The Tour de France began yesterday, with an individual time-trial. An 8.9 km course, that Fabian Cancellara won in a flat 10 minutes. That’s an average speed of 53.4 kmph. It was a shame that the weather and the staggered starts meant that some riders were slower than others because of the wet roads, rather than their own ability.

There’s lots of British interest this year, with contenders for the overall and the sprint categories, in Wiggins and Cavendish, plus a British team (unfortunately sponsored by Sky). But I’m actually more interested in seeing how Lance Armstrong and Alberto Contador match up.

The Guardian has a really good interactive guide here; and the official site is here.