Because I don’t want to be entirely useless today (see previous post) here’s an audio excerpt from a recent ESPN feature in which Jeremy Schaap claims another year is just what armstrong needs. [mp3 version] “…Convetional wisdom among the people who cover the Tour de France and the people who follow Lance Armstrong is that…
News Archive
I really shouldn’t need to spell this one out for you
Breaking Down the Voigt Crash
It’s sad to see an otherwise exciting stage have an incident like this, especially when it’s a rider like Jens Voigt, who could drastically affect the overall GC outcome (and is just plain awesome—speedy recovery, Jens!). Still, crashes are a part of the sport, and picking apart how they occur can help you learn their…
"Rest" Day, Eh?
Scattered thoughts following a very busy rest day: Proponents of the notion that the Tour was at long last “clean” pointed to Contador’s relatively pedestrian ascent of Arcalis. They will take less heart in the young Spaniard’s record-setting performance at Verbier. John Wilcockson, with the prerequisite credulity of a man whose latest book is titled…
How The Race Was Won – Stage 15 – 2009 Tour de France
Finally! Back to GC action and Contador delivers. It certainly wasn’t a knockout blow, though. I’ll have plenty to say about this tomorrow, but for the time being, I’ll let the video do the talking. It’s also up on YouTube, but let’s try not to tell the ASO about it this time, yeah? [right-click for…
Le Tour de Soap Opera
Simple stage, big break goes, no one wants to burn any matches before the mountains. 199km later there’s more gossip and bickering than a middle school girls’ room between classes. It’s almost enough to make someone wish for a drug scandal. Add to that the tragic death of a spectator, and most people watching have…
Oscar Freire Gets Shot All The Time
Oscar Freire, along with Julian Dean, got shot with an air rifle during today’s stage. In this interview (mostly in English) the three-time world champ clarifies that, while nothing new for him, this sort of thing is “not nice”. via @nttawwt, who suspects Alsatian Separatists.
The Wiwi Fan Club
Yes, it sounds like a grade school joke (“hey, wanna join the wee-wee fan club?”) but that’s the official name Bbox Telecom rider William Bonnet‘s fan club. You might think, as a middling rider on a middling team, that gatherings of M. Bonnet’s supporters would be small and reserved. You would be dead wrong: click…
Pro-Radio's Missed Opportunity
Today’s stage, and the radio-inspired protest that dominated most of it, was one of the most foolish things I’ve ever seen at the Tour de France—and yes, I am including the Giuseppe Guerini incident in that list. And, lest we forget, I am adamantly pro-radio. All the proponents of race radio had to do was…
The Standoff Is Underway
That’s really the only way to put it. Frank Schleck put a few pedal strokes into it on Saturday, but other than that, the GC remained tame. While I can’t say I’m excited about it, after the first seven stages, I can’t say I’m disappointed either. Things had to settle in at some point, and…
The Storm Before The, Uh…More Storm
Rainy, crappy weather. Makes it hard the day before the race’s first mountaintop finish, at least from a literary prospective. And, of course, from the prospective of the 100 or so riders who either crashed, got crashed, or got stuck behind a crash coming into the line today. A mere 43 riders finishing on ST?…