Tour de France 2005

[jobob]

I wouldn't say Dave Zabriskie is unknown.

He won a stage in last years' Vuelta a España ... but granted, he was riding for an obscure team called the US Postal Service at the time.

This year, riding for CSC, he won a stage at the Giro d'Italia.

I think it was mentioned on OLN that he's the first American to ever have won stages in 3 consecutive Grand Tours. Bravo Dave!

take that, frogs. :P

I'm a bit offended by that - can we do without the name calling ? Thanks.

- Jo.

[SadieKate]

Zabriskie's not that unknown. He's had a couple of major stage wins and his face was all over the TV last year. You know that really fun USPS commercial where the boys are delivering mail by bike? When Floyd pops a wheelie Dave Z is the one who gets the close-up as he makes a wry face over Floyd's antics (I mean how many people can pop a wheelie on a road bike?).

Really great start to the tour. George, Bobby and Levi were right there in the thick of things. I'm rooting for Jan to make a come back. I'm sure hoping that his performance was due to the crash yesterday and he'll recover quickly. I'd love to see him and Basso really put up a fight. Tom Boonen and McGee also. I'd never seen McGee ride and boy do I wish I had his incredibly smooth form. Beautiful to watch. This tour should be fun.

[MM_QFC!]

Wow! - Lance amazed me again today...I don't find it boring at all, sorry to those who disagree. It's a known and talked-about fact that Lance's planning and training is arduous and ongoing - he puts the work in and has fought for each win each year - some much tougher than others - and that's not even including his lil ol' bout with cancer and a 30% chance of surviving...but I give him huge credit for that. Nothing about the TdF is a given for him or anyone else and to see him overcome adversity time over time is damned impressive - to me anyway. I hope that his cycling rivals and soon-to-be successors rise up to the challenge and keep pushing to reach his level after he's off the road. Until then, they better be in the best shape that they can be and be willing to fight just as hard as he, in order to have any chance of taking it.
And...what's up with the officials "randomly" selecting ol' #1 for a surprise drug test yesterday afternoon, after each and every rider - including Armstrong - had been poked, prodded and tested already? They can test him all they want but, to me, they just keep getting increasingly more ridiculous, no?
What do you all think?

[MightyMitre]

Wow! - Lance amazed me again today...I don't find it boring at all, sorry to those who disagree. ......

Nothing about the TdF is a given for him or anyone else and to see him overcome adversity time over time is damned impressive - to me anyway. I hope that his cycling rivals and soon-to-be successors rise up to the challenge and keep pushing to reach his level after he's off the road. Until then, they better be in the best shape that they can be and be willing to fight just as hard as he, in order to have any chance of taking it.

No - I don't think the Tour will be boring. That was me just b!tching yesterday because Ullrich didn't do very well.

OK - TdF resolution.... I'm not an Armstrong fan, never have been and never will, however, I certainly admire his dedication and committment. Afterall, no one could win 6 Tours without being a bit special.

I've watched the TdF every year since 1997 and I s'pose it's kinda demoralizing to see just one person wipe the floor with everyone for 6 years in a row. Armstrong is so strong that some years it's made it look like no one else is even trying!

So... this is Lances last year and I'll do my best to not to slag him off- even if he does make mince meat out of my favourite riders. And I'll try to keep my posts positive. If I do feel I need to criticise him I hope it'll be balanced and fair and you'll let me know if you think it's not!

Anyway - here's to a great Tour and lets hope the rest of the peleton make Armstrong work for it. I'm sure he won't disappoint.

[betagirl]

I'm with you MightyMitre with my opinion of Lance. I respect him as a truly great cyclist who has overcome such huge odds. But his personality is well, somewhat to be desired I guess. He's got a chip on his shoulder (self-admittedly if you read his first book). And while cancer changed him while he went through it, I'm not sure how much of the underlying personality was changed over the long run. I do agree with the drug testing BS. He's gone through a lot of doubt and other crap about his comeback, which is still reflected to this day with the scrutiny he goes under. I don't agree with that. When I was watching him yesterday it was like watching that angry young rider in his pre-cancer days. I hope he wins the 7th, but am sorta looking forward to a new face to wow us. I'm also a bit turned off by all the Lance fever in the US because I have to wonder if after he retires the enthusiasm for the sport will go back to what it was 10 years ago. Americans have short attention spans Then again, do you REALLY think he's going to retire? I have my doubts. He may not race in the Tour again, but I suspect he'll show up in some places.

With that being said I'm not rooting for Jan either. I'd like to see Ivan Basso give Lance a run for his money. And Zabriskie winning the stage is what's so great about watching the tour. I love to see the young guys on the podium almost not knowing what to do with themselves because it's such a huge thing for them to be there.

