The stage today is as flat as a pancake. It should be a perfect day for the likes of Cavendish, Farrar and the likes. Most of the GC contenders will be aiming to stay out of trouble regarding crashes etc but also conserve as much energy as possible. The usual breakaway brigade will hit the road early but with such a flat stage and a perfect show piece stage for the HTC Highroad leadout train, I don’t think that they or for that matter Team Sky will pass up the chance for the exhibition. The weather is to be mild at 20C with showers and 20 – 25km cross to head winds. It would be a nice move for Sky and HTC to try to get a man in the break if they can in order to force the likes of Omega and Moviestar to do some chasing which would give Sky and HTC some rest.

Eat, Hydrate, Sleep, Eat, Hydrate, Bike, Eat, Hydrate, Massage,Eat, Hydrate, Sleep, Eat, Hydrate, Bike, Eat, Hydrate, Massage, Whats the most common factor? yes you’ve guessed it it’s, Eat, Hydrate. Towards the end of the first week is where some riders start to get problems with their stomach. This happens due to the type of foods and particular the volume of food that the are eating. One way to ease this problem is to keep eating and drinking little and often. High volume sugar drinks and gels can soon sicken the rider so the diet is varied with the likes of a jam sandwich, a piece of fruitcake, a piece of french stick with some ham, cheese and peanut butter or even a rice cake with chocolate spread or peanut butter is a nice variation. One can often see a rider taking a can of coke as a treat to freshen and clean down the inside of the mouth. I will accumulate all of the calories burned and consumed for the first week on the first rest day as an indication of how much the riders are processing.