Some people say that bleach should be added to the first rinse, never the wash -- the "put it in the wash" thing came out as a shortcut when housewives in America started using it in a fairly simple process (when all that was available was either a tub/handwash or a a "conventional"/non-automatic washer): they essentially had only 3 baths/phases, namely wash, rinse, rinse.
The correct, most effective process, should always have been wash, rinse/bleach, rinse, rinse. The bleach in the first rinse (cooler water) has a chance to actually react with the stains/clothes instead of a massive amount of dirt in the wash water, also, even though bleach in hotter water tends to react faster, it also tends to evaporate from the water very quickly and tends to last longer (hang around longer) in colder water. Also, remember that chlorine bleach is non-selective, it will react with almost anything, including the detergent, so allowing time for the detergent to work in the wash is better than obliterating part of the detergent in the last few minutes (or the full) wash. Finally, you don't need nearly as much bleach in the first rinse for the same effect as bleach in the wash, but don't hold your breath waiting for bleach manufacturers to tell you that. ;-)