Andy Schleck and Alberto Contador (AFP Getty)

With the 2010 Tour de France over, we once again crown Alberto Contador the overall GC winner in Paris as Mark Cavendish sprints to another top of the podium finish in Paris. Winning by the 4th smallest gap in Tour history, Contador edged out Andy Schleck by a small margin of 39 seconds.

The 2010 Tour de France was one of the more exciting races in recent memory. With the final showing my Lance Armstrong and the nail biting beginning stages that appeared to be riddled with wrecks, mechanicals and weather that brought much of the GC contention to its knees. As the competition unfolded, it was clear that we were going to have a shootout between two of the best climbers in cycling…Contador and Schleck. In the end, Contador proved that his consistency in the mountains is what wins the Tour.

Contador Wins Through Extreme Drive

Alberto Contador (Astana) fires one off from the podium Photo: © Sirotti

However, nothing Alberto Contador is doing is illegal in the sport of cycling. He often breaks the “unwritten rules” of the Tour, but they are just that…unwritten. He is the purest of competitors and for that…he gains consistency through results. At the end of the day, there are many acts and performances that lead up to the yellow jersey in Paris and racing will always be racing.

Contador’s Thoughts on the 2010 Tour:

“I realized early on that this year’s race was going to be very close and I had to concentrate at each moment,” Contador said. “There were moments when I wasn’t at my best and I know that by showing nothing and by bluffing, I won this Tour.”

“The truth is there’s a lot of emotion. I think it’s the first Tour to give me this much emotion. You can’t imagine how much I’ve given. Yes, there were few days when I wasn’t in my best form, and that might be why I’m so emotional.”

“The last year has been difficult for all kinds of reasons,” he said. “This year I’ve not been at my best all the time and that was the case today. But of course in the end I’m very happy with how the year has now turned out. All the victories this year have been the result of a lot of hard work. It’s been said that I’ve not competed in a lot of races but I’ve spent a lot of time away from home preparing for this objective.”

Asked why he had struggled, Contador said: “You never really know why things don’t work out as you hope after the preparations you’ve done. There are so many aspects to the sport that you have to take into consideration. Cycling is not like math. You can’t plan things exactly.

“But this year I’ve not been in my best shape. Today I didn’t feel too well. I didn’t sleep well and woke up with stomach ache, but ultimately the day turned out pretty well for me, although I suffered more today than at any other time this year.”

“Andy is a great rider and he is getting closer to me. We spend a lot of time together and I know his mindset and the way he works. I think he is going to be a major rival for many years to come. He’s very young and I’m quite young too.”

As well as happiness, Contador admitted to a good degree of relief having put himself right on the verge of securing a third yellow jersey. “When I started riding a bike as a kid it was my dream to win the Tour de France because it is the most beautiful race in the world. I can see what it means to so many people and I’ve felt under so much pressure, which comes not only coming from outside but also from myself. So it’s such a huge relief to have won the title.”

As for his future plans, Contador said: “I’m going to go away, rest and relax, and think about what I’m going to do in the future. At the moment, I’m evaluating several different options for next year. I hope to have a quiet winter, after which I’ll set my objectives. The Giro and the Vuelta might be a possibility for next year. As for this year’s Vuelta, I will rest and relax for a bit and then see how it looks with the team. However, the most likely scenario is that I will not take part.”

Time will tell if Contador can rise to the challenge of carrying the demeanor expected out of rider that dominates the Tour de France. So far…he sure has made it an exciting race to watch in recent years.

Sylvain Chavanel won Stage 7 of the 2010 Tour de France (AFP Getty)

Stage 7 of the 2010 Tour de France marked the first of the climbing stages as the peloton headed into the Alps. What was supposed to be a calmer day of climbing was rocketed forward by team Bbox as they took control of the stage and brought up the average speed.

Things began to get interesting on the day’s penultimate climb, the 15.7km long category 2 Col de la Croix de la Serra, when a group split from the main peloton containing Sylvain Chavanel (Quick Step), Rafael Valls (Footon Servetto), Thomas Voeckler (Bbox Bouygues Telecom), Damiano Cunego (Lampre-Farnese Vini), Daniel Moreno (Omega Pharma-Lotto), Juan Manuel Garate (Rabobank) and Mathieu Perget (Caisse d’Epargne).

