Tour De France: Unlucky Lance

CEBU, Philippines - A lot of folks had ambiguous thoughts about the Tour de France having a stage pass through the ancient cobblestones (13km in all!) that is part of the greatest one-day race in the world, Paris-Roubaix. Some said that it shouldn’t have been included while some said it adds to the excitement of the race.

To give you an idea of how bad or exciting the route is, Bernard Hinault, the 5-time Tour de France champion, rode the race once, won it and said that he wasn’t coming back, calling the race, “bulls—t”.

The scary thing about racing on the cobblestones is that everybody wants to be at the front, that’s about 180 cyclists, all jostling for position in a 2-meter wide ancient cow path. There’s a fact in science that says that two objects can’t exist on the same space and putting this scientific fact on this route and you’ll have crashes.

Frank Schleck, one of the favorites and brother of another favorite, had to quit today after breaking his collarbone in 3 places. This happened while his teammate, Fabian Cancellara, had set a high pace at the front for the team, SAXO BANK, for Andy. Andy did gain time over the other favorites (except for Cadel Evans, who was with them), but at the expense of his best friend and the next best climber of the team, I don’t think it’s a pretty exchange.

The 2004 TdF passed by the same roads and Lance Armstrong’s team then, US POSTAL, dictated the race like what SAXO BANK was doing today and eliminated his main rival, Ivan Mayo. But today, bad luck finally caught up with LA, when he was held behind in the Schleck crash and then flatted with 16kms to go. He trails Alberto Contador by 50sec, Schleck by 1.21min, Cadel Evans by 1.51min and Bradly Wiggins by 41sec. When interviewed, LA said that he, “accepted” his fate (losing time), an unheard of reply from a guy whose competitive instincts is hated losing seconds. Was it just a Freudian slip or a comment from an athlete who just lost his edge?

As for defending champion Alberto Contador, you’d think that he’d be racing controversy free from the infighting with ex-teammate LA in the ASTANA team last year but look again! Current teammate Alexander Vinokourov, who said that he’d be supporting AC for a 3rdTdF crown, didn’t keep his promise when he drove hard in the last Ks, setting back the Spaniard by 20sec. While making a promise is one thing, keeping your ambitions in check, when you’re on the wrong side of your career, is something else. — THE FREEMAN