Tour De France: Stage 7

The first day in the mountains was a fun stage to watch, but in terms of the overall it really had no affect.  The main contenders all watched each other closely and rested their teams as best they can for the big day tomorrow.  This opened the stage up for guys interested in a stage win and Sylvain Chavenel played it perfectly for the solo win.  As a double reward he also grabbed back the overall lead for one more day in yellow.

Tomorrow will be a big day.  Lance will be looking to make back some time, as will Contador.  CSC is going to have to figure out their plan now that they don't have Frank Schleck to work with Andy, so that will be interesting to see.  To me the three guys to watch tomorrow are Cadel Evans, Denis Menchov, and Alexander Vinokourov.  If any of these three can finish at the front tomorrow it will change everything.

My guess is that Contador will win the stage and put time into everyone, with Andy Schleck taking second.  I believe that Evans and  Armstrong will finish together, with Wiggins just behind them.  The two big question marks to me are Menchov and Vinokourov.

General classification after stage 7

#	Rider Name (Country) Team	Result
1	Sylvain Chavanel (Fra) Quick Step	33:01:23
2	Cadel Evans (Aus) BMC Racing Team	0:01:25
3	Ryder Hesjedal (Can) Garmin - Transitions	0:01:32
4	Andy Schleck (Lux) Team Saxo Bank	0:01:55
5	Alexander Vinokourov (Kaz) Astana	0:02:17
6	Alberto Contador Velasco (Spa) Astana	0:02:26
7	Jurgen Van Den Broeck (Bel) Omega Pharma-Lotto	0:02:28
8	Nicolas Roche (Irl) AG2R La Mondiale
9	Johan Van Summeren (Bel) Garmin - Transitions	0:02:33
10	Denis Menchov (Rus) Rabobank	0:02:35