The Greatest Show on Earth
Okay, okay. I’m biased. I know that only a few people will agree with me when I say that. To those who don’t know yet, I’m talking about the Tour de France. It just started, and I’m so giddy with excitement!
I admit, this year’s Tour is plagued with many problems, number one of which is doping. It’s not unique to the Tour, it’s a problem of the sport itself. It’s sad, but the show must go on. Sad because all winners will be doubted now, sad because so many good riders are sidelined due to doping allegations. My line now is “May the best non-doper win.” But I’m still excited, because every year the Tour has surprises, every year it offers drama. I’m still looking forward to the great (and stupid) decisions of the different teams, the performance of the peloton, the breakaways, and drama of the climbs.
A lot of people think this is Vinokorouv‘s year, but I think the race is still wide open. Who knows, we might just be surprised along the way. (Remember Rasmussen?) But I agree that Vino has a good chance of winning, primarily because it seems that he has a good team. Astana did well in Dauphine Libere, too well for my liking. The team won at least 2 stages and they did well during the time trial. Their Tour line up includes not only Vino, but Kloden and Salvodelli as well. Kloden is a good climber, and this has been proven twice when he was part of the Top 3 for General Classification. Salvodelli has won the Giro twice. But they have yet to prove themselves during the Tour.
And what about my team, Discovery Channel? They started strong this season, having several stage and tournament wins, but they were a big disappointment during the Giro and even the Dauphine. I’ve never been truly impressed by Levi, their chosen leader for this year’s Tour. Damn, he was #26 in the Prologue!
Yes, off they went. This year’s Tour de France has started, and I’m still trying to figure out how to follow it. Bittorrent, please don’t fail me. Anyway, CSC‘s Fabian Cancellara won the Prologue, even without their Director Sportif, Bjarne Riis. Riis recently admitted to doping during the year that he won, 1996. The Tour has since then taken out his name in all official publications, and they mentioned that Riis wasn’t invited this year. Well, that didn’t affect the team at all. Kloden was second – there goes Astana! And my Georgie was third! I was surprised to see another Discovery rider within Top 5 – Vladimir Gusev. It would have been great for the team but their leader was #26 – a mortal sin I think for any good leader. Not within the Top 20! I am so disappointed.
Okay, time for me to search for videos on the Prologue…
Biking
Yes, I have started to bike. It wasn’t really a decision I consciously made. Jovan bought a bike at a cheap price. He had 2 options for the bike – I could use it if I wanted to (the GIANT frame was perfect for me at 14 inches), or he could sell the parts. Well, I figured that I should know how to bike if I’m a real fan of the sport. I started 3 weeks ago and I’m actually enjoying it! Jovan changed some parts – he changed the handlebar to a riser bar, he got a gel cover for the seat, and he changed the pedals to platform pedals. Since I don’t have a helmet yet, I refuse to go far, so I just go around the Ateneo high school parking lot. I started with a distance of 2.5km, but tonight I biked 4km! Cool! I really should get a helmet…
One of my goals is to join the Ride for the Roses or a LiveSTRONG challenge in the US. The only problem will be the money (since you have to raise at least $2,500 to be able to join – gulp!).
The End of an Era
Okay, so that’s a bit dramatic, considering that Jan Ullrich wasn’t really able to fully show what he’s got. Yes, he won the Tour de France once, and gold and silver medals during the 2000 Olympics. But unfortunately for him, his peak came at a time when Lance Armstrong overshadowed everybody else. I never liked Ullrich, I’d always shrug when I hear commentators saying “the most talented cyclist on the planet”. If so, then he wasted his talent. I feel that he didn’t prepare as much as he should have for the Tour, partying, not watching his weight, not training enough. I’ve never been impressed by him in the mountains, he looked as if he was always struggling, and I’m talking about the 1999 to the 2005 tours. He seems like a nice guy, just not as determined and disciplined. As Phil Liggett would say, if only Ullrich had Zabel‘s discipline, with his talent, he would kick everyone’s butt.
The Tour isn’t just about talent. It’s about having a good cycling team in which each member is dedicated to the leader, a good team director who knows how to react to any situation, and a support team dedicated to delivering and providing the best gear. The team should be disciplined, and each member should be a professional. Lance Armstrong did not win the Tour 7 times because he’s the greatest cyclist ever. I don’t think he won 7 times because of drugs. He won because he has the discipline – he studied and took to heart the science behind the sport, watching his weight, studying each component that can increase his speed even by milliseconds, pushing his support team to come up with the best bikes. He won because he studied each and every important turn of the course. He won because he rode up the mountains alone before the actual Tour. Sadly, Ullrich wasn’t like this. It seems that he relied on his talent alone.
