MONACO (AP) - The nervous plainclothes policeman scrutinized the frenzy, the cameramen elbowed and sweated in the Mediterranean sun and that dead-shark look of determination was back in the eyes of the bike racer everyone came to see.

Yup, no doubt about it, Lance Armstrong is back at the Tour de France. Weirdly, give-or-take a few gray hairs, it was almost as if he’d never been away. With each push of his aluminum pedals, the 37-year-old rolled back the years - almost.

The seven-time champion’s first ride in four years at the race he used to dominate threw out three essential pieces of information:

is no longer the Tour’s top dog. He still looks good, really good, but no longer quite as awesome as he did when he was "le Boss" around these parts.

-For someone who spent so long away, living a celebrity lifestyle, knocking back beers and growing his family, he has done an impressive job of whipping himself back into shape. Those muscular thighs, sunken cheekbones and wiry frame don’t lie. His Tour comeback is not just the ill-prepared whim of a celebrity kidding himself that he’s still a pro cyclist. He may no longer be the fastest of the 180 riders, but he’s nowhere near the slowest, either.

Alberto Contador, Armstrong’s teammate, really seems to be the man to beat. The Spaniard looked, well, more Amstrong-ish than Armstrong on Saturday. The way he powered around the hilly, twisting and difficult course was reminiscent of how Armstrong would have done it when he was at his peak. No wonder Armstrong wanted Contador on his team, not racing against him. It’s that old mafia thing - keep your friends close and your enemies closer.

The bottom line: on Saturday, Armstrong rode his worst time trial at the Tour since the cancer-survivor first took the race by the scruff of the neck in 1999.

He placed - gasp! - 10th. There’s dozens of guys at the Tour who would give their paychecks to be that good and 170 of them - most of them years his junior - finished behind him.