The wait is over, the season is real. The opening weekend in Belgium provided terribly difficult racing, some surprises, big Belgian disappointment, and a lot of stories. The lovers of hills got their due in Switzerland and teh Giro di Sardegna wrapped. So take a few minutes and catch up on all that's worth catching up on.

Say Arrivederci to the Giro as it’s almost Bonjour to Le Tour. We’ve got the latest on the ASO/UCI punch-up as well as the tune up events in Luxembourg and France. Stateside, it’s Philly and a full-up Nature Valley as well as Johan serving up some bedtime reading. It’s a global ET and it’s full today.

The VERSUS Channel held their annual pre-Tour press conference today, hosted by Phil Liggett and Paul Sherwen. It’s a great chance to check in with two guys who’ve seen more Tours than most of us, and are never short of opinions. Once we got through the usual barrage of uninspired doping questions from the mainstream guys, it was time to ask about the race itself…

Tour de France route selection is based on various criteria – some we know and some we can only guess at - but in addition to geographically moving the race around the country, the parcours are also influenced by towns and regions with the deepest pockets... Every mayor of every town in France knows full well that ‘une grande’ check is often the best way to entice le Grande Boucle into your corner of France each summer.

The parcours for the 2007 Grande Boucle were announced today in Paris, and PEZ was knee-deep in ‘le hoopla’ in a room light on active pros, but well-stocked with former cycling stars who joined the festivities. We know the fight against dopers is far from over, but the mood was one of excitement none-the-less – it’s still the greatest bike race in the world…

Pez-Man Nick O’Brien joined an exclusive group allowed to ride the full Tour de France stage 5 distance from Beauvais to Caen – 219 mostly flat kms across northern France – just hours ahead of the actual race. Closed roads, cheering fans, a fast closing caravan… this was not your average Tuesday ride…

It’s another American success in Paris – somehow there were no more bizarre twists or turns today, and Floyd Landis navigated the final stage without mishaps to score his maiden Tour de France win. Given the amount of time he spent chatting with other riders in the peloton today, I think his win seems a pretty popular one.

On his penultimate day chasing the race, James Hewitt gets up close and personal with a few of the stars of the sport and nearly has his bike stolen! Read on to find out how...

PEZ-Man braving the Tour in the field, James Hewitt, finds himself in Albertville for the final day in the mountains of 2006. After such a spectacular day at the TdF its pretty hard to try to compete with the Floyd so I will not try but if you are so inclined, read on!