First, a warning: If for some reason Universal Sports isn't broadcasting live, then we need to start a second thread for people watching on delay. However, their website says they start at 3:50am Pacific, so maybe the problem is solved.

I just can't get enough of our cool Worlds logo. Too bad it's getting shelved in a couple days. Maybe at the Tour of California we can have an art opening featuring the logos of the Podium Cafe.

More fun and games from Varese today. I'm no expert on the women's field, but the host country must be chafing a bit over the minimal medal haul. Could make for some motivated riders... or they'll wilt without Bastianelli. The Brits (Cook, Pooley) and Germans (Kupfernagel, Teutenberg, Arndt) have the horsepower. So I'll go with... Emma Johanssen.

Last year there were some familiar names. Now I can't find anyone who'll show me a final start list. If you've got one, please post! 

Remember, if Universal Sports.com is an hour or more behind on its "live" coverage, people should try not to spoil the outcome. If you're a Universal watcher, you might not want to look right away/ Work it out, people!

Previewed already... should be an interesting day for Team USA, along with die Deutsche Mannschaft, Equipo Espana, Team Sverige, etc. Whoever sees the list of start times first, please post it here.

Also, today there was some discrepancy in the timing of the Women's race, which led to an awkward moment where European Cafe'ers were talking about the results of the race while North American readers were just settling in. I think the Men's Elite ITT will literally be streamed live (Cycling.TV, maybe Universal Sports, etc), but at the outset people might want to check with each other to make sure nobody's spoiling anyone's surprises.

Should be quite a day. Enjoy!

Live coverage starts at 8:50am Eastern over at UniversalSports.com. Cycling.TV has coverage too, along with probably a few other sources in Europe (Eurosport?). The course is no picnic, but flat enough for the power riders, which is why Olympic champion Kristin Armstrong is a solid favorite, along with Karin Thurig and defending champ Hanka Kupfernagel. Should be loads of fun... enjoy!

Sorry, no upside down exclamation point in the header. I'll work on it. Enjoy the parade!

Can Levi make it interesting? Probably... Enjoy!

Weird one today... two cat-1 climbs, then a long downhill to a sprint finish, among whoever is left. Tailor-made for a breakaway, particularly if the peloton is waiting for the big teams to do anything. Tomorrow's time trial will occupy the minds of any remaining contenders, chronomen, and their lieutenants, particularly since today's stage includes the very same Alto de Navacerrada (albeit going down; today's climb starts on the other side). Anyway, the heads of state will all be riding this stage with an eye on tomorrow, which means unless Silence! Lotto or Quick Step shuts down the breaks, they'll be on their own. Enjoy!

Pretty short day today, just 167km with a single rated climb, that Cycling News was sniggering at. So, clear sprinters' stage today. Can Van Avermaet stamp his name on the points jersey? He'd better hurry or... well, there's not really anyone to take it from him, unless he does nothing and lets Koldo Fernandez back in the race, or cedes it to an uninterested Alberto Contador. Still, he looked pretty fast last week, so if Van Avermaet is going to enjoy this breakout win, it'd be nice to see him do it in style. Wouter Weylandt would like nothing more than to rain on this parade. Enjoy!

Here are today's stage results and the current general classification.

Back to the sprinters' show. Which Greg Van Avermaet is about to steal, along with the points jersey. Just 11 points back of the maillot oro and otherwise occupied Alberto Contador, Van Avermaet has a clear shot at an improbable points win. Consider: Boonen, Bennati, Bettini, Freire... all on hand, veterans with long and glamorous points resumes. But Benna's gone, Freire bowed out, and Boonen and Bettini are almost certainly too far back to make a dent. The stage battle will be competitive, but the points battle is almost over.  Enjoy!