Monday, July 12, 2010

Lance's crash won't be a Dealbreaker...

If you watched the stage yesterday (and let's face it, if you're reading this, you watched it at least once), you know that Lance Armstrong had some miserable luck and lost quite a bit of time to the other "big dogs" in the race. He was already sore and battered from crashes that happened earlier in the week. Probably 50% of the cyclists in this year's Tour have either crashed or had issues of some sort that have caused discomfort. For Lance, the time lost means there will be no 8th Tour de France win this year.
As American cycling fans, the three of us have the utmost respect for Lance and his place in cycling history. We appreciate the Livestrong Army that he has created and the inspiration he has given to so many affected by cancer. We like watching past Tours and the complete domination he showed over adversaries such as Ullrich & Beloki.
But we are cycling fans first. Lance not being a main contender doesn't change our plan. It doesn't hurt our feelings, upset us enough to cry, or make us fret at all over our game plan in France.
For the first time, the United States has FOUR, count them, FOUR! teams in the Tour. How crazy/wonderful is it that we have four teams in the biggest bike race in the world? Not counting Lance, we have seven other hard-ass American cyclists participating in this year's Tour de France. We are so proud of each and every one!
To recap on the rest day, we're going to list a few things that have made us smile this week:

*Fabian in yellow We can't help it. There's just something so right about it.
*Jens driving the peloton. Enough said.
*Seeing George in Stars & Stripes. He's a perfect representative of the U.S.
*Watching Tyler continue racing. What a stud.
*Cav crying. Yeah, we're suckers.
*Brent Bookwalter's prologue. Georgia boy's living the dream & kicking butt!
*Watching Samuel Demoulin. It can't be easy to be 5'2" and ride the Tour de France.
*Trying to figure out French teams' tactics. Boy, they hate each other, don't they?
*Thor. Nothing in particular. Just Thor.
*Ryder as the new team captain? We're good with that.
*A world champion in yellow. That's just cool.
*Listening to Phil and Paul. Just hearing them puts us in the zone.

So, as you can see, there's plenty to smile about. We could have gone on and on. We're happy Lance is staying in the race. We hope to see him ride well and help his team. We're cycling fans first and foremost. We'll cheer for all of the boys and pray that they stay safe. Think about the moments this week that have made you smile. My goodness. We still have two weeks left. Thank God.

4 comments:

  1. I adore Cav and watching him cry was emotional for me to. He is def my fave rider. Everytime they replay it on tv im in floods of tears. Sad I know! lol Brilliant diary, I will def be following u. Vive Le Tour!

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  2. Great post! Thanks for reminding me and all americans "IT"S NOT ABOUT LANCE" Love all the american, european and australian cyclists and the guts they have to race the Tour De France. It is the toughest race in the world and they are amazingly "RACING" 23 days in July. I love this race and am currently cheering for Sir Andy Schleck Know the Divas will have a ball in France and our cyclists will be lucky to have you cheering them on. I know you will cheer with all your heart!

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  3. P.S. If you talk to George don't forget to tell him he's My Favorite!

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  4. I love watching Fabian in yellow too. I like watching Fabian anytime. My husband looks over, sees me grinning like an idiot and then laughs at me. I love the Tour. I envy you all your adventure.

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