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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@Randy C
It can't be hard to come up with something like this that could be made stable and wide enough so that spectators could not hang over it and with tie-downs to make secure. It could also have link flaps to prevent riders getting between them.
@Randy C
Good man for coming around on the AG2R kit. Too many around here have unfathomable taste in pro kit (to wit, the love shown to Mapei) while classics like Atala get dissed!
Well played by everyone except Aru.
Replays showing Froome raising his hand for a mechanical and then Aru, who is behind Froome, immediately attacks.
Aru pushes the pace, the other contenders follow him but refuse to come through. Aru got mad and tried to get the others to pull through but they would not and now all back together again.
Well played all (except Aru, of course). One of the reasons I so love this sport!
Porte looks really bad....hope he is ok.
Shit. Terrible crash for Porte.......
Following this on updates. Sounds like a stage for the ages and it isn't even over yet! Gutted for Geraint and Richie.
@wiscot
Porte went offload on the inside of a bend, flew off the bike, took out Martin as he tumbled across the road and hit the rock wall upside down and back first. Horrible.
Wow! That stage had a bit of everything.
@wiscot
Fucking amazing stage! So awful for GT and Porte. Still waiting updates on them.
And fucking awful for Martin as he was right in there and got wiped out by a flying Porte.
Ended up losing over a minute through a crash of no fault of his own.
Ohhhhhhh! Heartbreak for Barguil!
Uhhhg.