"The day that I've been waiting forthe crosswinds, the battles and everybody hammering in the gutterthat happened today...For an hour and a half we had a drag race."

Listen to Frankie Andreu break down one of the most exciting stages of the Tour so far. Also, what's Cadel Evans's weakness? (Hint: It's not himself.)

And for those of you who are wondering (after listening to the podcast), 92 kilometers per hour equals just over 52 miles per hour...

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Click below to hear Frankie Andreu wonder why Robbie McEwen hasn't found a spot on a stage podium and make the observation: "I can totally see him leaving this team..." Plus: Team Columbia steps up to the plate, who the biggest cheers were for at the Stage 4 time trial and how Stefan Schumacher ended up with old Oakleys.

Frankie's prediction for Stage 6: "Kirchen has a great chance to take the yellow jersey."

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Today, Frankie gives props to Will Frischkorn, wonders what game the sprinters in the race are playing at, remarks about Cadel Evans' Free Tibet crusade, marvels at Robbie McEwen's new Ridley and makes a prediction for tomorrow's individual time trial.

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A Tour like no other has started. What makes this Tour different is that it starts with a field that has no stand out favorite. In the past we have had riders that have won repeatedly, which would automatically mark them as a favorite, but this year is different. Many speak of Cadel Evans, who has cracked before in a three-week race, and some say is too inconsistent to be able to move to the top step of the podium. Others look for Alejandro Valverde to shine, but he has never even been on the podium at the TDF.

Carlos Sastre has shared the podium in Paris, and has had many top ten finishes in the Tour, but his age will count against him. The list goes on with riders that have many strengths but they also seem to have a few negatives which prevent them from getting a full blessing as the favorite to win.

For now the excitement comes from the field sprinters. The speed demons that are so aggressive it's dangerous to fight against them. They have dominated the first part of the race and it should be no surprise because every year between 1993 and 2007, except for 2002, the first stage of the Tour has always resulted in a bunch gallop for the line. Also changing from the Tour's traditional departure was the fact that this is the first year since 1966 where there is no prologue. To throw more change into the mix the Tour has eliminated the time bonuses in all of the intermediate and finish sprints.

All of this had no effect on Valverde, who showed an explosive uphill sprint that no one could match and put him in the Yellow Jersey one second ahead of a small group right behind him. This means that more than likely, unless he gets dropped which is unlikely, that he will keep the Yellow Jersey until the time trial (TT). It will be a miracle if he keeps it at the TT because that is his biggest weakness.

A couple of tech stuff. The new electronic Shimano gruppo is on many bikes here at the Tour. Also, the new mechanical Shimano (7900) looks awesome, with clean cut lines. It feels even better and everything about it is aggressive. Something I saw for the first time was Shimano electronic on Sebastian Lang's TT bike. Two little buttons are all he has to push to be able to shift--very aero and very cool.

Team Columbia also has a new TT bike. The top tube is flat and that goes into a flat stem. On the front is on oversized headset which is shaped like a fairing. The cables are internal but they actually come out underneath the front fork below the hidden brake. You actually can't turn that much, because of the tension of the cables, so it's lucky there are no 180's in the TT's.

Lastly, we saw the Liquigas bus filling up at a petrol station that we were at. Check out the price tag on one fill up (632 Euros). That will put a dent in the budget quick!

A day before Stage 1 starts in Brest, Frankie Andreu checks out the new electronic shifting that Gerolsteiner will be using, gets the story on Team Columbia's frantic change from Team High Road and discovers how one bike company decided to reward its employees.

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