The Tour de France will take in the first real mountains of the 2010 Grand Boucle in tomorrow's Stage 7, which finishes at the ski resort of La Rousses in the Jura Mountains. The first uphill shots from the favorites will be fired, but the question is from who?
Heading into the mountains, Bjarne Riis feels that his team has managed to maintain the Yellow Jersey in such a manner as to keep it within the team, but also without expending too much energy and putting the real Tour de France goals at risk.
"We have managed to preserve the lead very efficiently. Again today, we only participated modestly in the pace-setting, so we have spent a minimum amount of effort on the job…With these stages complete, we won't be defending anything, and i may well be that Fabian's story is over for now. You never know with him though. He has surprised before in circumstances where no one expected him to."
Looking closer at the drama that should unfold in tomorrow's stage and over the following days, Saxo Bank owner and manager, Bjarne Riis, thinks that Lance Armstrong's RadioShack team will be a big aggressor in tomorrow's mountainous ride through the Jura.
"It's always difficult to predict what will happen when the first climbs arise, but I think that Team RadioShack will go on the attack."
It would be a little bit too Hollywood for Lance Armstrong to go on the attack, but Armstrong has a powerful cadre of possibilities at his side, from overall Tour de France podium finishers Andreas Kloeden and Levi Leipheimer, to the evergreen American, Chris Horner - all of whom are decently placed on GC.
"I don't necessarily think that it will be Lance Armstrong himself, but I could well imagine that he wants to put into play one of his very experienced teammates to see what happens."
While an attacking RadioShack team could present a formidable force, Bjarne Riis feels that he has an answer: Jakob Fuglsang.
"Jakob is also still well placed on GC, so an attack on his part could also wreak havoc among the top names. If he can manage that, then we have to see if he can hold on to it."
Like most everyone else, Riis does not see the Alps as a definitive battleground for the general classification, but he does not seem them merely as a warm-up for the Pyrenees either.
"Overall, I expect that the most prominent favorites will keep each other in check tomorrow. But both Sunday to Morzine-Avoriaz and Tuesday up the Col de la Madeleine, I am sure we will see a great battle. I do not expect that there will be a ceasefire in the Alps, and then let it all happen in the Pyrenees."
The team still holds the Maillot Jaune by way of Fabian Cancellara, and though Cancellara could possibly hold on to Yellow for at least another day, if not more, the main topic of conversation is Andy Schleck.
"For Andy Schleck, he only needs to follow Contador. The Spaniard is still, in my opinion, the man to be beaten, if Andy is to reach the top place on the podium. Right now, Andy has a head start on the Spaniard, and there is no reason to put that at risk…Andy can expect maximum support from the team, but when the race gets hard, it will indeed be himself who must decide the race."