Australian Cadel Evans was given cause for both optimism and alarm after the opening stage of the Tour de France early yesterday which left some of his potential yellow jersey rivals in the race's driving seat.
Evans finished fifth in a technically-demanding time trial won by Swiss Olympic champion Fabian Cancellara who rides with Stuart O'Grady at the Saxo Bank team.
But, arguably, the most notable result was enjoyed by the Astana team of 2007 champion Alberto Contador and seven-time winner Lance Armstrong, the Kazakh-backed outfit placing four riders in the top 10.
Contador finished second to Cancellara but only 18seconds adrift while two-time runner-up Evans stayed in touch with a promising fifth place finish at 23seconds behind the Swiss. Some other Tour contenders, such as Denis Menchov of Russia and defending champion Carlos Sastre, finished more than a minute in arrears.
Australian Michael Rogers was 27th finishing 1min13sec behind Cancellara while Stuart O'Grady was 1:48 off the pace in 90th.
Although only the first skirmish in a battle that will really only get nasty in the mountains of the Pyrenees and the Alps, Evans has already been given plenty of food for thought.
With four riders in the top 10 Contador, fourth-placed Andreas Kloden, sixth-placed Levi Leipheimer and Armstrong, in 10th Astana has thrown down the gauntlet.
Evans was disappointed at coming fifth, but it could have been worse. And, as he said, there is still a long way to go.
''It's not bad, but it could be better,'' he said.
''I still have to look at the results and make a bit of an assessment, but I was beaten by four guys [on the stage]. I didn't win so obviously I wasn't the best here but there's a long way to go yet.
''I'm on track. Not right there, but I'm on track.''
Contador, meanwhile, put paid to the speculation that Astana would not fully support the Spaniard, who knocked Evans into second place in 2007.
Any disappointment he felt at not taking the race lead will be shaded by the fact that he is now undoubtedly the man to lead Astana's charge towards the yellow jersey.
The Spaniard, absent last year because Astana was not invited, now has a 48 second lead on defending champion Carlos Sastre, who finished in 21st place, and a 1:13 lead on recent Tour of Italy champion Menchov, who finished in modest 53rd place.
Saxo Bank team leader and climbing ace Andy Schleck was slightly better off at 42seconds behind Contador.
Although Cancellara is not an overall yellow jersey contender, Saxo Bank said it would do everything to hold on to the lead at least up until tomorrow night's team time trial, the race's next big rendezvous.
Three days later the race will head into the Pyrenees for three days of climbing, with Contador expected to try to distance his rivals even further.
Contador went into the second stage overnight wearing the best climber's polka dot jersey, but said he doesn't aim to keep it.
''I'd like to switch this jersey for the yellow one,'' the 26-year-old said.
Having started and finished his race much earlier in the day, 37-year-old Texan Armstrong, who only returned to professional racing in January after a three-and-a-half year hiatus, said he was happy with a performance which, at the time, he could not gauge against the bigger stage favourites. AFP