Italian Rinaldo Nocentini from Ag2r-La Mondiale, who now wears the Yellow Jersey, was in 32nd place before Stage 7 when he joined a long breakaway that the peloton, lead by Team Astana, never caught. Nocentini moved up 31 places in a field of nearly 200 to gain the yellow jersey today. Well done!

Astana set the pace for the peloton today, mostly going at what seemed a fast training pace before Contador hit the gas in the final kilometers of Stage 7 as he and his team neared the finish in Andorra. While Contador missed the Yellow Jersey by just six seconds — six seconds! — he asserted his leadership of Team Astana, with he and Armstrong swapping their relative positions in the G.C.

Astana holds a commanding position in the GC, with four Astana riders in the top 10. American riders also dominate, with Lance Armstrong in 3rd, his teammate Levi Leipheimer behind him in 4th, and Slipstreams Christian Van de Velde in 8th place.

Will we see a podium peopled completely by Team Astana in at a stage finish soon?

Elsewhere…

* KWC: Are we clear yet?
* BWN: Stage 7 Results.
* Bicycle.Net: Contador attacks.
* CN: Stage 7 results.
* VN: Feillu wins.
* Left Field: Contador proves his point.

“My Tarmac is the fastest bike I’ve had so far.”

Andy and his brother Frank Schleck race for Team Saxo Bank. Saxo Bank rider Fabian Cancellara wears the Yellow Jersey so far, but climbers like Frank and Andy Schleck are expected to do well on the mountain stages that begin with Friday’s Stage 7.

See more about Team Saxo Bank — including daily video diary entries — at their website: Saxo Bank – Taking the Lead. See also Saxo Bank Story Planet, which seems to be a website to help you publish online slideshows.

Detail of Mark Cavendish’s bicycle at the start of Tour de France Stage 6. Cavendish races for Team Colubmia-HTC. At the conclusion of Stage 6 in Barcelona, he holds the Green Jersey by just a single point after Thor Hushovd bested him in the sprint finish.

Photo by Bryn Lennon / Getty Images.

See more TdF Stage 6 photos and reports.

Rain + mountain roads + speeding bike race = crashes.

I won’t spoil it for you all just yet, but the interesting players were David Millar, Amets Txurruka, Oscar Freire and Thor Hushovd.

Links out to commentary, race results, and photos (with spoilers) below…

• Bike World News: Stage 6 News and Notes.
• VN: Thor Thunders.
• CN: Uphill Sprint.
• TdF Blog: On the Road.

Update: Click here for Tour de France Stage 6 results. The race turned out nothing at all like I surmised it might below!

In video below, Bernard Hinault gives a “just the facts” summary of today’s stage 6 from Gerone to Barcelona. He gives some advice to Fabian Cancellara, telling him to stay on Lance Armstrong’s wheel to retain the yellow jersey.

My prediction: I think the story today will be Alberto Contador as he enters his native Spain. Team Astana has kept Contador relatively fresh coming into Stage 6, and his climbing legs will serve him well on the moderate terrain on today’s stage. Maybe he won’t win, but I see him gaining the yellow jersey today after he makes up the 19 seconds that current leader Cancellara has on him. Stage 6 isn’t mountainous enough to kill time trialing specialist Cancellara, but he and Saxo Bank will have to work for him to retain the lead.

I think Stage 6 will also be the moment of truth when the question of Astana’s leadership will be defined.

I’m writing this late Wednesday night; by the time most Americans read this Stage 6 preview the Stage 6 results will be known as the racers cross the finish line in Barcelona at about 8 AM USA Pacific Time.

Bike World News has some interesting trivia regarding Stage 5 today. For example, Fabian Cancellara broke the record for most days spent in yellow by a Swiss rider. Read more at Bike World News.

All photos used with permission / Getty Images. Hover over images for full attribution and captions.