On all matters related to cycling in general, and the Tour de France in particular, I tip my funny little helmet to Eric at Fire Ant Gazette ..... but I will make these observations from a decidely sedentary perspective .....
It would be hard to imagine something more dramatic than Fabian Cancellara of the CSC team, coming up near the very end to win the third stage, and retain the leader’s yellow jersey for the fourth day running ..... but the Tour is still young, and there's plenty of opportunity ahead for 'something more dramatic.'
The second stage featured a major spill, and more than a few cyclists crossed the line favoring a sore arm, shoulder, ribs, whatever ..... I thought a particularly touching scene was one rider coasting alongside a teammate (sorry, don't know which team it was) whose arm was clutched close to his stomach, guiding his bike with one hand while the other rested on the back of the the injured teammate, guiding him across the finish line for that stage.
What a difference a camera angle can make! The view of the race is entirely different when viewed from overhead as opposed to being viewed from the front, from a distance.
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I think you're spot on about Cancellara's 3d stage win. I had to change cable companies last year and so don't have access to Versus' evening coverage, but I did scrounge up a link to a live video feed that mercifully chose to stream without stopping for long enough for me to watch the stage finish. Robbie McEwan was as quick with his excuses as the Swiss rider was gracious in victory.
One thing I can't quite decide, though. Did the four breakaway riders really let the yellow jersey take the stage, as Phil Liggett suggested, or was each of them so focused on not taking the lead (and having the others on his wheel) that Cancellara wasn't noticed until too late?
I don't think anyone in the TDF doesn't know precisely where the yellow jersey is at every moment. Their team managers won't let them.
I've been lax in my viewing and coverage of the race thus far; the schedule just hasn't been accommodating. But things will start to get even more intriguing tomorrow as some real climbs appear on the route. Cancellara is expected to fade, and probably lose the yellow; time trialers aren't usually hill climbers (Lance notwithstanding; he's not human, you know) – but that's why they actually ride the race instead of just handing out the jerseys: surprises. Should be fun.
Foo and Eric, thanks for stopping in! The Versus coverage has been great ..... elder son and I watch it in the morning ..... with him on break from school and me on break from working in an office, we are two gentlemen of liesure!
Eric you're right about the hills ..... not to mention the honest-to-gosh mountains. This race covers a lot of terrain, and that terrain offers a lot of variety!
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