Carlos Sastre’s time up the 13.8-kilometer switchback climb up Alpe d’Huez was 39 minutes, 29 seconds. That’s the second slowest time since an official time was taken on the climb beginning in 1994. Giuseppe Guerini climbed it in 41:52 in 1999 at the end of a long, solo breakaway to hold the slowest climb since records were kept. The fastest time on the climb was set by Marco Pantani with in 36:50 in 1995. Seven-time Tour champ Lance Armstrong rode up in 37:36 during a climbing time trial in a 2004 individual time trial. 

Fränk Schleck was worried about his descending skills after suffering a horrible crash in last month’s Tour de Suisse. Schleck was poised to take the leader’s jersey at the Swiss tour when he crashed on a wet corner and catapulted over the guardrail into a ravine. Luckily for Schleck, he wasn’t seriously injured, but the nasty fall left him shaken. Ahead of the start of this year’s Tour, he was pulled aside by five-time Tour winner Bernhard Hinault, who offered a few words of advice. “Bernhard gave me a few pointers and told me some things to remember when I am going downhill. Those few minutes really paid off today. I was remembering what he told me and it helped,” Schleck said

Frank Schleck becomes the fourth Team CSC-Saxo Bank rider to wear the prestigious yellow jersey at the Tour de France. Since the team’s inception, the squad has always been one of the aggressors of the race, but taking the yellow jersey didn’t come to fruition until Dave Zabriskie in 2005. The American beat seven-time Tour winner Lance Armstrong in the opening time and held it for four days. Jens Voigt became the second to wear the jersey, taking it for one day later in that same Tour before falling ill. Fabian Cancellara wore it for a week last year after taking the opening prologue. Schleck, meanwhile, is the first to take it so deep in the race. 

Team CSC-Saxo Bank rider Carlos Sastre has been pretty quiet so far in this Tour de France. That’s bound to change in the coming days. Three climbing stages spread over four days will provide plenty of opportunities for the veteran climber to spread his wings. Summertime temperatures have descended on the Tour just as Sastre is turning up the heat on the race. “Today was hot like Spain. It’s the way I like it. I think it’s supposed to be hot all the way through the Alps. That plays in my favor,” Sastre said. “The heat is a disadvantage for some riders. You can feel the heat pelting off the road. It makes what’s hard even harder. The key is to drink a lot of water. The rule is, drink before your thirsty. If you wait until you’re thirsty, then it’s too late.”

Stuart O’Grady was up front in Friday’s stage of the Tour de France, but it wasn’t because he’s back in the business of fighting for the sprint finishes. The veteran Aussie has given up on his chances in the sprint finishes becoming one of the most important workers on the team. In this year’s Tour, the Olympic gold medalist on the track is now the official bodyguard of Spanish climber Carlos Sastre. “I’ve done a lot of work to keep Carlos out of the wind and protect him until the mountains arrive. He’s doing well. He’s been very cool so far in this Tour. Nothing shakes him up. We haven’t even seen him attack yet. I don’t think he’s even put it in second gear yet.”