from Bruce Hildenbrand

The 2008 Tour de France begins this Saturday, July 5th in Brest. With no clear favorite for the yellow jersey, this could be the most exciting Tour in years. Americans will be well-represented by Jonathan Vaughter's Garmin-Chipotle team which recently dropped the 'Slipstream' moniker when it signed GPS-maker Garmin as its title sponsor.

The boys in argyle will be utilizing a whole host of CycleOps Power products most notably PowerTap hubs and Pro Series trainers. CycleOps Power will be following our favorite team from the start of the Tour through the Pyrenees mountains, the Alps and finally to Paris as we chronicle the ups and downs of the world's greatest bike race.

I covered my first Tour with Team 7-Eleven in the late 1980's and have been part of the race in some capacity ever since. I remember in 1994, when power meters were first being introduced, meeting with Team Motorola after the first big stage in the Alps. Dr. Max Testa and I were trying to convince the riders of the benefits of measuring power, but some of the older riders were just unconvinced.

Luckily, times have changed and now power meters are an accepted and integral part to a rider's training and racing. During the Tour, CycleOps Power will also have one of the world's leading authorities on power, Dr. Allen Lim, reporting from France. Look for informative and entertaining articles on what the Garmin-Chipotle boys are doing. While these are the best riders in the world, there are a number of parallels of how we can all benefit through measuring our power on the bike.

Also joining us will be Versus TV commentator, Robbie Ventura. He will be broadcasting to us in audio with his sharp wit and keen sense of humor. Look for podcasts from him providing a unique look at what goes on during the Tour from a commentator's point of view.

The Tour and I have had an interesting and exciting twenty-year run from the days of Greg Lemond and Team 7-Eleven to the era of Team Motorola and finally to the emergence of Lance Armstrong and the dominance of the US Postal Service/ Discovery Channel squad. Please join us as we bring you behind-the-scenes insights into cycling's biggest show.