The world of cycling did not end yesterday with the announcement that several big-name contenders for the yellow jersey would not ride in this year’s Tour de France. Instead, we were treated to a fantastic 7.1km individual time trial through the streets of Strasbourg, France.

Credit Agricole’s Thor Hushovd (NOR), normally known as a sprinter set a blistering pace and although Team Discovery’s George Hincapie (USA) came close to beating his time, he fell short by a mere fraction of a second. Meanwhile, another pre-race favorite, Phonak’s Floyd Landis (USA) missed his starting time, thereby losing his rhythm and at least 8 or 9 seconds, a margin which could have meant victory for him in today’s stage.

Tomorrow is Stage 1,  184.5km stage from Strasbourg to Strasbourg (including a quick jaunt into Germany). This stage is mostly flat with one small Category 4 climb (Cote de Heiligenstein) at 101km.

At the end of today’s stage, here are the standings in the general classification:

1. Thor Hushovd (NOR) Credit Agricole – 7.1km in 8’17″
2. George Hincapie (USA) Discovery at 01″
3. Dave Zabriskie (USA) CSC at 04″
4. Sebastian Lang (Ger) Gerolsteiner at 05″
5. Alejandro Valverde (ESP) Caisse D’Epargne-Illes Balears at 05″