Just my 2 bits

[swlsue]

Cool cool - I just turned the tV on - just in time to see the peloton catch the 3 off the front. Nothing like an exciting sprint finish!

[aka_kim]

During the Giro, Dave Zabriskie was doing his own 1-question, on the bike, "interviews" with fellow cyclists that are hilarious. Check out davezabriskie.com.

[SadieKate]

That made my day. Now I know what Liquigas is.

[Trek420]

Yeah, me too. made my day...ruined my lunch.

[betagirl]

"The interview of the day with Trent Wilson of Selle Italia:

DZ: Trent if you could make a rubber band bracelet what would it stand for?

TW: Something to do with beer."

[spazzdog]

A couple of things (who knows, maybe more):

1) What's the deal with the Sheryl Crow bashing? If you wanna, that's OK and all, I guess, but I don't get it. They seem very happy with one another and in the end, isn't that the important thing? Yeah, I know... his ex-wife was there thru the recovery and had his children, etc, but people break up. It's life. Would you want to stay with your partner when the flame was... well, out or there was no common interest except the kids? how healthy is that?

2) Are there any French folks on TE? Why do the French hate Lance? This is not meant to incite French bashing, so be nice! He's an amazing athlete... is it because he's American and the U.S. and France aren't exactly huggy buddies these days? Opinions....

spazzdog - diving into the "controversial pool" once again...

(and does it irritate anyone else that you can't do spell check on your posts )

[Veronica]

Why do the French hate Lance?

I'm not so sure they hate him. When he first popped onto the scene, I don't think he was especially respectful to the more senior riders or the traditions of the tour. That irked them. And, it's their race. They want a French cyclist to do well.


I suppose the only thing that bugs me about the Sheryl Crow stuff is that they NEVER interview any other cyclists' wives, girlfriends, etc. I don't think they ever interviewed his wife when they were married. It just seems crass to me. I'd rather hear how some of the "regular" wives deal with their husbands funky schedules, weird dietary needs, obsessions with gear, etc.


V.

[jobob]

Why do the French hate Lance?

That's painting with a mighty broad brush, don't you think?

Odds are the average Frenchman likes Lance I heckuva lot more than I do.

I tend to find questions like that an open invitation for French-bashing, which I find unfair - be it by GW Bush or by some Lance fan.

There's almost a Bush-like attitude amongst some Lance fans - if you don't basically worship the freakin' ground he walks on, there's something wrong with you - "if you're not with him you're against him". Which is the reason why I don't belong to the Cult of Lance - I refuse to be told who I must root for, and I'm tired of him and his yellow bracelets and his endless self-promotion and his superstar girlfriend shoved down my throat.


And as for Ms. Crow, V. hits the nail on the head IMO.

- Jo.

[Dogmama]

Lance fan.

There's almost a Bush-like attitude amongst some Lance fans - if you don't basically worship the freakin' ground he walks on, there's something wrong with you - "if you're not with him you're against him". Which is the reason why I don't belong to the Cult of Lance - I refuse to be told who I must root for, and I'm tired of him and his yellow bracelets and his endless self-promotion and his superstar girlfriend shoved down my throat.
And as for Ms. Crow, V. hits the nail on the head IMO.
- Jo.

I think Lance is an amazing athlete and I admire him for his tenacity & hope he wins his 7th. I also know that he has lots of warts, he's difficult, childish and petulant. I don't own a yellow rubber band bracelet. Switch to my other favorite sport - pro basketball. Yup, they're amazing athletes with lots of warts too.

I don't particularly care about an athlete's persona. I admire them for their accomplishments, their passion for their sport and their willingness to endure hardship & pain to succeed. I like sports where I can see them sweat, see the determination on their faces. Maybe that's why golf never appealed to me

Double bump on V's comments on Ms. Crow. I'd love to hear from "normal" rider's wives/girlfriends. Ms. Crow is too cute for me. Her interview last night was so fake, "Oh, I'm still learning..." Well, honey, if you haven't learned by now ("1 year and 8 months...tee hee..") as they said in the movie Birdcage:

"Try more gum"

[snapdragen]

I used to be a major Lance fan, but I guess I got kinda bored. I really wanted him to do some of the other races this year, and not concentrate on the Tour. I suspect his contract with Disco had something to do with the decision though. I admire the work he's done with the cancer community, and I think he's an amazing athelete.

I do wear the yellow band, more in memory of my best friend, who died two Christmases ago, than as a Lance fan.

Ms Crow - never liked her music, don't care for her. I do think it's silly to have the OLN boys fawning over her.