It's the first time riding the Tour for the 33-year-old from Bend, Oregon, who has missed out on several opportunities in the past due to injury, family obligations and race officials' questionable team selection criteria. Over the three weeks of the race, VeloNews will check in with Horner when possible to get a first-person perspective from the always-outspoken rider.

VeloNews: What are your first impressions of the Tour de France?

Chris Horner: Yeah, it's been a real warm welcome to the Tour de France. [laughs] It's exciting. It's been incredible to come and do it and see the crowds and the atmosphere.

VN: How would you describe the first three road stages?

CH: The racing is basically ... the closest thing I can compare it to is like doing the Tour of Flanders every day, just fighting for position. It's 50 kph, curb to curb, all day. Normally, once a break goes away everyone settles down and rides two-by-two or three abreast. But here everyone is so worried about a crash that we're curb to curb, which usually causes a crash. The field doesn't string out here, or at least it hasn't yet. It's maximum speed, all the way across the road. Literally, it's almost a sprint from the moment we leave the start. I can't imagine how we're going to get through it if it rains. It's like the last lap of a criterium all day long.

VN: How does that work into your overall fitness plans? Are you riding yourself into form? Has it been difficult to maintain that speed?

CH: My form is good. I'm not suffering at all. I'll have to wait for the climbing stages to see if it feels very good. Obviously I've been losing time in the two time trials.

VN: We'd noticed that