The First 100 Miles

AC vs LA

Post-Tour blues - it never gets easier.

Even though the race is over there still seems to be a lot of talk about the AC vs LA rivarlry.  LA has been twittering about it and so have many other riders.  While I'm not lining up to run the AC fan club, I have to think that much of what we're reading this week is the result of a problem with translation. 

I was very confused when I read that AC said that, "on a personal level I have never had great admiration for him and never will."  Didn't anyone else watch the interview on Versus the final night of the race when he talked about how he read Lance's book, IT'S NOT ABOUT THE BIKE while in hospital recovering from brain surgery and how it inspired him to push forward with his own career?  He said that when things got tough on the bike after that he would think about all that Lance had accomplished since his battle with cancer and it would drive him to keep going.  If that's not personal admiration, I don't know what is.

And as far as AC not thanking his team, my guess is that he probably has and it's just not juicy enough news for anyone to report on. 

Janann, if you want to hear Horner's take on the whole situation, from being left off the Tour team to AC attacking Kloden, click on this link and then scroll back in the videos until you get to "Bend cyclist Chris Horner talks with NewsChannel 21."  As usual, Chris holds nothing back.

My family and I are heading down to Cape Cod on Friday for a little vacation so I won't be around for a while.  Take care everyone and cheer up, only 48 weeks to go until TdF 2010 ;)

All Over

The last day of the Tour is always sad.  It's so much fun to watch and we get so caught up in the drama, both on the road and off, that it's hard to make the quick transition back to the real world - for most of us a world largely oblivious to the sport we so dearly love.

The last stage is always fun to watch though.  I love getting to see the riders chatting to one another during the first hour, wondering what they're saying and whether it's about gear ratios or juicy gossip.  And what a great final sprint!  Once again, Columbia did a fabulous job getting Cavendish in place.  Garmin tried their best with the new tactic of trying to control the lead out train but despite having a potentially broken collarbone George Hincapie gladly took the pain and pulled his guys around in the end to set up Cavo.  Bob Roll predicted that after Garmin rode hard that day and kept George out of the yellow by five seconds that he would seek revenge and today, well, payback's a bitch. 

When it was all over I thought that Lance looked incredibly uncomfortable up there on that podium standing below Alberto.  After the photo was done he looked like he couldn't get off that thing fast enough.  Maybe he was afraid the stupid hat would rub off.  Seriously AC, guys showing up to the race with yellow gear or green gear or even polka dotted gear when they're serious contenders for a jersey is one thing, but bringing a hat with your appallingly unoriginal two finger salute is just weird.

I had grown to love Cavendish before the Tour began but he just impressed me more and more as I watched him in this race.  This year my new crush was Andy Schleck.  His energy and confidence combined with his talent and his love for his brother totally won me over and I hope that if Lance can't win next year, Andy can.

Can't wait for 2010!  The Radio Shack team is going to be stellar and Lance and Contador head to head for real is going to be the battle of the century.  My dream is to see Lance come to France next year with Levi, George, Horner and Popo by his side and Johan in his ear. 

Thanks to everyone for visiting again.  It was great to have the IA back together (more or less) for the Tour this year!

The Calm Before The Storm

Yawn of a stage today until the last 30km when it became clear that we were going to be treated to a bunch sprint.  Loved seeing Cav get the win today and I was moved by how emotional he was at the end.  I love how hard he works for the teammates that work so hard for him.  I'm sure other sprinters feel the same, but I've never heard a top sprinter give so much credit, time and time again to the guys that set it all up for them.  He's young but he's a class act that boy.

Still much discussion here about what happened in terms of communication on that climb the other day between AC, Kloden and Johan.  I have to agree with Cathy on this one and say that while it was clearly not a well thought out move and probably the mark of a young,relatively inexperienced cyclist, I really think his intentions were honourable.  I think that Johan probably did say, "you don't have to attack to win the Tour," and maybe what he meant by that was, "don't attack," but what Alberto understood was, "you don't have to attack but if you can then go ahead." I think it was an honest mistake that he regrets but, like Cathy said, there's nothing he can do about it now but learn from it and move on.

I can't wait for tomorrow!  I'm setting the DVR tonight and I'm going to wait until my kids are in bed tomorrow night, get a big bowl of popcorn and curl up on the couch and drink in every second.  As the riders love to say, it's going to be epic!

I Was Sure Sastre Had That One

For some reason I wasn't jumping up and down during the ITT today.  Don't know why.  It all seemed pretty predictable I guess.  I thought Wiggins would do better and I thought Andy Schleck would do worse, but other than that, no real surprises.  And Sastre came in 70th, wow, I'm starting to think he might not win this year.  Well, I'm sure he can put 15 minutes and 26 seconds into Contador on Mt. Ventoux right, can't be that hard, maybe AC will stop for an ice cream or something.  Sorry, that's mean but that guy bugs me.  If you're good and people don't give you respect, maybe that's one thing, but you can't whine about people not respecting you and then just suck.  It's tacky.

