Tour de France withdrawal
During the Tour de France, the telEvision at 10 Speed’s house is pretty much stuck on Versus, so it’s been quite a change in the few days since the Tour ended Sunday.
So, in no particular order, here are 10 of my favourite things from the 2009 Tour de France.
– Big George Hincapie, riding with a broken collarbone, made a big move to set up Mark Cavendish’s big win on the Champs Elysee. With Garmin-Slipstream charging on the right side of the road, Hincapie swung hard to the left and pulled along the Columbia-HTC train to set up Cavendish’s dominant victory with lead-out man Mark Renshaw second. Hincapie riding the last four stages with a broken collarbone and refusing to get an X-ray for fear of not finishing the Tour is the stuff of legends.
– Cavendish, a three-stage winner at the Tour of Missouri, came back and won the last two sprint finishes after being virtually knocked out of the green jersey competition. Except for the controversial relegation of Cavs in Stage 14, he would have won his first maillot vert. Still, six stage wins for the Brit is remarkable. Cippo, eat your heart out.
– Christian VandeVelde, riding six weeks after breaking five vertebrae in his back, not only finished eighth overall but worked to help Garmin-Slipstream teammate Bradley Wiggins finish fourth. VandeVelde made a seamless transition from team leader to support rider as Wiggins proved to be the stronger man.
– Garmin’s Tyler Farrar didn’t beat Cavendish at the Tour, but he seemed to consistently bethe Manx Missile’s primary competition. The young American could be a star attraction at the Tour of Missouri in September.
– Americans in Paris. Though sponsored by the Khazaks and licensed in Belgium, Astana is basically the old U.S. Postal/Discovery Channel squad and as such won the Tour de France for the ninth time in 11 years, the first seven with Lance Armstrong and the last two with Alberto Contador. Garmin-Slipstream finished second in the overall team classification, and Columbia-HTC got the six stage wins from Cavendish. In addition, the top three teams, and four of the top six, rode American bikes — Astana, Trek; Garmin, Felt; and Saxo Bank, Specialized; and Liquigas, Cannondale. (In addition, Columbia-HTC [Scott] and Quick Step [Specialized] ride American bikes.)
– The team time trial is a thing of beauty. Nine riders swapping pulls at the front and turning themselves inside out for team is a great show of teamwork and how the sum can be greater than the parts. The TTT also was the difference between success and failure for riders. The top nine finishers in G.C. were from the teams that finished in the top four of the TTT — three Astanas (Contador, Armstrong and Kloden), two Garmins (Wiggins and VandeVelde), two Saxo Banks (Andy and Frank Schleck) and two Liquigas boys (Vincenzo Nibali and Roman Krueziger). Without Astana’s work in the TTT, Armstrong may not have made the podium.
– Despite his bickering with Contador (guys, can everyone just please get along?), Armstrong’s comeback and podium finish at age 37 is remarkable. Reminds me of Mario Lemieux coming out of retirement to play at a high-level in the NHL.
– Despite the bickering with Armstrong (guys!), Contador’s fourth consecutive grand tour win at age 26 is beyond remarkable. This guy already is one of the best ever, and he could be the man to challenge Armstrong’s record seven Tour titles (or perhaps eight, depending on how LA does next year).
– Frankie Andreu and Robbie Ventura add tremendously to the Versus coverage. These guys work the locker room as well as anyone in the business in any sport and provide great insight into what’s going on in the peloton and on the team buses.
– And last but not least, the commentating of Paul Sherwen and Phil Liggett. Phil, of course, had perhaps the best line of the Tour in describing Cavendish’s dominating victory on the Champs. “He’s going to have to sit down with his pulse and catch up with himself.” (I still think Versus should have Phil and Paul commentate on an NHL game, or perhaps a PBR event. It’d be priceless.)
–30–
This is probably the first time I don’t have Tour withdrawal - because it’s the first time in many years that I didn’t watch a minute of coverage.
It’s become drama queen central, with Contador and similar prima donnas taking all focus off the actual racing. Plus Armstrong trying to prove God only knows what. What a farce…
I am a cycloholic. Yes, withdrawal is tough. But the first step is admitting is it to yourself. And of course the second step is to stop telling girls you meet in a bar that your name is “Dura Ace.” You have lots of kudos for Cavendish, but remember he was beaten out by Thor for the green jersey. That’s epic. I doubt Cippo was eating his heart out. Cippo made cycling history as much for his ability to attact “fans” named Bambi, as his liontine charges in the sprint. He is still ahead in the Bambi classification and not likely to be caught anytime soon. Don’t forget the tradgic denial to Big George of the miallot juene by 3 seconds. Reaffirming that the Tour is about one thing, Pain. Inflicting it and absorbing it.
