about and hour after the stage giving biological samples, usually just urine, sometimes blood. I wonder what they talked about?

Each day a team has a plan for the stage. They look at the stage profile and the capabilities of their riders and try to strategize for an optimum output. On stage 8, the game plan for Team Columbia-HTC was to get George Hincapie up the road in the latter half of the stage and then have Kim Kirchen come up on the ascent of the final climb. Hopefully those two would be part of a small breakaway where either Kim could solo off the front in the closing kilometers or if he was brought back, George could win in a sprint. Unfortunately, George covered the Evans attack on the first climb(Port d'Envalira) so that strategy did not play out.

You might be wondering what is happening to Michael Rogers. He is becoming the 'Hard Luck Kid'. Two years ago Rogers crashed on the descent of the Cormet de Roselend and had to withdraw with a broken elbow. This year, he crashed on the run in to Barcelona in the rain and while the medical staff at Columbia-HTC were initially concerned with his elbow, it appears that he severely bruised his hip. I was at the team bus when he rolled up at the end of today's stage and it was painful for me to watch him try and climb off his bike. He is one tough Aussie and the medical staff hope that in about two days he will be back at close to full strength. Being hurt in the mountains rather on the flats is back luck.

If you are wondering why the cycling pundits are talking more about Andy Schleck rather than his older brother Frank, it can be explained that Frank crashed this spring and hurt his knee. The knee has not really healed and the wisdom in the press room is that Frank might not make it to Paris.

Amaury Sports Organization(ASO), the group which owns and runs the Tour de France announced 20 of the teams participating in the 2009 edition of the race. The biggest news is, as expected, Team Astana, the squad that includes four riders who have been on the podium at the Tour, is back after a much-publicized one-year absence. That means that Lance Armstrong, Alberto Contador, Levi Leipheimer and Andreas Kloden will most likely be toeing the starting line when the race commences in Monaco (that's not France) in about four months.

The other big news, which was also kind of expected, is that the Fuji-Servetto team was not invited. Fuji-Servetto was the only Pro Tour team left off the start list, supposedly, the UCI had signed an agreement with ASO that all Pro Tour teams would get starting slots.  However, you might remember that last year, Fuji-Servetto was named Saunier-Duval when they left their mark on the 2008 Tour.  They won three stages with Ricardo Ricco(2) and Leonardo Piepoli only to have everything come crashing down when it was revealed that Ricco had tested positive for CERA, a new slow-release version of the blood-cell-boosting EPO. Piepoli later admitted that he used CERA as well.

After the revelation, Saunier-Duval supposedly left on its own accord, but all information point to ASO giving them the boot. Fuji-Servetto has been denied starting slots in a number of races so far this season. The UCI needs to send a very clear message, instead of the muddy one they are dishing out now. If there are big questions surrounding Fuji-Servetto then the UCI should not have issued them a Pro Tour license. Now that the UCI has issued them a license, they need to show some solidarity and stand behind all the Pro Tour teams. Not good.

The good news for Americans besides, Lance, Levi and Chris being back in the Tour is that both American Pro Tour team Garmin-Slipstream and Columbia-High Road are both in the big show. The other Pro Tour teams include Milram, Quick Step, Silence-Lotto, Saxo Bank, Caisse d'Epargne, Euskaltel-Euskadi, AG2R La Mondiale, Bbox Bouygues Telecom, Cofidis, Française des Jeux, Lampre-NGC, Liquigas, Rabobank and Katusha.

The three wild-card teams are Cervelo Test Team, the squad of defending Tour champion Carlos Sastre; Agritubel which rode very aggressively in last year's Tour and Skil-Shimano a mostly Benelux squad whose roster doesn't include any big names.

Bruce