Speaking of whining, a couple of you mentioned that Cancellara was whining about Contador having an advantage because the motorcycles were so close in front of him today - yeah, Jessica, I think he's suggesting that AC was drafting off the bikes, but he did also say that, "Today there was someone smarter than me and he won.  He never won a big time trial like that but today he shows he's the strongest."  He might have a point about the motorcycles but he does also concede that he just got beat.

I'm assuming many of you are following things over at Fat Cyclist.  I can honestly feel my heart breaking every time a read a new post from him.  God, it reminds me of the last few days of my grandfather's life when he was losing his battle to brain cancer.  As Amy said to me the other day over on Facebook, "f%&$*ing cancer!"  Is Lance still dedicating stages to people?  I haven't seen a video from him lately.  I really thought he might dedicate one to Susan since he knows about her and so many bike fans know about her and Elden.

On a lighter note, Bike Snob NYC has a very funny take on the winning salute discussion.  Susie B, you'll enjoy it.

Good news about Lance's new Radioshack team.  I hope the TdF organizers don't decide to go ahead with their idea about banning radios during the race or it's going to seem like sort of an odd fit.  I also chuckled at Contador's response to questions after the stage today about whether or not he'd be going to the new team.  He said, "I am concentrated 100 per cent on the Tour right now...After we get to Paris we will have time to consider the future." Which loosely translates to "Not if it was a team of naked women covered in chocolate and handing out duffel bags of cash."

It'll be interesting to see what names they get over there.  Right now they have a roster of one - it's a good one mind you, but it's still just one.  TeamRadioShack already has a Twitter account which I checked out.  They encourage you to go to their website to sign up for team updates but right now I can just follow their whole team at @lancearmstrong so I think I'll hold off on that.

I Want A Schleck Brother

How adorable are they?  I want to get one and bring him home and put him in my pocket and carry him around with me.  I'd feed him crumbs of cake and cheese and make him a little bed out of cotton balls and string.  So cute!

The Versus guys were talking about the best winning salutes the other day and I think today's shot of Frank with his arms in the air with Andy right behind him - arms also held high - was one of the best I've ever seen.

Great stage today!  Thanks to Cathy for the info on the AC-Kloden issue.  Seems like there's a lot of confusion around what exactly happened.  Perhaps even AC and Kloden are unsure.  Well, imagine how hard their job is already, then you add in trying to coordinate strategy at 30mph in a language you're not familiar with - you can see how misunderstandings could occur.  I don't see why Alberto would want to drop Kloden though.  What possible advantage could that be to him?  Once Kloden was gone he was isolated.  He's just lucky that he's strong enough to keep up with the Schleck boys or that could have been a very dangerous position.

Darren, I love that you're still carrying your "Backpack of Hope."  

And Cathy, watching poor Denis Menchov slip-sliding all over the road today, all I could think of was "there goes Menchov, channeling Bambi again." For me, one of your best lines ever. [EDIT: Oops, sorry Susie B, had a little misunderstanding of my own there.  I thought that line was Cathy's but it was your brilliance - hilarious!]

Can't wait for the TTT tomorrow.  I'm rooting for Wiggo now to gain back some time and finish out this Tour in a way that no one ever imagined he could.

Now That's What I Call A Bike Race

What a great day!  That was the Alps at their best. 

Today was the kind of stage that Phil and Paul talk about making a "selection" in the race.  It's where you cannot hide.  Where you get to see who really has it and whose just been riding wheels until now.  Contador was fantastic.  Lance was amazing.  Bradley Wiggins is on fire and even the Schleck brothers were impressive. 

CVV held his own for a while there.  He actually seems to be riding better now that he's working for Wiggins and I'm not surprised. I've always felt that CVV had incredible skill but that, like a George Hincape or a Jens Voigt, he was always more comfortable in the supporting role and just didn't have the killer insticnt necessary to lead a team.  It's not to say that he's less, it's just a different strength.

I saw things heating up in the comment section re the boy wonder, Contador.  I have to say that the kid impresses me.   Like many others I had hoped to see Lance come back and light up the road but Contador has worked incredibly hard to get where he is today - harder than Lance has for the past three years - and he deserves everything he's getting right now.  He's a better rider than Armstrong in 2009 and his "arrogance" or "cockiness" or whatever you want to call it is the same thing that we love when we see it in Lance or Cavo or any of the other stars.  He's the best bike rider in the world today, period and good for him.

Poor Jens.  I didn't see the crash as my satellite conked out for a bit during the stage.  Sounds like he's alive but maybe not doing great?  I haven't checked for an update yet.

And I, like many others, sat at my computer and cried this morning as I read the post over at Fat Cyclist.  Don't you think there should be a universal rule about horrible things happening to wonderful people?  Matt, you have done so much good by being so involved with Fatty's cause, you should be so proud.

Heartbreak

I'm not sure how much more I can stand.

