It’s my favorite time of year as the Letour (route) begins with the prologue in Rotterdam.
As always, we have some intriguing stages with Andy Schleck himself thinking that the winner will probably be determined up the Tourmalet in stage 17. With a 52km time trial that is entirely flat on the second to last day, this will undoubtedly mean that the mountain goat all rounders will try to put some time into guys like Wiggins, Menchov, and Contador who will have a distinct advantage in the TT.
Despite having an off day in the time trial during the Dauphine, Contador obviously has to be the odds on favorite having won the last 4 grand tours he’s entered.
Who ya got, what ya excited for?
Me?
I want to see EBH (Edvald Boasson Hagen) display his awesome power, I want to see Menchov see what he can do if he stays on his bike for an entire race, I want to see plenty of Kreuziger decents, and I want to see plenty of Schleck and Contador attacks.
If you’re saying that a rider in the top 20 will be doing something illegal then you’re probably right (okay, maybe not Cadel Evans, but doesn’t he have the same coach as Ivan Basso?). Cheating has been a part of the tour since it’s inception, hell, it’s been part of pro sports as long as IT’S been around. It’s just human nature.
Thing is, if you think cycling is worse than track and field, NFL Football, regular football, cross country skiing, speed skating, baseball, hockey, or basketball then you’re kidding yourself. Thing about cycling is, that the fans talk about the drug use which is different than any other sport. Nobody REALLY talks about an NFL player when they test positive but the world caves in when it happens to cycling, and that’s probably a good thing. Also, I kinda wonder if Landis hasn’t put a bit of a crack in the cycling Omerta and that has me full of hope. I have a sneaking suspicion that there will be some cyclists who just couldn’t do what they could last year or even earlier this year for fear that someone might talk.
I’ve worn myself out getting upset about performance enhancing substances in sports and I find myself enthralled by the drama of the tour (and the various world championships and the Olympics and the Superbowl) every year.
