The Tour de France started today, and though we didn't watch the live feed (uncharacteristically for us) we've just finished watching the replay. And I think we're still in shock. Lance didn't win the stage, as Chris was hoping he might, but he pulled off a stunt I think no one was expecting.
(And if you're not into cycling, I'm sorry to tell you that this begins what will probably be three weeks of cycling-related posts that you might not understand. Bear with us - we'll return to regular programming soon, and in the meantime perhaps you can feed off of our excitement?)
Okay, back to the stage today. The prologue is always a time trial, with one minute gaps between each rider. Lance, as last year's winner, went off last. His arch-rival, German Jan Ullrich, went off just before him, and with five kilometers to go Lance PASSED ULLRICH. Chris & I nearly jumped off the couch. And thankfully, someone got the one-chance photo that we were hoping for:
Lance (#1) just before he blew past Ullrich (#11) in today's prologue
The photo comes from here, and there are many more photos of the stage to be found there as well. If you start here and keep clicking "Next" you can see the progression of the catch... Amazing freaking stuff.
I always forget how cool the Tour de France is until the first day. And now, the adrenaline has begun to flow, and it won't stop for three weeks. What a ride.
2 comments:
oh man! wasn't that AMAZING?!? I couldn't believe it either. I'm okay with Lance not winning the stage though - if he had, we would not have been treated to the delight of a shy, not-at-all media-savvy David Zabriskie answering all those silly press questions. He was cracking me up.
I know it was unbelievable. And yes, DaveZ (as he's called on cyclingnews.com!) is fun to watch on camera. So sad that he crashed today only half a kilometer outside the "free" zone - he would've had the same time as his compatriots, and been in a basic tie with Lance for the lead. Not that he's an overall contender, but what a crappy way to lose the jersey.
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