So here’s the plan: I’m going to try to post a recap/reaction every day during the Tour de France. I’d also ask you to keep spoilers for the next stage out of the comments. So, even though the Stage 2 post might not be up until Sunday night, please don’t comment on the results here. Thanks!
The first time trial/prologue normally doesn’t tell you much about the race, and today was no exception. It’s great to have the Tour underway, but we’re still a long way from having any idea of who’s going to wear yellow into Paris.
Lance Armstrong can’t be too happy with his performance, but in the long run it doesn’t really matter. He didn’t lose much time at all, and he still has plenty of time to make it up. As long as he’s still feeling good, he should be fine.
Astana as a team is looking unbelievably strong. It will be interesting to see how the team rivalries shake out, but there’s no doubt they’re the most talented team on the course.
As for Contador, he looked amazing, but how much energy did he expend today? Was he trying to make a statement and stomp Armstrong? He’ll have plenty of time to recover, if that’s the case, but it did seem that others were conserving energy rather than going for the win.
The Versus HD broadcast looks incredible. All sports benefit from high definition, and cycling is no exception. It’s easier to tell which rider you’re looking at, and the scenery looks even better than usual.
Rider of the Day
Fabian Cancellara - He’s a one trick pony, but that trick is really good. He’s a time trial specialist who seems unbeatable in the discipline. He won’t win the Tour, but he’s earned the yellow jersey for the first few stages.
Goat of the Day
Jan Ullrich - Even though he retired in 2007, Ullrich is still today’s goat. Versus had wall-to-wall Lance Armstrong hagiography leading up to today’s stage, and 90% of it showed Armstrong kicking Ullrich’s ass. He was a good rider, but also a cheater who always played second fiddle to the greatest rider ever. Sorry, Jan, but even in retirement you’re getting embarrassed by Lance
Reasons I love the Tour #1 - The Yellow Jersey
How cool is the yellow jersey? The idea that the guy leading the race gets to wear a special uniform should be extended to other sports. The car leading the NASCAR championship should get a special logo, or the team ranked #1 in college football should have a special helmet sticker. It still wouldn’t have the history of the maillot jaune, but it would be pretty cool.
6 Responses:
great post--love your attitude. keep 'em coming.
I think you should expand on the yellow jersey concept in other sports.
"Cheater?" Let me guess. You're another naive guy who thinks Armstrong, in the age of CERA and microdosing, who worked with Ferrari, never doped. Impossible, right? He just rose from the near-dead and beat a bunch of guys who it turned out were doping. But Armstrong was clean, right? Come on.
How much energy did Contador expend? It was 20 minutes. The answer is none.
great post. Keep it coming.
Did you mean Cancellara is a one trick pony at the Tour? He's a pretty well rounded rider. He just won the tour de suisse. He's won a non-TT stage of the Tour. He's also won a bunch of one day classics. The guy's pretty sick.
My vote is still Lance. He is gonna wait it out and then go for the kill when no one expects it. It seems like he is the bane of many people's existence, but I think men could learn a lot from him and his performance here.
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