As for the drama complaint, who pays attention that that anyway. In case we forgot, what we see on TV is what someone decides for us to see. Hardly reality. The filter is not the race.
One of the best Tours and having Mount Venteux as penultimate stage was great. I would love to do that climb. It is the best chaotic stew of suffering and exhaltation on the plante. Now really how can you beat that.
It was a great tour, with stage 20 really exciting. I was dissapointed in Lance’s mild graciousness to Contador at the end. He truly was beaten and I wish he could have sucked it up and shown some enthusiasm for Contador/Schleck. That aside, he did prove himself a great teammate doing everything by the book once Alberto took the reins. I would love to see them here in September, but I doubt either will show. Next year should be even better, but Lance needs to realize that he will be 38 next tour!!!!
With Contador talking smack and Armstrong starting another team, I’m already looking forward to next year. I hope that George Hincapie (who was robbed of yellow by Garmin-Slipstream) will ride again next year maybe even with Lance.
You nailed it Dave,Mike you missed a great race and didn’t Cavendish lose the green because of a penalty. Let’s hope Levi and George are well enough to make ToM.
I didn’t see it until the replay, but after that move, Hincapie sat up and it blocked two riders from crossing on a turn to sprint against Cav. Great payback for the five seconds as Cavendish looked around and was alone.
Here’s the BBC translation of the most important part of the Contador video:
“Well, my relationship with Lance is zero. My relationship with him is zero. I think that independently of what his character is, he’s still a great champion. He’s won seven Tours and played a big part in this one, too. But it’s different to speak at a personal level. I have never really admired him that much, or will ever, but of course as a cyclist, he is a great champion.”
Yes, Rich, Big Thor Hushovd’s green jersey victory was impressive. After Cavendish spoke out following his Stage 14 relegation, Hushovd rose to the challenge and got into the breakaway on the hills in Stage 15. It was nice to see Cavs and Thor make amends later in the Tour, and Cavendish’s congratulations to Hushovd after the Tour seemed heart-felt and genuine. The relegation of Cavendish seemed debateable, but there should be no debate about Hushovd’s being a worthy points champ. Big Thor earned it the hard way, going uphill.
I’ve got to co-sign on much of what has already been said but here’s a few more…
– Even though his alleged wild sprint caused his “back-of-the-pack” relegation, the points competition for the malliot vert was one of the best in years. And not since Robbie McEwen have we seen such a dominant compact sprinter. Time after time, Cav hit the line and behind him were the usual suspects: Freire, Hushovd or Farrar.
– Thor proving the big guys can climb with his on the bike reply to Cav’s “stained green jersey” comment. Smart strategy by the god of thunder and good that he and Cav made up at the end.
– I enjoyed watching how the top cyclists are evolving. It was amazing to me to see that once the top riders found that sweet spot of weight vs. power output (watts), they did amazing things. Though both Alberto and Levi are lightweight guys, they’re TT monsters in addition to being mountain goats. And then you’ve got sprint and TT specialists like Cancellara destroying themselves on the climb run-ups to put the peleton on the redline before the real suffering began. And then you’ve got the self-described “old fart” hammering the pedals with the sprinters in the latter-flat stages.
– The professionalism of Christian VandeVelde and Big George Hincapie: When Christian found he didn’t have the form to stay with the Contadors, Schlecks and Armstrongs, he flipped the switch and was top-level support for Bradley Wiggins. No bitching or complaining or bickering. No freezing out of teammates like Cadel. No nuking on the media like Carlos. And Big George deserved that malliot jeune for all he’s done for American cycling. He’s the consummate teammate and showed his guts by enduring a broken collarbone through the last few stages to help Cav and to get to Paris. I for one hope just once, the cycling gods smile on Big George next year on those muddy Roubaix cobbles. What better way for George to cap his career than by finally winning that elusive pavé trophy.
– Lastly, I agree with everyone who said Versus has got its announcing team down. Even though they had to play the Lance marketing card, the reporting was better than previous years. I wish that Versus had the financing to take this show on the road to the Giro and the Vuelta as well. It would be nice to see and here these professionals describe the character and flavor of pro cycling in each country and how the roads, weather, climbs, flats and traditions and strategies make it unique among the three grand tours.
With a group of North American cyclists who can sprint, climb, TT and roll on the track, American cyclists can hold their own internationally. I hope one day we’ll have an evolving-route (pro peleton) Tour of America. We’re witnessing a golden age of American cycling and the Lance Armstrongs, Kristen Armstrongs, Hincapies, Leipheimers, Bahsmaatis, VandeVeldes, Pates and Horners are nearing the end of their careers. I hope the new guard can respectfully take the mantle in the near future.
Isn’t the author a little bit overly chauvinistic? GIANT is a Taiwanese company.
I stand corrected. Giant is headquartered in Taiwan; its U.S. office is in California. Thanks for pointing this out!