With one final attack, Sylvain Chavanel took control of the stage and put 57 seconds on second place Rafael Valls Ferri (Footon-Servetto) to take the stage victory (his 2nd of this years Tour) and retake the yellow jersey from Fabian Cancellara who lost the main peloton and a lot of time off the field.

“It’s a nice revenge for me,” said Chavanel. “When I won (on Monday) the peloton sat up. People were telling me this morning that I had a good chance of being in the yellow jersey again today, but I didn’t really believe them.”

“In the final my legs were on fire, but I just told myself to keep going,” added Chavanel.

“These kinds of small climbs suit me perfectly, and when I caught up with Jerome he encouraged me to keep going.”

Most of the main contenders for the General Classification held tight in the peloton in preparation for tomorrow’s steep climbs followed by a rest day. Lance Armstrong and Alberto Contador held in at the front of the pack and both look rested and ready for tomorrows peak finish.

Tomorrow’s stage (Stage is where we are going to see where the GC contenders really stand. I would expect to see Contador attack and attack hard as the Alps start to get steep. He is going to want to take control of this year’s Tour early and the steep climbs of the Alps is where is climbing ability really shines. Can Armstrong and the rest of the GC contenders match? We’ll have to wait and see…

Next Stage: Stage 8 - Station des Rousses to Morzine-Avoria – 189km

Stage 7 Results

General Classification After Stage 7

With the drama of Team Astana and the 2009 Tour all but a memory, we look forward to the 2010 Tour de France tomorrow with hopeful eyes and eager anticipation as the events that will unfold over the coming weeks will be an exciting, fast paced hammer through the mountains of France. With Lance Armstrong promising this is his last adventure through the historic roads of France (of course…we have heard that before) and Alberto Contador chasing that illustrious 3rd Tour victory, this year’s Tour de France is looking to be even more chair gripping than the last.

But…the big question on everyone’s mind is an easy one…

Can Lance Armstrong Really Win? Bill Strickland Explains

Photo: Armstrong's fitness looked suspect early in 2010. (AFP/Getty Images).

In an editorial on Bicycling.com, Bill Strickland explores the possibility of a Lance Armstrong victory. Are the odds stacked against him? Absolutely. While Lance is the best mind in cycling, he has stiff competition from strong riders with age on their side.

Bill Strickland’s Article on Bicycling.com (link credit)

From his first, unprecedented Tour de France victory in 1999 just three years after being diagnosed with testicular cancer, the seven-time champion’s ability to confound expectations has become legendary among the public and his fellow racers. On his way to a third victory in 2001, he used the now-famous “bluff” to trick his rivals into thinking he was weak and about to fall behind. Then at the base of the final climb, he exploded out of the pack to win the stage atop Alpe d’Huez. In 2003, Armstrong was the least prepared he’d been for any of this Tour wins, and was under the fiercest pressure yet from the other contenders when Joseba Beloki crashed in front of him on a high-speed mountain descent; Armstrong swerved off the road, bumped over a grassy field, dismounted and hopped a drainage ditch then neatly rejoined the pack on the road below the site of the carnage. Later that same year, knocked down on a climb when a spectator’s bag snagged his handlebar, Armstrong remounted then powered up Luz Ardiden to not only catch his rivals but win the stage-on a snapped bike frame.

In 2009, over the course of writing Tour de Lance: The Extraordinary Story of Lance Armstrong’s Fight to Reclaim the Tour de France, I witnessed his latest improbable comeback. Armstrong had unretired and returned to the Tour after four years off, to try to become its oldest champion at age 37. After a spotty early season, few people believed he could win the race. Even his team director and longtime friend, Johan Bruyneel, told me in confidence during the middle of the Tour that, “You can’t suddenly ride away from the best if you were unable to keep up with them a month earlier. I anticipated the most he could hope for was to keep up with the best.” As the race wore on and it was clear that even climbing onto the podium would be a victory of sorts, most close followers of the sport began to believe even that wouldn’t happen. By the final time trial, which occurred in Stage 18 out of 21, I compared Armstrong to his younger competitors, Alberto Contador (the eventual winner), Andy Schleck (who took second) and his brother Frank (fifth), and Bradley Wiggins (fourth). “Armstrong looks old and tired,” I observed as I watched him at the team bus after the time trial. “He came into the Tour de France as lean as his younger competitors. But instead of riding himself into the silvery, translucent spectral state in which everything is stripped from the body except the resilience at its core, he somewhere slipped into the plain state of being tired. He’s a had a horrible day at work and his kids are running around screaming, and for the first time since I’ve known him he seems just flat worn out the way I sometimes am, the way sometimes all of my friends are. He seems like one of us.”

