Well, today’s relatively boring stage was a welcome break from the last few days of crazy mountains and even crazier doping revelations. As I was watching the re-broadcast of yesterday’s stage last night over dinner, I got to thinking about a few things. So, here again, is my unsolicited commentary:

• This might be the year of the 24-year-olds. Overshadowed by the removal of race leader Michael Rasmussen and the subsequent coronation ceremony of new race leader (and 24-year-old) Alberto Contador, we have a quiet and gangly young man who managed to take the lead in the mountains classification outright just before the Chicken was pulled from the race. Columbian Mauricio Soler, age 24, in his first Tour de France and riding for a wild card team, now has such a commanding lead in the mountains competition (and we have no mountains left in the Tour) that he’ll wear the polka-dot jersey all the way to Paris. That is a massive accomplishment if you take any of his qualifications alone - that he’s young, it’s is first Tour, and he’s on Barloworld. Put them together and this guy is more than a breath of fresh air, he’s a cleansing tornado.
• And then to the other 24-year-old of note, Mr. Contador. Out of what I assume is a mini-protest, Because of the strangeness of Rasmussen’s removal from the race, race organizers decided that he wouldn’t don the yellow jersey this morning before the stage, so we had a Tour stage without a yellow jersey for the first time, well, ever? Except for a prologue? Yeah, there are plenty of “firsts” in this Tour, and that’s another weird one. (And I’m not counting Lance’s last Tour when he didn’t wear the yellow jersey at the start after Dave Zabriskie crashed out of it in the TTT, because race organizers made him put it on after a few kilometers of riding.) At any rate, Young Contador looked in turns immensely pleased and rather horrified to be pulling on the yellow jersey on the podium after today’s stage. It’s a big thing to carry at such a tender age, and after receiving it in such a weird way, and I hope he does the jersey justice for the rest of his career. I have a feeling he will.
• Now, Contador’s new status as race leader puts a bit of stress in the Discovery camp, as Levi Leipheimer, the guy who was supposed to be the team leader, is now relegated to the role of a super-domestique. He seems to be accepting his fate with a reluctant grace, and in the interviews I’ve seen him give during this race he’s been the most eloquent, gracious and complimentary that I’ve ever seen him. I’m still not a huge Levi fan, but he’s done a lot this Tour to make me respect him quite a bit.
• So - this race now comes down to the time trial on Saturday, and is only really a race between the first three riders on GC. Cadel Evans lies in 2nd just under two minutes behind Contador, and Levi is in 3rd at just under three minutes. These two men, both TT experts, will be duking it out for not just 2nd or 3rd place on the podium, but perhaps 1st as well - it remains to be seen how Contador rides a TT when he’s really under the pressure of the maillot jaune, especially when such an honor comes under such weird circumstances.

And today Daniele Bennati won his first sprint of the Tour, so everyone got to see how cute his smile is on the podium. Sorry, I just had to slip that in there.

(Okay, and one more goofy aside - in hunting for a picture of Bennati, I found his official website and his photos page, which includes pictures of him from the tender age of one as well as a picture of his dog, Pepe. Now, that’s cute.)