Discovery Team seems to have recovered well after Lance Armstrong left the world of cycling a year ago. At least that's what the first stage of the Tour de France tells us: that the American team is back in the game. They managed to clinch the first position - the yellow jersey - in the competition thanks to George Hincapie. After being a great teammate and a "worker" for Lance Armstrong in the past, the New-Yorker managed to "steal" the yellow jersey away from Thor Hushovd.

Actually, the fight between the two started out in the prologue of the Tour. The Norwegian managed to squeeze the best time on Saturday, but had to suffer for the yellow jersey until the final tens of a second. Even if nobody was seeing Hincapie as a time-trial specialists, the American managed to come second, less than a second behind Hushovd.

Although the flat stages are not considered to be leader-changers throughout the Tour, Sunday proved to be Hincapie's day. The Discovery cyclist took advantage of the bonus points from the last "intermediary timing" and managed to stay in the platoon until the end. Although Frenchman Jimmy Casper sprinted for the win in the maiden stage of Le Tour, the true winner of the day was Hincapie. Still, yesterday's stage brought what could have been a great tragedy for the cycling world. Hushovd touched an advertising object hold by one of the fans and bleed until the finish line.

"We managed to stop the bleeding. It's a deep wound but not a serious one. It will require stitches and maybe a scan but I think he should be able to start the second stage tomorrow", said Gerard Porte, the head of the Tour medical team.

On the other hand, the joy inside the American team was unbelievable. Still, even if he managed to bring Discovery Team on top once again, George Hincapie remains with his feet on the ground and asks his supporters not to compare him with Lance Armstrong: "People want a replacement for Lance but there is no replacement for Lance. I did not train for sprints but much more for time trials. So if I show the team in the time trial that I am the guy, then things will change and I will be able to count on the team".