But on the final mountain stage, which concluded with the horrendous 21-kilometer climb to the top of the 1,912-meter Mont Ventoux, Armstrong found enough of his old miracle-making to stay with the leaders and preserve his third-place podium spot. Trying to explain it to me afterward, Bruyneel could only say, “He was riding like . . . like . . . He was riding like Lance Armstrong.”

This time around in 2010, Armstrong is just a year older, while his competitors are still young enough to be considered a year more experienced. And even though he didn’t break his collarbone as he did last season, his initial lead-up to this year’s Tour looked equally bleak: In January he opened the season with an innocuous 25th place in Australia’s six-stage Tour Down Under. At the two-day Criterium International in March, he got dropped by the leaders on the final climb. In April he finished 27th in the Tour of Flanders then caught a stomach virus that kept him from racing again until May. His return came in New Mexico’s Tour of the Gila, a five-day race contested mostly by domestic American teams instead of top pro squads. Last year Armstrong finished second to his teammate Levi Leipheimer; this year he was 17th. In May, in the wake of Floyd Landis’s allegations of widespread and systematic dope use by Armstrong and other pros during their careers, Armstrong abandoned the Tour California after a crash. He required X-rays on his elbow (which ended up being negative) and six or seven stitches near one of his eyes. With six weeks remaining to the Tour, most experts began writing obituaries for Armstrong’s 2010 podium hopes.

But in the five-day Tour of Luxembourg in early June, Armstrong placed third. Then in mid-June at the Tour of Switzerland, he finished second overall. More significantly, in the final big mountain stage of the 9-day race, he rode at the front of the main pack of leaders, which had dropped such marquee stars as super-climber Andy Schleck.

Armstrong had risen from the ashes of his early season.

“What no one understands,” his longtime teammate and trusted lieutenant Chechu Rubiera told me for Tour de Lance, “except us who ride with him, is that improvements that take us two weeks, three weeks of training, he does in nine days. It has always been this way.”

We now know that Armstrong is ready for the 2010 Tour de France. What we will find out in the next month is if, at age 38, being ready is enough to win. It probably isn’t.

Even Armstrong admits that last year’s winner, two-time Tour champion Alberto Contador, is in another class. “He’s the biggest and best talent on the bike,” Armstrong told me for the book. “Maybe the best ever.” What’s more, Contador is riding this year for an Astana team that, instead of being split between himself and Armstrong, should unite and ride fully in support of its sole leader. There’s also the returning Andy Schleck, the gifted climber from Luxembourg who, at the end of June, won his country’s national time-trial championship, perhaps demonstrating his own readiness with an improved ability in the TT (always a factor in the Tour). Cadel Evans-an all-arounder who can TT and climb, and finished second at the Tour twice before stumbling badly last year-seems to have revitalized his career. He is wearing the rainbow stripes of the World Champion, won the early-season Classic race Fleche Wallonne, wore the pink leader’s jersey for a day in the Giro d’Italia in May, and for the first time in years will ride the Tour with the support of a team designed for stage racing. (His previous teams were established more for competing in intense, one-day races rather than the endurance-oriented stage races.)

Unless the Landis allegations or other breaking news result in a last-minute exclusion from the Tour (which has happened for other racers in the past, most notably the 2006 exclusion of favorites such as Ivan Basso and Jan Ullrich due to the Operacion Puerto investigation into performance-enhancing drugs and blood-doping), the controversy probably won’t negatively affect Armstrong. In fact, Armstrong uses resentment and anger to fuel his performance, a personality trait he often publicly disavows but is aware of and welcomes as motivation. About Contador, who disobeyed team orders during the 2009 Tour and angered Armstrong to the point that the two nearly got into a fistfight, Armstrong told me, “I couldn’t dislike the guy any more.” And “I can’t wait for July. I’m serious. I’m . . . man . . . I want to fucking . . . I want to beat him.”)

