Tour de France 2009...

[NotTheRealSteveWest]

It's hot again today across the Camargue, the wide-open grassy delta where the Rhone dumps into the Med. Temperatures on the road were 34C as they drove into La Grande-Motte, but that's almost 6C cooler than yesterday.

[NotTheRealSteveWest]

With 39.5km the gap is down to 3:08. The 1-minute per 10km rule seems to be working.

[NotTheRealSteveWest]

Am I talking to myself on here or what?????

[NotTheRealSteveWest]

The run-in to the finish is kind of tricky. A sweeping left-hander with 2km to go brings the pack onto a narrower road. The road then sweeps left again in a narrow bend heading to the final kilometer. The course turns almost 180 degrees just after the red kite, then it's straight ahead to the finish with 800m to go.

[NotTheRealSteveWest]

It's Columbia doing the big work. With 38km to go, the gap is now 2:48.

[NotTheRealSteveWest]

Regarding tomorrow's stage : Carlos Sastre said he's not too worried about the TTT: "We will bring an experienced and solid team. I don't expect the differences between the top GC teams to be too much."

[NotTheRealSteveWest]

Alberto Contador said the TTT will be "a chance to take some time on our rivals. It's not an easy course, but I think we have a strong team. I don't want to think about gaining the yellow jersey. I think the most important thing is to focus on the task at hand. If we think too much about it, it could backfire. I expect all the GC favorites to do fairly well. We all have good teams and good materials. It would be a good chance to take some time on Evans, because perhaps his team isn't the strongest for the time trial and it's going to be harder later to take time on him."

[NotTheRealSteveWest]

With 35km to go, the gap is 2:28.

[NotTheRealSteveWest]

34km to go and the gap is 2:15.

[NotTheRealSteveWest]

Bob Stapleton, president of Columbia-HTC, said "Astana is the top favorite for the TTT. Anyone who believes otherwise is fooling themselves. I would put even money on Astana. I think Saxo Bank would be at 2-1, us and Garmin at 5-1 and maybe Liquigas at 7-1. I am taking money if you want to place bets!"

[NotTheRealSteveWest]

The gap is now at two minutes with 33km to go.

[NotTheRealSteveWest]

Keep in mind this gap hit nearly 13 minutes today.

[NotTheRealSteveWest]

Cavendish at the start today. He said his dream is to win the final stage in Paris wearing green this year.

[NotTheRealSteveWest]

And we see a bit of wind-triggered split. Columbia-HTC surged to the front, about 20 riders off the front.

[NotTheRealSteveWest]

Cancellara is up in that front group

[NotTheRealSteveWest]

So is Armstrong

[NotTheRealSteveWest]

The wind has really blown apart the field. It's Columbia driving at the front.

[NotTheRealSteveWest]

Contador, Leipheimer appear not to be there.

Schlecks are not there, not Evans

[NotTheRealSteveWest]

The gap has really grown... it's now 31 seconds. With 25km to go.

[NotTheRealSteveWest]

The Columbia team is still driving hard. It's also worth noting that the Skil-Shimano team is in the mix up there. It's certain, now, that Contador and Leipheimer are in the back group. Astana has Armstrong and Zubeldia up front.