| | i know, the 2009 Tour de France began a few days ago. in years past i would do updates of cycling biggest event every day for the duration of the race. it was easy then, as Lance Armstrong was winning them year after year. but when he retired, i loss a little bit of interest. i like cycling, but it's not the most fun to watch. i still tuned in, tho, and was pleasantly surprised when another American, Floyd Landis, won the next Tour. unfortunately, he was found to have been doping and was subsequently stripped of his title. then i rooted for an Italian, Ivan Basso, the last year. he was booted for doping. then i heard that Armstrong was coming out of retirement. he wanted to ride the Tour de France again, not so much to win it, but just to be out there, raising awareness for cancer research through his LIVESTRONG™ campaign. my interest was piqued. i mean at 37 years of age, and a few years removed from the Tour, how much would the Texan have in him.
he started riding in smaller races and events, doing just ok, not winning any of them. perhaps he was just riding to ride. but he is one of the most fierce competitors in any sport on Earth. how long would the beast be on a leash? strangely, Armstrong joined Italian team, Astana, and would not be the team's leader. what that means is that he would not be the member that the others on the team helps to try and win the Tour de France. the leadership role went to Spaniard, Alberto Contador. Armstrong might not have even been the best rider (on paper) on that team. Astana also includes such notables as Germany's Andreas Kloden and another American, Levi Leipheimer, who was once one of Armstrong's lieutenants. the team, incidentally, is managed by Johan Bruyneel, who managed Armstrong's previous Tour teams, US Postal and Discovery Channel. how long would Bruyneel stick with Contador has been a popular question.
an answer may soon be coming, as Lance Armstrong pulled ahead of his leader, Alberto Contador, in total time today after the Tour's third stage. the Texan is now third place overall in the standings, 40 seconds behind Saxo Bank's Fabian Cancellara and Columbia - HTC's Tony Martin. Contador is in fourth place overall. is Armstrong making a move to assume leadership of Astana? who knows? it would be pretty awesome if he does and then wins this year's Tour as well. but there's still plenty of riding left. i'll be staying tuned. however, i will not be updating on a daily basis like i did in the past. i'm just too lazy for that now.
pic of the day:
 art by Frank Kozik (KOZ!K)known for a lot of artworks, including art for major magazines and famous rock bands, Kozik is also known for illustrating and/or painting different characters smoking cigarettes a lot of those pieces have also been turned into collectible vinyl toys |
| | Posted 7/6/2009 8:45 PM - 11 Views - 2 eProps - 4 comments
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