Favorites ascending. Photo: Gruber Images.
As many of you know, I write a monthly column for Cyclist Magazine where I answer Dear Abby-esque questions, and the most recent query pertained to whether I consider the Tour the best race of the year, or whether it’s an over-publicized circus. The question made me realize something about myself: I have a weariness around the Tour de France not unlike a romantic whose heart has been broken one too many times.
The fact is, as much as I prefer a race like Paris-Roubaix or the Giro d’Italia to the mid-summer shit show that is the Tour de France, nothing gets my anticipation going quite the way the Tour does, which is undeniably the pinnacle of the season; all the classifications and stages are prestigious enough that racers of all sorts are all arriving at the start in peak form. There is a promise of hard racing from day one, but the first week consists mostly of me worrying about the big favorites crashing out. As soon as we get through that mess, my heart is usually broken on the first day in the mountains, when the favorite takes a decisive lead and the rest of the race is most about stages than the GC.
At least, these are the dreads of a man who lived through the Indurain and Armstrong eras of racing.
Nevertheless, the Tour always manages to seduce me, and this year is no different. Maybe this year, she won’t be such a cruel lover. And, maybe this year, I won’t make horrible picks in the VSP. Just maybe, just maybe. You know the drill; get your picks in by the time the clock goes to zero, and you get some swap options on the rest day. Good luck!
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Damn! Who knew a careful reading of the race manual could pay such big dividends? Kudos to EBH for being alert, smart and in the right place at the right time. A very well-deserved win for the Norwegian.
@wiscot
Fuck it! I had a nice beer & high fat snack going down in anticipation of a deluxe flame rouge finale and then there was that fkn roundabout and the clear picture from the chopper...Was really hoping Keukeleire would get a run at it. Matt White needs to cop that one. Big missed opportunity.
what if Romain Bardet can win the TT? he's beaten Froome before, in the 2015 Tour de Romandie. wouldn't that be something! this race does not lack for drama.
@wiscot
yes that was quite nice. winning a Tour stage alone like that must feel outrageous. did you happen to catch the Norwegian highlight broadcast? i thought the announcer was gonna have a heart attack.
please go away Floyd. take Tyler, Kimmage, Walsh, etc., with you while you're at it. your 15 minutes are up.
http://cycling.today/floyd-landis-contadors-coach-was-my-drug-dealer/
The start/finish of the ITT in the stadium is absolutely brilliant!
Did the Panzerwagen dig too deep in the pain cave for the TT? A white skinsuit may make him look imposing with his rainbows on it but when the camera shows you rounding the final turns with something nasty going on in the chamois region, it's not a good look.
Or am I the only one who saw that?
Chavanel with an EXCELLENT ride! balls.
@Grimace
Haven't seen it yet, but this seems to be a pretty tough TT. Will Froome win? Tough ask. He's one mechanical away from trouble . . .
Today Froome's mechanical will not stop the rest from racing...
I hope for Bodnar stage win – at least some Bora success after all the misery.