July Obsession

So now that the Tour de France is over there is nothing to watch on TV. For most of July watching the race is a major activity at my house. I love it. So this is my tribute to this year's race.

I really wasn't too concerned about who would win the overall. I thought it would be Contador but I guess it was interesting to see how Armstrong would do too.

Here is the podium of the winners on the Champs-Élysées in Paris.

Watching the characters who run with the riders up the mountains is always a favorite. The devil guy has done this since probably the first race 100 years ago. I think VeloNews even did an article on him once. This year's favorite of mine was the USA helmet with horns guy striking a pose on a mountain (he usually is running right with them) & for sure the guys in the inflatable sumo wrestler costumes. Those guys rank right up there with the guys in the Tour of California that wore the speedos & time trial helmets & nothing else. Crazy Americans.
George Hincapie is an all time favorite. What a work horse. He is awesome. He did an awesome lead out for Cavendish the last day with a broken collar bone & road rash. Garmin or whoever you want to say caused George to loose the Yellow Jersey by 5 seconds the one stage should be shot. Very sad. George is cool.
The King of the Mountain podium girls win the "what were they thinking" award this year for the Alice in Wonderland outfits.


I get the whole poke-a-dot=King of the Mountain thing but the bow???

And as Bob Roll said, Andy just forget about Frank. We know he is your brother but if you want any chance of winning next year just leave him behind. (They are both pretty awesome)

Brotherly love.

OK. I know that Mark Cavendish is an amazingly fast sprinter but Thor(pronounce tour) is still my favorite.

This picture shows the moment when Cavendish broke his line & so Thor got the points. Ha ha.

So because of Thor's break away & strategic riding that got him a few extra points.....
(Thor in green- Cav in white, yellow, black)

.......Thor won the Green Jersey!
But man Cavendish is fast.

Another highlight of the Tour are the crashes. I don't like to watch them as much anymore since I have had the chance to bandage some of Don's road rash in the last few years. It is just yucky. I am OK with Levi leaving with a broken wrist because I don't think he could have beat the Schleck brothers anyway. But poor Yens. When you crash going 50mph downhill & sparks fly from your bike as it skims the road and you only walk away with a broken cheek bone & major road rash, Wow! Lucky! That is just sad. He is probably in my top 5 favorite riders so that was just too bad.

So next year's race should be pretty interesting since Lance has his own Radio Shack sponsored team & Contador isn't on it. That battle will be fun to watch. However I don't think the outcome will change.