Categories: RacingReverenceThe HardmenTradition

Reverence: The Ghosts of 2am

Off the back is the worst place to be. Photo: Tim De Waele TDWsport.com

The Prophet had never been dropped by anyone in a race-threatening situation during his entire Grand-Tour career. But he was dropped on this, a relatively minor climb to Pra Loup due to a combination of circumstances involving a chest injury, overconfidence, and savvy Frenchmen who could read the road surface well enough to understand what side of the road to attack on.

He had never lost the Tour, but Merckx was dropped on the short but steep climb to Pra Loup and refused to quit the Tour in 1975 because you don’t quit the Tour de France. He would rather lose than quit. These are the sentiments of a champion who has not only known, but become intimately accustomed to, the sensation of victory: reverence for the race he once dominated and the one he can not quit.

He came second, and thereby legitimized Bernard Thevenet’s victory. Reverence.

For non-Velominati Americans, Cycling is the Tour. From Greg LeMond – the only American to win the Tour three times, to Lance Armstrong – the only American to lose the Tour seven times all at once, to Floyd Landis – whose legacy was too short to excite the American Public but long enough to take down the greatest legacy in Sports History.

Tejay Van Garderen was sitting solid in 3rd place when he fell ill and had to quit the Tour de France, something no rider does with a light heart. So long as your name isn’t Mario Cipollini. Dropped every time the ride pointed uphill, he had little choice but to climb off. I have had races ripped from my grasp when I was at my peak for reasons I couldn’t control and, to this day, they are there when the Ghosts of 2am come knocking. I can only imagine what Tejay is thinking tonight.

Nothing feels as good as winning, and nothing haunts you as deeply as quitting. To quote a legendary cheater, “Pain is temporary, quitting is forever.” Which just goes to prove that just because you’re an asshole doesn’t mean you’re wrong.

frank

The founder of Velominati and curator of The Rules, Frank was born in the Dutch colonies of Minnesota. His boundless physical talents are carefully canceled out by his equally boundless enthusiasm for drinking. Coffee, beer, wine, if it’s in a container, he will enjoy it, a lot of it. He currently lives in Seattle. He loves riding in the rain and scheduling visits with the Man with the Hammer just to be reminded of the privilege it is to feel completely depleted. He holds down a technology job the description of which no-one really understands and his interests outside of Cycling and drinking are Cycling and drinking. As devoted aesthete, the only thing more important to him than riding a bike well is looking good doing it. Frank is co-author along with the other Keepers of the Cog of the popular book, The Rules, The Way of the Cycling Disciple and also writes a monthly column for the magazine, Cyclist. He is also currently working on the first follow-up to The Rules, tentatively entitled The Hardmen. Email him directly at rouleur@velominati.com.

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Minnesota Expat says:

Jul 24 2015 at 7:39 pm

@Shatterhand

The family made a few futile attempts to understand why daddy was silent during the following drive home, but soon realized that he had simply too much to process to bother himself with trivia such as everyday life.

This.
markb says:

Jul 25 2015 at 12:27 am

@ped

@Gianni

apparently, not so well soken

Shocked Nibali protested his innocence, claiming he did not know the race leader had ground to a halt, shrugging: “Froome was very angry at the finish, but that’s his problem.

“I cannot even tell you the words Froome said to me. They are too harsh to repeat.”

He's been coached by Sky to be polite on camera, but he's still just human. Nibali knew damm well he had a problem, and took advantage. However, he obviously had something left in the tank and may well have broken away at a later point in the race, so I'll let him off this time. If he does it again, it'll be the naughty-step and forced to wear the Columbian Women's kit for the Giro next year.
LeoTea says:

Jul 25 2015 at 1:14 am

@Minnesota Expat

@@BacklashJack

And then there’s a perfectly healthy Cavendish quitting because there were too many hills and he lost his pack mules.

Did Cavendish get in the team car?! I don’t see it anywhere and that would be unlike him. Say what you will, he might be down a couple hours, but he’s a competitor and would be looking forward to the Champs-Elysees.

According to letour.fr, only withdrawal yesterday was by Michael Anderson of Tinkov-Saxo.
ped says:

Jul 25 2015 at 2:48 am

Vincenzo's obviously just having a chat with his team-mate
fenlander says:

Jul 25 2015 at 8:07 am

Was sad to see TJ go out like that(as it would be for any rider),he always seems a bit fragile though.

And Nibilis' starting to annoy me on this tour what with the bidon throwing and now attacking Froome's mechanical(notice Valverde,Nairo etc didn't).

Also like G's talk of being like a cheap Ikea nail being hit with a hammer yesterday.

Oh and Frank that asshole quote reminds me of the Dudes reply to Walter in the Big Lebowski "You're not wrong Walter,you're just an asshole"
Mikael Liddy says:

Jul 26 2015 at 7:57 pm

@@BacklashJack

And then there’s a perfectly healthy Cavendish quitting because there were too many hills and he lost his pack mules.

Pretty sure I remember hearing discussions of Cav being crook the day he & Kennaugh (among others) got shat out the back on a cat 3 climb straight out of the gate.
wiscot says:

Jul 27 2015 at 5:11 am

No doubt Cav was sick the last week. If you watch the aerial shot of the last sprint he's barely able to hold wheels and close gaps. Credit to him for not quitting though.
@BacklashJack says:

Jul 27 2015 at 9:32 am

@LeoTea

I heard a stray report that Cav abandoned on that day but (thankfully) I was wrong.
MangoDave says:

Jul 27 2015 at 12:03 pm

A little bit late to chime in, been traveling...

@Frank Your point about Cipo reminds me why I could never respect him as a rider, despite all of his wins. I know there's a lot of Super Mario manlove around here, but he just annoyed me. Any rider who knows going into a race that he (or she) is going to abandon should just stay home. Cipo rode in to France, paraded around in disco zebra skinsuits doing some kind of self-promotional freakshow, then quit when there were elevation changes slightly more than a freeway overpass. Want to win one day races? That's what the Classics are for.

Anyway, it's a shame about TJV, but overall I really enjoyed watching the race this year.
Teocalli says:

Jul 27 2015 at 1:32 pm

@MangoDave

A little bit late to chime in, been traveling…

@Frank Your point about Cipo reminds me why I could never respect him as a rider, despite all of his wins. I know there’s a lot of Super Mario manlove around here, but he just annoyed me. Any rider who knows going into a race that he (or she) is going to abandon should just stay home. Cipo rode in to France, paraded around in disco zebra skinsuits doing some kind of self-promotional freakshow, then quit when there were elevation changes slightly more than a freeway overpass. Want to win one day races? That’s what the Classics are for.

Anyway, it’s a shame about TJV, but overall I really enjoyed watching the race this year.

I'm with you on that. Always bugged me that he never had any intention of going beyond week one. Always made me wonder what the Saeco train thought as they plugged through the mountains.