The layout of this year’s Tour favors an Armstrong miracle. Early in the race, the riders will be taken across 13.2 kilometers of bone-jarring, eye-shaking, crash-inducing cobblestone roads during Stage 3-a day that probably favors Armstrong’s heavier build and race experience over Contador’s lightness and youth. It could lead to a time gap similar to last year’s split in Stage 3, when Armstrong anticipated a change in headwind that Contador didn’t and finished in a group 41 seconds ahead. Besides the short, 8km prologue, which likely won’t impact the final standings, there’s only one time trial, the 52-km Stage 19. Both the lack of other time trials and this one’s late appearance favor Armstrong. He’s not as strong against the clock as Contador, and he tends to become stronger and fitter as the Tour goes on. Similarly, the key stages of the Tour are expected to come in the third and final week, starting on July 19 in the 15th stage, when the race enters the Pyrenees for three back-breaking days.

With my intimate relationship to last year’s race and front row seat to Armstrong’s comeback-I was able to ride in the team car during several races, including the Tour-I clearly understood then, as I do now, that Contador should win. I wanted him to win. He was, as Armstrong described him to me, “spectacular,” and deserved the victory. But I also found myself believing that, one more time, Armstrong would somehow find a way to win. I don’t believe that now. But sometime in July, I will.

Bill Strickland is the editor-at-large of Bicycling magazine and the author of Tour de Lance: The Extraordinary Story of Lance Armstrong’s Fight to Reclaim the Tour de France. He also writes a weekly blog about riding on Bicycling.com called Sitting In.

Do I think Lance can win? Honestly…not really. I think he is going to put on a fantastic showing and he will be able to leave the Tour on a high note, but the amount of speed that is hot on his tail can not be denied. However, you will not find me betting against him at Vegas…

With an event this close to home, you can bet your ass I went with all of my lenses in hand ready to cover the event. Below you will find some of my favorite shots from the day.

The Roswell Crit

Part of the reason I love attending these types of road races is that there are numerous categories all day long. Surrounding a well known town in northern Atlanta, you are able to hang out all day long and watch the events. There is everything from kids races all the way to the pros later at night.

If you haven’t attended a crit before, you get a chance to really see how fast pros ride. The contrasting difference in speed even from the 2/3 group is astounding. The amount of confidence that goes into diving into hairpin turns 3 wide takes something special in a road racer.

For most of the event, we hung out between turns 4 and 5 where most of the crash action took place. While I didn’t get any shots of the carnage, there were some pretty nasty, “nascar style” wrecks as riders lost it going over brick crosswalks and navigating tire blow outs.

Overall, it was a fantastic event with great road racing action. If you are looking for an event to attend, find a local crit as the short track allows you to really capture the atmosphere and action.

2010 Historic Roswell Criterium Results

I have been fortunate enough to ride with several mountain biking pros over the years and each time has been a new learning experience. Riding with different styles ranging from cross country racers to downhill racers, you learn a ton with every pedal stroke as you try to keep that rear tire in sight throughout the trail. The stability and control of a pro cyclist is mind blowing, and so much so that you feel uncoordinated and awkward in comparison. Every motion and power transfer is fluid as they move with the bike without working against it. It is really poetry in motion…

But…when it comes down to it…they are just another rider on a bike. Some of the best times I had over the weekend was walking through the pits and listening to conversations between riders. Just like our local races and rides, the riders joke around and have a great time as they get ready for the days events. At one point, Ted King came up to George Hincapie and said, “Yeah…I heard you were racing today through Twitter!” When it boils down to it…they are all just out doing what they love…racing and riding their bikes.

Training To Be A Pro

I’m not that’s for sure! For some of us…we like just enough competition throughout the year to get our feet wet, but the amount of training and dedication it takes to be a pro cyclist (forgetting that you need some natural talent) takes up your entire life. To perform at the level these athletes do…you really have to give up everything in pursuit of a podium spot, and that is not a sacrifice that 99% of us can make. It takes a special breed to get to that level and most never even get to see the light at the end of the tunnel, but…for the rest of us…we get to watch all of their hard work over the years pay off with the hope that we can pick up just a little bit of that knowledge to become just a tad bit faster on our local trails and roads.

