At the end of the second week, the 2007 Tour de France is still wide open, although the number of contenders is being reduced daily. At this point, Michael Rasmussen and Alberto Contador look to have the best chance, although such is the nature of this great race that nothing is certain before the last kilometre on the Champs Elysee.

The Australian contingent have largely fallen by the wayside, with green jersey hope Robbie McEwen being eliminated and general classification contender Michael Rogers and Tour stalwart Stuart O’Grady both crashing out – all of them leaving the race in the eighth stage. Brett Lancaster found it too hard after the fifth stage, still suffering from injuries sustained in the stage one pile-up.

The hopes of Australia now ride solely on the shoulders of Cadel Evans who is currently running in third place. Evans, who has had a pretty consistent race to date, lost nearly two minutes in the last five kilometres of stage fourteen. He was unable to match the surges of Rasmussen and Contador. A similar situation unfolded in stage fifteen, however, Evans wisely avoided getting caught up in the personal battle that is developing between the two front runners

'Unfortunately, the doping issue is threatening to cast a shadow over the race yet again, but let’s hope that it can be set aside long enough to enjoy the racing'


Evans may end up paying the price for being part of a team with divided loyalties. Predictor-Lotto had two potential jersey winners in Evans (for the yellow) and McEwen for the sprinter’s green jersey. Despite incredibly courageous efforts by team mate Chris Horner, Evans has not had the team support enjoyed by Rasmussen with Rabobank and Contador with Discovery Channel.

Horner’s efforts have been magnificent. He has stuck with Evans all through the mountain stages - ultimately improving his own position - but it has been a solo effort with the rest of his team mates being dropped much earlier in the climb. Without the additional support, Evans will not be able to gain back the time he needs in the mountains, his only hope remains to attack on the flatter stages on the road back to Paris. It seems unlikely that Rabobank or Discovery Channel would let that happen.

Barring the unlikely event of Rasmussen and Contador riding each other to a standstill, it seems likely that one of these two men will end up winning the Tour. Both have excellent support riders. However, Discovery Channel seem to have the best package with Levi Leipheimer, Yaroslav Popovych and George Hincapie all prominent. Rabobank’s Denis Menchov, Michael Boogerd and Thomas Dekker have similarly provided outstanding support.

Pre-race favourites, Astana pair Alexandre Vinokourov and Andreas Kloden, are still making their presence felt, despite their early accidents and obvious injuries. Kloden is still in with a chance of a podium finish and Vinokourov’s “boom and bust” racing style is keeping everyone guessing. After a stunning time trial effort, Vino blew up the following day in the mountains only to claim the next stage with a dominant performance. It seems that both men will have some influence on the outcome of the race yet.

The race looks set for a fascinating last few days. Unfortunately, the doping issue is threatening to cast a shadow over the race yet again, but let’s hope that it can be set aside long enough to enjoy the racing. Is that too much to hope for?