Why the title? Jan Ullrich just announced that he is retiring. I guess the search is on for the next ‘most talented cyclist on the planet’.
LiveSTRONG
This is the tagline of the Lance Armstrong Foundation, a non-profit organization founded by Lance Armstrong, 7-time Tour de France Champion, cancer-survivor. I’ve been wearing the LiveSTRONG band for more than 2 years now – as I’ve said before, it’s not a fad to me. I have found new meaning in the tagline, thanks to the wonderful song of Wideawake, entitled “Maybe Tonight, Maybe Tomorrow”. I posted video and the lyrics a couple of weeks ago, and if you listen to it carefully, you’ll realize that it’s a message for everyone who’s going through a really tough time, for whatever reason.
Things happen for a reason. This too, shall pass. This will only make me stronger. All cliches, but all so true.
I can do this. With the help of real, true, friends, who are always there. With the help of family who will never, ever leave me alone. By the grace of God. I will LiveSTRONG.
A New Discovery, Magazines and Cycling…
Thanks to Sherwin, I was inspired to research on and choose an RSS Reader. I settled for Google Reader, and I love it! I was able to import my subscriptions on My Yahoo and Google Personal Page. I just can’t have enough news, whether it’s World News, Entertainment News, Technology News (my favorite), and Cycling News. Just last year I’ve made a conscious decision to read more. I really just can’t have enough information! I used to live on Time Magazine (I’ve been a subscriber for more than 5 years already). But just last year I subscribed to Fortune and National Geographic. No regrets! I highly recommend these magazines.
The Amgen Tour of California just started and guess who won the prologue! Levi Leipheimer! Go Levi! He’s still the leader after Stage 1, but the circumstances weren’t good at all – he was part of a crash and the decision to grant everyone the same time was made by race officials. I’m hoping he can keep it up so Discovery will win!
Two side notes: It’s really nice to see Ivan Basso racing, weird though that he was in front setting the tempo for the pelton. I’m sad that Discovery will end their sponsorship this year, but at the same time I’m can’t wait for the next team sponsor.
I’m so happy because hubby loved my Valentine’s gift! I got him a new Giro Atmos helmet after a very long production number of fishing, researching, and lying. Thanks so much to my favorite brother Mike O for helping me out!
Pogi!
Century Ride
Surprisingly, I had a blast supporting the Globe boys during the Century Ride. I really thought that Jovan and I would end up driving from one place to another, waiting for the boys to pass by, but Jovan took it seriously. We were considered a SAG vehicle – that’s what they call the vehicles that support the cyclists. We followed them from Katipunan to Tagaytay. Yup, we were behind them most of the time. It was fun, and I wouldn’t mind doing it again.
I’m so proud of the guys, they finished. So what if we were the last group to arrive. There were so many riders who didn’t even finish!!! I think that having a SAG helped a lot. At one point Mike T and Clar left their backpacks with us. They drank a lot! Which is good, because I thought no one would drink the liquids that we brought with us. They also made their own sandwiches from the bread and jam that we brought. It was really fun to bond with them during the ride.
Too bad I won’t be able to do this often. I don’t drive, and Jovan joins their rides within Manila-Sta. Rosa-Antipolo. Oh well, until next year?
We lost??!???!!
WE LOST!!!!!!!!
Goodbye 2nd place! And if we become 4th place… I don’t even want to think about it.
We won??!???!!
WE WON!!!!!!!!
Okay, that was a surprise. We were definitely the underdog. But hey, sometimes, underdogs win. ONE BIG FIGHT!
My Hero!
Watched the last individual time trial of Lance‘s career last night – and he came out on top! He had the best time, 23 seconds ahead of Ullrich, who was number 2. He actually gained more time on his rivals in the general category of the Tour de France.
I pity Rasmussen, who lost the third spot because of all the crashes and bike changes. I’m guessing it was a combination of nervousness, bad bikes, and a bad mechanic. At least he has a consolation prize – his polka dot jersey. (Which I find really ugly, haha!)
Barring any mishap, Lance will ride tomorrow to his seventh, and last, Tour de France win. I admire him for retiring now – I truly believe he can do an eight. Will he do a Jordan and come back? We’ll see. I’m actually hoping.