A big congratulations goes out to George Hincapie for winning his 3rd US Pro Championship over the weekend (and his 2nd US Pro win in his hometown of Greenville). James Thomas from Bicycle Design was able to get some great shots at the end of the race since I had to leave early to get back to Atlanta. The shot of Hincapie hugging his dad is priceless, so head over to Flickr and check out his shots.

You can find the rest of my US Pro shots on Flickr by clicking here.

USA Pro Cycling Championships Time Trial

The entire time trial was a really cool event. With a short looped course, you are able to really get in on the action by just running around. With multiple great action spots, you can see the racers do laps and catch the action from several areas throughout the course. James Thomas of Bicycle Design and I met up and started shooting the race.

If you ever want to get an idea of how slow you really are in comparison to the pros, get out to a road race. They make hills that you and I would have difficulty with look like a walk in the park…at speed and over and over again. Watching these riders put it all out there on a TT event was a really cool experience as you get to see pros doing what they do best up close and personal.

David Zabriskie of Garmin-Sliptream took the win for his fourth consecutive TT win at the USA Pro Cycling Champsionships. Zirbel bested Zabriskie’s time from last year, but it just wasn’t enough as Zabriskie took the win by almost a minute. In a short TT course like this one, that is a huge gap.

One of the more humorous moments throughout the entire time trial event was being right on the action as Floyd Landis got passed. I don’t know what his deal was, but he was riding really slow at the TT event. Luckily, I was already shooting on the climb where it took place, so it was caught through the eyes of the Nikon lens.

You can check out my photos worth posting of the entire weekend on my Flickr account —> Click here.

James at Bicycle Design is also updating his pictures as he gets them ready that you can check out here.

USA Pro Cycling Championships Results and Press Release

GREENVILLE, S.C. (August 29, 2009) – David Zabriskie (Garmin-Slipstream) won his fourth consecutive is Stars and Stripes jersey as the national champion in the professional time trial discipline. The Salt Lake City, Utah resident beat his 2008 winning time by over one minute, covering the 20.7-mile course in 39 minutes, 37 seconds. Tom Zirbel (Bissell Pro Cycling) of Boulder, Colo., finished second in 40:21, copying his 2008 podium position. Third place was secured by Downington, Penn. resident Scott Zwinsanski (Kelly Benefit Strategies) in 41:18.

“I really get up for this race every year. It’s something I take a lot of pride in. It doesn’t get old for me. I like the course. Greenville is a nice city,” said the 30-year-old Zabriskie, who has never lost in Greenville. The U.S. Professional Individual Time Trial Championship, presented by Duke Energy, was held for the first time in 2006, when the U.S. Pro Road Race Championship moved from Philadelphia to Greenville and established the dual championship for pro cyclists.

A total of 23 professional cyclists started in two-minute intervals at 11:30 a.m. under clear blue skies and warm temperatures in Greenville. Using the same course as 2008, at Clemson University – International Center for Automotive Research (CU-ICAR), race organizers estimated larger crowds this year, evident to riders all along the final kilometer.

“I didn’t expect to lose by 45 seconds. Wow, he (Zabriskie) had a good ride,” said Zirbel, who was aiming to improve on his second-place finish from 2008. He finished second earlier this year at the nature Valley Grand Prix and leads the individual points competition for USA Cycling’s National Racing Calendar. “I’m a rhythm rider, and it’s tough to get in a rhythm here. I’d like longer straightaways. It’s not as technical as it looks on paper; it’s a fair course.”

Zwinzanski is having a good year, winning the overall title at Tour de Beauce and Vuelta Ciclista del Uruguay. “It was my strength as an amateur (time trials). It kind of disappeared:I didn’t really focus on it at all when I turned pro in 2004. Last year it just started kind of clicking again. The TT’s are all about suffering pretty much,” said the 32-year-old Bissell rider at the post-race press conference.

