Hi guys…
Let me start by saying if you’re not a fan of road cycling, then this thread probably isn’t for you.
I thought I’d create a thread for the cycling fans amongst us to discuss this year’s Tour de France - the 100th anniversary edition (although it should be noted that it’s actually only the 90th edition of the race due to breaks during the war years).
First up, Monsieur Armstrong attempts a 5th straight win - an achievement only attained by one other rider in history - the legendary Miguel Indurain. All up, 4 riders in total have won 5 Tours, but only Big Mig did it 5 years in a row.
It’s a very, very big task for Lance. His form in the spring classics hasn’t been overwhelming. In the interests of fairness it should be pointed out that Lance Armstrong prefers to let other riders in the USPS team take the one-day classic honours as he himself builds up his annual race fitness.
However, there’s a certain guy called Jan Ulrich who is back in the field this year after an injury plagued and emotionally turbulent season last year. All things being equal, Jan Ulrich is arguably the more complete rider over the length of an 8 month season - he has shown for many years now that he can win on all sorts of terrain and conditions. He placed 4th in the opening prologue on Sunday - this says to me that certainly, he has immense time trialling speed. The opening prologue might not be long, but it is nonetheless a legitimate test of blistering speed over 7 kilometers. You don’t come 4th by accident. Apparently Jan Ulrich is incredibly lean this year too - and his weight has been a problem in the past. He’s no slouch is Jan. He has come 2nd on 4 occasions, and he won the Tour de France in 1997. In fact, he might have come 2nd on 5 occasions I believe.
For those of you who aren’t aware, winning the Tour de France requires immense talent over 3 separate areas. You have to be able to climb the alps (sometimes up to 4 major alpine ranges in one 7 hour day). But you also have to be able to race against the clock in the “races of truth” - aka the individual time trials. This is a discipline where the greatest of the greatest can hover on 50kmh for an hour or more - over hill over dale - in all sorts of wind conditions. It’s incredibly hard to win a Tour de France time trial. The last area you need to be great in is pure, sheer, race craft. This is where the “motor racing” aspects of the sport come into play - that is, the ability to race with the breaks, and to be able to read the strategies and the strengths and weaknesses of your fellow riders when you’re away in breaks with them.
At the moment, we’re in the first week, which is traditionally a flat week where you get lots of epic bunch sprints and the race is full of spectacular mass finishes. But if truth be known, even though the daily stages average 200+ kilometers per day, when you’re pros like these guys are, in reality it’s truly only a softening up period.
That being said, being an Australian, I’m incredibly chuffed with the performance of the Aussies thus far. Australians and Americans tend to be really “honest racers” in pro cycling - they ride hard, race hard, and attack hard. This year, we have a really impressive flotilla of stage winners. Sadly, our most commendable “overall contender”, a guy by the name of Cadel Evans didn’t make the Tour even though he was a certainty. I don’t know what happened there - maybe an injury - I’d love it if someone could fill me in there.
Anyways, if you’re an American, don’t expect too much from Lance Armstrong yet. He likes to use the first week as a “building base” where he’s happy to let the “one day” heroes have their time in the sun.
But mark my words, Josebo Beloki is a deserved favourite for the win this year. And Jan Ulrich looms menacingly. This will be no cakewalk for Monsieur Armstrong, I assure you.
And now? I’m happy to answer questions if you have them. (For your reference I’m a former national representative of Australia back in the mid 80’s so I’d like to think I know a fair bit about the sport. I never raced pro, but raced in the “elite amateur” ranks in Europe for about 5 years).