First it's Levi out of the race with a broken wrist - devastating.  Then it's George having what was probably his last chance to wear the yellow jersey in arguably one of the most respected and selfless careers in the sport of cycling taken away from him for no good reason - demoralizing.  Today it was watching both Lance and Christian admit that their chances of winning the 2009 Tour probably evaporated today - heart-wrenching. 

The Tour has always been heavy with drama but I don't remember ever being this close to tears so many times and we've only touched the toes of the Alps. 

That all being said, Levi will live to race another day, George is a big boy who has built a career that has taught and inspired countless other riders.  And at the end of the day George knows that, even though it's the Tour de France, it's still just a bike race and there are more important things in life.  Christian seemed utterly genuine in his determination to use his skill on the bike to ride for Wiggins now.  And, I think Lance put it best when he said that Contador showed that he's the strongest rider in the pack today and that if the team rides into Paris with the yellow jersey he'll be happy and he has seven of them of his own at home so he's just fine.  I was rooting for Lance but there's no denying now that Alberto deserves to win the 2009 Tour and, barring anything crazy happening, win it he will.

I got home on Friday but it's taken me until tonight to watch all of the stages that I'd taped in my absence.   I was not in prison or in rehab, I really was out of town at a lovely cottage watching my kids catch fish, play in the sand and eat their weight in ice cream. 

Darren, JoeB, great to hear from you guys again.  JeffK - welcome!!

Talk Amongst Yourselves

Sorry for the delay in posting here, I haven't had a chance to put anything up for a few days.

Just off the top of my head, I was mightily impressed by the strategic riding of Sanchez the other day in those last 2 km.  He used his head along with his body and boy did he deserve that win.

I'm very curious about the tension level in the Astana bus these days.  Contador certainly made a statement with that lone attack.  He says it was good for the whole team, Armstrong said it wasn't in the plan.  I think Susie B said it best when she asked, "Is the Spanish word for team 'I'?"  I think it showed incredible class on Lance's part to not go after him.  Johan always said that the team leader would be determined on the road and that's exactly what's going to happen.

I'm afraid I'm going to be AWOL again for a few days as I take the kids up to a friend's cottage.  I'll be back on Friday and my PVR is locked and loaded to tape the next three stages.

Looking forward to chatting again at the end of the week.  Take care!

Bring on the Thunder

Happy for Thor, but boy was I pulling for Millar in those last 15 km.  I wouldn't say that Millar's ever been my favorite rider in the peloton but I do feel like he works really hard and always seems to be plagued by bad luck, never quite achieving the success he strives for.  I really wanted him to have that stage win today but it wasn't meant to be.

Sorry to see Mick Rogers go down so hard. I was sure he was out for good but I saw on Velonews that Columbia HTC says nothing's broken and he'll start tomorrow morning. 

I didn't see George Hincapie go down but on Twitter he says he did, "Flated with 25k to go, came back to group moved to front then crashed with 20k to go. Never been so scared on the bike as I was today. Ps , I'm fine very little road rash. But mic went down with me And he was alot worse...hope he's ok."

I saw that Boonen managed to get back on his bike and finish although he looked as though he was limping pretty badly after he hit the deck in those last few kms. 

Astana did a great job protecting Lance as though he was already in yellow.  And I think I've got it figured out.  Tell me what you think of my theory. There are two Lance Armstrongs.  One is the gentle, thoughtful, crusader.  He wears a suit.  He meets with international heads of state and world renowned doctors and leads the search for a cure for cancer.  He listens.  He encourages.  He cares.  The other Lance is the one who strikes fear in the hearts of men who ride bikes down mountains at 100km/hr for a living.  He shows no emotion.  He's guarded and determined and he'll do whatever it takes to win once he's challenged - whatever it takes.  He does not lose.

I think that as each day of this race goes by and the smell of a potential victory begins to fill the air, one Lance is retreating further into the background and the other is pushing to the forefront. 

As we get deeper into this race I think that everyone had better hold onto their hats.

Everyone's a-Twitter

Interesting quotes from the world of Twitter (yes, I spend way too much time online):

Robbie McEwen re Astana TTT: I'm sure @Lancearmstrong did that on purpose to leave cancellara in the jersey. He sat up in last 50m. Nice. I repeat, LA will win.

Axel Merckx: Whatever happens from now Lance made the most impressive comeback ever in sport history. Way to go boss!

George Hincapie re TTT: was dissapointed with todays ride for about a second. we have won two out of four stages. lots to be happy about. congrats to astana. 

Mark Cavendish guest tweet on Mark Renshaw's Twitter: Yesterday with 3km to go, Piet Rooijakkers (skil shimano) kidney punched me. Is he a:stupid b:crazy c:disrespectful d:all of the above? Cav

CVV after ITT: more than happy with today. Didnt know what the body was going to do today. fabian?? yeah, that just happened.

CVV after the stage three split in the peloton: hard day yesterday. caught with our pants down. hats off to columbia.

Taylor Phinney re Cavendish's mock phone call as he crossed the line: My kind of racing today... Never an easy day in the Tour! Way to go Cav, you probably just got yourself a big raise from the new sponsor!