As you may have already seen on Twitter, I ran the last 5km of the climb to Andorra-Arcalis this morning, where the riders will arrive this afternoon. A mere 2,240m above sea level.
There are a few places where it gets tough and it’s a long climb - but it's actually not that steep.
Traditionally on the first mountain stage, the likes of Lance Armstrong would have made a decisive move - grabbing the yellow jersey and wearing it all the way to Paris . But it's very early on in the Tour for that to happen.
I could see the likes of Team Saxo Bank's Andy Schleck having a really good go today. He'll be angry with himself for missing that split on Stage 3 and will be keen to make up time to drag himself up the GC
I expect attacks and I think a breakaway could well succeed. It's the sort of stage that French climber Richard Virenque would have won a few years ago.
Armstrong got into the habit of making a statement on the first mountain stage just because he could, and he enjoyed the unflinching support of a powerful team.
As team boss Viatcheslav Ekimov said last night all eyes will be on Astana, but I can't see either Alberto Contador or Armstrong mounting an all-out attack.
Armstrong is still riding himself into form, and will be determined to get on the back wheel of the main climbers. But not necessarily much more than that.
Contador, meanwhile, has a conservative streak in him. He'll keep an eye on Armstrong and I think they may cancel each other out.
Lastly, it was curious to see three Spaniards and former Tour winners pulled in for dope tests after the stage in Barcelona .
Carlos Sastre, Alberto Contador and Oscar Pereiro. There is this feeling in France that their teams and riders are clean, while Spanish and Italian teams are responsible for much of the dishonesty in cycling. I suspect someone may have been making a point.
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