!http://www.active.com/images/newsletters/cyclist/TourdeFrance2007/images/Pensec4150x150.jpg|style=padding:10px;|align=left|src=http://www.active.com/images/newsletters/cyclist/TourdeFrance2007/images/Pensec4150x150.jpg!What a great and exciting day on the Tour today. With this amazing weather and the bank holiday, we have had lots of people along the road to kick off the Tour.

Indeed, today can be considered as the real kickoff. Tomorrow is for sure the BIG day, but with a young rider who won the stage, lots of echappée and Vinokourov and Kloden who are still in the game, it is really promising for tomorrow.

Honestly, I was thinking that some teams will use this stage to make a little difference, but with a strong Vinokourov and a good Kloden, teams have obiously decided to hold on until tomorrow to strike their first shot.

I would suggest that you take a deeper look at Caisse d’Epargne Team which looks pretty strong to me. We will see how they play along the road but "so far, so good," as you say.

Finally, a little blame to the organisation today as riders are blocked in traffic jam with more than two hours and 15 kilometers to go to their hotels. It’s a bit sad to see that the organisation has not thought about doing something special like a different exit or something. Riders are stuck in traffic because of tourists...not good for their preparation.

Tomorrow is very promising so stay tuned!

Ronan

Ronan Pensec participated in 8 Tours, and wore the yellow jersey in the 1990. He now operates Ronan Pensec Events, an official Tour de France operator hosting VIP cycling tours for recreational cycling enthusiasts.