Yesjesdal! The Weight of a Nation, Ryde of a Lifetime... Whatever you want to call it, this is Ryder Hesjedal's time to shine. Canada's only Tour de France participant has proven to the world that he is a Grand Tour contender. But, those of us who have known him for the past several years have known this all along. I was not happy to see Ryder's fellow teammate and team leader Christian Vande Velde withdraw from the Tour de France after crashing and breaking several bones in stage 2, but I immediately knew that Ryder would be unleashed to show what he is capable of. Since the cobble stone riddled stage 3 where Ryder put his off-roading skills to work he has been playing in the top 10 overall placings.