CU-ICAR also hosted a morning time trial for the U.S. Handcycling Series, presented by Paralyzed Veterans of America. Thirty-six competitors rode two laps for the final time trial of the series this year. Florida’s Chris Peterson had the best overall time of 37:19, also winning the men’s kneeling category. The men’s handcycling “C” category was won by Krige Schabort; men’s “B” category was won by Matt Updike; men’s “A” cateory was won by James Watson; the women’s “C” category was won by Carly Waugh.

2009 Tour de France Recap by 198

• Lance Armstrong – You can not talk about the 2009 Tour de France without mentioning Lance Armstrong. Armstrong can leave the 2009 Tour with his head held high and critics silenced with his overall third place finish in the Tour. After his long hiatus from the sport and considering his age…he is still performing with the best in professional cycling. It will be interesting to see how things pan out with his new Radio Shack team when he does not have to back up Contador. Can he close that time gap and take yellow next year? It will be interesting to see what more training and the mental experience of Armstrong has for the rest of the field next year…
• Alberto Contador – What a machine. Contador’s climbing attacks were incredible over the mountain stages of the Tour. If Contador was not just trying to keep Lance Armstrong on the podium on Mont Ventoux, who knows what the time gap could have been if he had given Andy Schleck a real run for his money. With his 2 for 3 record in the Tour de France, it will be interesting to see how many yellow jerseys Contador can rack up over the coming years.
• Andy Schleck – This young gun from Luxembourg not only took the white jersey for the strongest young rider on the Tour, but his 2nd place finish overall was the only threat outside of Team Astana for Contador. As long as Andy Schleck can shake the need to keep with his older brother Frank, he should be a lot of fun to watch over the coming Tours.
• Mark Cavendish – “The Manx Missile” completely ripped up the sprints to easily take 6 stage victories. Forgetting that he has the best lead in rider in the sport, Mark Renshaw, it is still an amazing feat as you watch Cavendish literally explode to the finish. Unfortunately, American rider Tyler Farrar (also one of the best sprinters in the world and one of the only to ever beat Cavendish) had to watch from second place for most of the Tour.
• Doping – We finally made it through an entire Tour without a huge doping scandal! It appears…at least for now…that the riders are playing by the rules and have left the happy pills at home. Hopefully, this trend can continue and the Tour de France can shake that monkey off it’s back and get back to racing.

The 2009 Tour de France was one of the most exciting Tours in recent memory. With the return of a lot of strong riders and the focus back on the racing and not outside influences, the Tour really shaped up to be an incredible race with exciting twists and turns along the way. Who knows…if Levi Leipheimer had not wrecked…maybe Astana would have swept the podium, but it was still a huge success for the Astana team and the rest of the Tour. Next year will be an interesting one as the new teams enter professional cycling and we prepare for an all out war on the mountains surrounding France.

With as much controversy that has surrounded the Tour during Lance Armstrong’s absence from the sport of cycling, it is refreshing to watch an exciting start as we get ready to jump into the first summit finish of the Tour.

As the question plagued my mind yesterday afternoon so I just had to ask my friends on Facebook and Twitter.

Do you think the Tour is more exciting this year because Armstrong is back in the saddle?

Before we get into what I think about the beginning stages of the 2009 Tour de France, lets take a look at the responses that I received yesterday!

Facebook and Twitter Responses: 2009 Tour de France

Facebook Responses

Brandon Woods

Yes, and because there haven’t been any doping issues yet.

Melissa Powers

duh!! Actually, I think that it has been really good so far anyway, but you know I love him. I watched for all the years that he wasn’t in it and it just wasn’t as exciting to me, but I think that was because there wasn’t a really strong leader…someone who was consistent year after year, kwim?

Matt Kicklighter

Yes, Nuff said

James Lee

Absolutely.

Melissa Powers

the doping is always in the middle or end of the race..or at least that is when they get caught….just saying, don’t get too pumped yet about no doping. I hope it stays away but the past few years haven’t been so good.

Brandon Woods

thus the “yet”. Last year, and maybe the year before, there was a big cloud of doping controversy at the very beginning of the race, and / or leading up to it.

