Tales from the Tour

Despite participating in the most gruelling sporting event ever concocted, riders of the Tour - especially those from footballing nations still present in the World Cup - have been finding it hard to keep their attentions on the road.

And with France edging out Brazil 1-0 in Germany last night thanks to an exquisite Thierry Henry goal, there was much cause for celebration in the Bouygues Telecom camp.

"The atmosphere in Strasbourg was electric after the match, just like when France won the World Cup, against the same team, Brazil, in 1998," said our man on the Tour, Vincent Bregevin, who is following the race with the Bouygues team.

"The whole town was having a huge party, and this was replicated in the Bouygues team too. I spoke to Tommy Voeckler and he said he had been following the progression of the French team with much interest.

"He has taken heart with how the team has picked themselves up after an indifferent start and has now found a great level. Maybe France will go the whole way?"

Which is more to say than the performance of French riders in the Tour d France over the last twenty odd years.

One rider who has decided to squeeze in his cycling commitments into his football watching schedule is French rider Carlos Da Cruz.

The affable Française des Jeux rider asked equally avuncular team manager Marc Madiot for permission to be the first from the team to start the prologue... so that he could catch the Portugal v England match.

Da Cruz, who has Portuguese roots, could only set the 127th best time, at 41", but - thank God - still managed to complete the course in time to watch his favoured team knock England out on penalties.

France's victory later in the evening made sure that Da Cruz would be on the attack next Wednesday during the 207km stage 4 to Saint-Quentin: in order to finish in time to catch France and Portugal battle it out in the semi-final.

The opening road stage of the Tour got off to an incongruous start when Thomas Lovkvist read the trademark riders' oath, promising a fair and honest race on behalf of the 176-strong peloton on Sunday.

"Speaking on behalf of all my colleagues as the Tour's youngest rider, I undertake to respect sportsmanship and the ethic of the great competition we are going to take part in and to display loyalty in all circumstances."

"We ask spectators, media representatives, organisers and sponsors to trust us," went the text read by the 22-year-old Swede.

The ceremony, held in the sunshine next to Strasbourg's lop-sided 12th century cathedral, was not everyone's cup of tea.

"This oath is a bit hypocritical even if it speaks of the true values of sport," said Cofidis team rider David Moncoutie, referring to the doping investigation that led to the withdrawal of several riders on the eve of the prologue.

"I never really believed in those words and I'm not going to start believing in them this year," the Frenchman added.

With all the riders having completed their medical exams, we now have a better piture of what the Tour's Mr Average resembles: 1.79m high, 69kg heavy, he has a resting heart beat of 54 beats/minute and a respiratory capacity of 5.78 litres.

But what about the poles of the peloton?

Smallest rider: Samuel Dumoulin (Ag2R): 1.58m

Tallest rider: Johan Vansummeren (Davitamon-Lotto): 1.98m

Lightest rider: Manuel Calvente (Agritubel): 53kg

Heaviest rider: Magnus Backstedt (Liquigas): 95kg

Rider with biggest respiratory capacity: Arnaud Coyot (Cofidis): 7.92 litres

Rider with lowest heart rate: Laurent Lefevre (Bouygues): 32 beats/min

This year, 19% of the peloton are Tour virgins, compared to 25% last year, 20% in 2004, 28% in 2003, 23% in 2002 and 27% in 2001. We'll stop there.

Lampre (Ballan, Bennati, Cunego, Tiralongo, Valjavec, Vila) and Agritubel Calvente, Coutouly, Dueñas, Gonzalo, Martinez Trinidad, Plouhinec) lead the standings with 6 neophytes each.

73: Hundreds of a second that split Thor Hushovd and second-place George Hincapie in the prologue.

Thor Hushovd became the first Norwegian to wear the yellow jersey for a second time after his blitz of the prologue, two years after he became the first rider from his homeland to ever wear the yellow jersey in the first place. Worth noting that the Norwegian world championships team for 2005 consisted of one man... Thor Hushovd.

Back in Switzerland, Jan Ullrich has declared he wants DNA tests made to compare his blood with the plasma found at Dr. Fuentes's office. He repeated that he does not know the man. According to his lawyers the problem is that the tests have to be requested by the Spanish authorities.

Liquigas' Danilo Di Luca is suffering from a urinary infection; he will see how it goes along today's stage.

Lance Armstrong has won his on-going court case against the Sunday Times. The London High Court said Armstrong was right in the legal process against the Sunday Times. The two parties announced that they had come to an understanding and put an end to this legal procedure. The American said he was very happy about this decision.

Francesco Mancebo has announced his retirement following his suspension from the race.

Denis Menchov has signed a contract for two more years with his team Rabobank.