Oh, so sweet to write those words. We actually made it to the start of a Tour de France without the sport drowning itself in a new scandal! Actually, wait a moment, I should check...

Nope! Nuthin! In the world of strange coincidences, yesterday was a new traffic record here at the Podium Cafe, breaking the record set, um, last year the day before the Tour. Thankfully, it has more to do with Google News than bags of blood.

Anyway, today is a day to celebrate the start of a new Tour, the undisputed high mark of the Cycling calendar no matter how exciting things might get at the Giro or de Ronde. I can't remember looking forward to a prologue this much. Here's your live thread to discuss the race in real time... let's get started!