Greg Schisla

I think its been one of the best starts to the Tour in a long time. Lots of favorites with good hard racing and the confirmation of Cavendish as the king of sprinters. Lance’s presence has certainly been part of that drama but even if one wasn’t Lance, a difference of .22 seconds at this stage is pretty amazing.

Sonya Hamilton Dreiske

Absolutely. For me it has been more exciting than the last couple years. I was on the edge of my seat when Astana was racing to the line for the TTT win. He’s a smart, confident racer and can deliver a blow to his competition when he needs to and I like watching that happen. Not sure if he will win this year but it will be fun to see what happens.

Ony Anglade

This is my first year actually paying attention to it, so I guess so.

Gavin Holmes

hellz, yes.

Brad Wender

Very competitive race, but Lance has set the table for a major comeback.

Anglea Miller

For sure!

Jeff Gandy

Yeah, and I’ve seen a lot of roadie crashes too!!

Alan Jakob Paulo Saiz

I can only say yes as I kiss my yellow wrist band.

Martina Spiess

My heart of course beats for Fäbu! I want the present standing to stay like that until the end! And I just hope sooooooooo bad that both Armstrong and Cancellara are clean…. Not sure if I actually believe it but I desperately want to believe in it!

Ellis Alexander

Absolutely! He’s impressing the hell out of me after four years away from the TDF. Astana is insanely strong with four guys who could win it. I love the TDF!

Twitter Responses

@ESPNCommunityEd Yes … RT @MTBby198 Do you think the Tour is more exciting this year because Armstrong is back in the saddle?

@Turner @MTBby198 Not Armstrong specifically, but Astana as a team looks awesome (5 in top 10!). It doesn’t hurt that he’s 2nd after 5 stages tho.

@GustavoAGV @MTBby198 Yep, that’s the only reason I’m watching it

@mtnbke @MTBby198 You mean they had the Tour after Lance retired? Learn something new everyday! #tdf

@lowcadence @MTBby198 It seems to me that with him or without him this year has gotten off to a fun start… can they keep up this intensity to the end?

198′s Thoughts on Lance Armstrong and the 09 Tour

So what are my thoughts on the start of the 2009 Tour de France? This is one of the most exciting starts that I can remember, but I think there is more to it than just Lance Armstrong. While Lance Armstrong does bring back a lot of viewers that fell off the ratings with his break from the sport of competitive cycling, the strength of the Astana team has brought the competition up across the board. With 5 of their riders placing in the top 10 overall (Armstrong, Contador, Kloden, Leipheimer, Zubeldia) after stage 5, they are poised to keep all of the remaining teams fighting for 2nd.

If the teams continue to pull this hard in these beginning stages, it will be interesting to see who actually has any legs left towards the end of the Tour. Team Columbia/HTC has been defending the green jersey worn by Cavendish through every stage up until this point by pulling the pelaton. In an interview with one of the coaches for team Columbia/HTC, the coach stated that they are going to be burned out before the end if this keeps up.

I think it really boils down to the increased exposure for the Tour due to Lance Armstrong’s return, Team Astana’s beginning dominance and the exciting stage finishes due to what seems like heightened competition for 2009. Who is going to break away as we start testing leg strength and endurance during the beginning mountain stages? We will find out shortly, but it will be interesting to see if Lance still has the legs to break away from the pack when things start to turn skyward…

What do you think?

Over the years, the Tour de France has grown into its own animal as people all over the world take a chance to get involved with cycling. The Tour de France is arguably the largest sporting event on the planet due to the large spread of countries represented that can only be topped by the Olympics. I do not think there is one household that does not know the name Lance Armstrong.

1903 – Premier Tour de France

After having completed the event circuit at an average speed of 25 km/h, Maurice Garin was rewarded with prize money of 6,075 francs, a handsome purse for the era. But most importantly, he was the first in a long line of champions.

1903 started the madness that is now one of the largest sports events in the world. The drama, excitement and news coverage of the event affectionately referred to as “The Tour” captures cyclist and no-pedal obsessed, normal people alike as we watch the pure machines of the sport hammer it out on some of the most difficult stages in the world.

Will Carlos Sastre make it two in a row? Will the same doping controversy that has plagued recent tours rear its ugly head in 2009? It is time to sit back, relax (yeah right) and swallow up all that is the Tour…