Welcome back, Lance!
Lance did make a tour fan out of this person, but like I told my sis, Josie, I am not really an avid Lance fan. I will cheer for him as he tries for tour-win # 8 but will jeer at him whenever I see him throw up a "hook em, horns" hand sign for a school he never attended. I heard someone jokingly say he was back to try to win back Sheryl Crow...I laughed & laughed at the stupidity of that comment and what an absurd gesture it would be. Not that Lance is too good for her, but vice versa. He was not nice to her when she needed him the most, but she did overcome her own cancer dilemma and now has a child (a real child not a man-child) to keep her company. Kudos to her. Anyway, my issues with Lance and his UT antics and his Sheryl Crow frolics aside, I do hope he can pull out another victory. It is strange seeing him riding for a non-American team, his Team Astana. Not that he always did ride for a team from the U.S., but before he retired in 2005 after having posted tour win # 7, my favorite teams of his were the American-spawned U.S. Postal and Team Discovery.
Anyway, back to the tour. This year's tour began with a bang as it usually does. I must say that my favorite stages during the 22 stage event are the individual time trials closely followed by the team trials. I also love the stages when the tour visits the Pyrénées and the Alps; I am always in awe of how the riders keep up with the grueling climbs with the difficult road gradients that make my legs cramp up just by watching.
I am also in awe of how the domestiques selflessly give up the limelight that awaits the victor of the tour at the end of the 22 stage journey by playing second-fiddle to his team's chosen leader. It is the domestique's job to make sure that his team's leader is protected from harm from the rest of the field in the event of a crash, it is his job to play rabbit to the field within the peloton to help keep his team's leader in the chase, it is his job to also try to win a stage to help score points for his team which in an odd way also helps his team's leader. And mostly, it is the domestique's job to push and pull. In pulling, he allows his team's leader to ride his coat-tails by ways of the leader latching on to the winds that his domestique's cycle puts out which basically carries the leader without much effort on his behalf. It reduces his need for greater cadence. In pushing, the domestique has to find it within himself to encourage his leader to ride faster and harder regardless of how he (the domestique) is feeling. He has to play cheerleader.
This tour and the sport which is called bicycling is just awesome. Whomever says that it is not a real sport is plain ignorant or an American cro-magnon man. This is a real sport which takes over 22 days to complete almost 2200 hundred miles of different terrain which includes mountains -real mountains!
My hats are off to these gentlemen. One day I will find myself in France during the awesome month of July to see this great tour in person. To see one stage of the tour would be great in itself, but how much more in awe would I be to be fortunate enough to see more than two stages (goose bumps happening)...I would ever be so humbled to see all 22 stages.
I am currently pulling for Lance (U.S.), Levi Leipheimer(U.S.), and even Alberto Contador (Spain) to win the entire event. My favorite rider though, always has been and continues to be one George Hincapie (U.S.). George is Lance's buddy and was one of his domestiques during all his previous 7 tour victories. Even though he has never been in this to win the entire event, it just makes me so happy to see him still there and my tears will be difficult to hold back if he is able to win a stage or more this year. He is a top notch kinda guy. It is a little sad to see Lance and George on opposite teams, but I am glad they are each doing well. Aside from Lance's Team Astana being one of my favs this year, I must say that George's Team Columbia-HTC is close second with the one in third and final fav column is Team Garmin-Slipstream (another American Fav on this team for me is one Christian Vande Velde).
Vive le Tour de France, baby! (pardon the almost Dick Vitale-ish quote).
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