The heat has returned to the Tour de France for the first time this year.

Of course, last year, it was an absolutely devastating situation. Except for the final time trial, France was blanketed with an incredible heat wave with 100-degree temperatures for most of the Tour. The heat precipitated Lance Armstrong’s dehydration, where he lost over 1.5 minutes to Jan Ullrich in the time trail. The heat also melted the roads that caused Joseba Beloki to crash in the stage won by Alexandre Vinoukorov.

Today was the first very hot stage, but I have a feeling it will be followed by many more very, very warm days.

It’s the dog days of the Tour de France, and the battle for GC begins at La Mongie tomorrow.