Contador

Contador is a good 4-ish minutes back of the yellow jersey as of the end of today's stage.  He got dropped today in the final section of the climb to the finish.  What does this mean?  Well, it could be that we're seeing the effects of him riding the Giro and blowing away everyone by 6 minutes.  He's still recovering and just doesn't have that extra gear again yet.  Or, maybe its b/c he's cleaner than he has been in a few years.  Maybe its a little harder for him to find that gear when he's not injecting it into his body.  I'm sure it doesn't help that he's crashed several times so far in the tour.  You tend to be a little stiff and a little less aggressive, at least temporarily, after crashing.

My guess, its a combination of all of the above.

I'll be the first to admit that I don't Contador and quite enjoy seeing him struggle.  I still won't be surprised to see him attack relentlessly in the coming days, but based on what I've seen thus far, he probably won't be too successful.

As a side note, I know there aren't a lot of black cyclists out there (relatively speaking) and even fewer in the pro ranks, but I was shocked to learn that 2011 marked the color barrier being broken at the Tour de France.  Yohann Gene is the first black cyclist to ever ride in the Tour.