Yes, I thought the Posties would win emphatically, but only after the third stage was over. All three teams conserved their strength during the first 3 stages, setting up a fair contest. The Posties and Bianchi showed they had the most horsepower in the prologue and both were clearly better than ONCE. ONCE, however, are the most skilled team at riding the TTT and were far superior to Bianchi in that respect. ONCE rode admirably.

I still believe the long TTT is the best sporting event in the world and so the Posties' win was especially sweet. I was elated, beetle, and spent much of yesterday soaking it all up.

It was an odd TTT, wasn't it? ONCE, Postal, and Bianchi were only 5th, 7th, and 8th at the first time check. Postal usually starts slow and ONCE rode a smart race, so I wonder what Telekom and Credit Agricole were doing. Their bloated heads must've slowed them for the remainder of the race.

Armstrong had a poor prologue and admitted that he didn't feel great during the TTT. I don't believe he's playing possum and that the Dauphine crash affected his build-up. My guess is Armstrong's form won't come around until the first TT. I will be thankful for any time gains in the Alps.

Beloki appears to be the only man at the top of his game, which might be enough to get him past Ullrich. However, just like the TTT, Armstrong can win convincingly even when he's not at his best.