I am what you would call a bit of a cycling fan. I couldn’t name five people in the NFL, NBA or MLB combined but I could tell you in quite a bit of detail about half of the contenders for the top fifty spots in the Tour de France.
Frank and Andy Schleck are brothers from Luxembourg on team Saxo Bank. Andy is a contender for the top spot on the podium and I thought his chances might be hurt because he crashed hard in a training ride a week before the tour started, but turns out he is okay. Unfortunately his brother Frank crashed out of the tour in Stage 3 which hurts Andy’s chances in the big mountain stages.
Jens Voight, a German, seems like the nicest guy ever. He and his wife Stephanie have five children.
Dave Zabriskie has a lot of potential to be a General Classification (overall winner or “GC”) contender but he never has lived up to his potential, partially because he has never been pushed by a coach that knew how to take him to that next level.
You get the picture.
This knowledge is from watching as many hours as I could possibly fit in (without losing my job and important relationships) watching of the Tour de France and other professional cycling races since about 2001. I also follow a fair number of professional cyclists on twitter so I know the latest and greatest of what they are thinking, doing, etc.
In case you do not already think I am over-the-top I am embarrassed to admit I have my very own “Fantasy Cycling” team for this year’s tour. Oh yes, I do. And if you have ever heard me go off on how dumb I think Fantasy Baseball and Fantasy Football are, you could now chime in that I am a complete hypocrite and you would be right…but, in my defense, this is a very minimal investment of time beyond watching the tour. I simply filled out a roster of 15 cyclists within a budget of $500 where each rider’s “price” is based on past performance.
So if you hear me rooting for Andy Schleck, Fabian Cancellara, Cadel Evans, Thor Hushovd, Andreas Kloden, Tony Martin or Robby McEwen it is not just because I like the colors of their jersey or their personality…it is because they are the core of my fantasy team.
Even as I type, I know how ridiculous this sounds…but, alas…I dig it.
I SO want to go into how many of the tour riders are doing and tell you how exciting the next three stages are going to be in the Pyranees (mountains), explain cycling strategy, tell you how wonderful the announcers are, discuss the advantages of drafing and riding in a peletón but I can tell I am already losing most of my audience. Post a comment or send me an email and I will discuss this with you ad nauseum.
So the month of July is my month for being a sports fan. Not only does the Tour de France take place, but each year our little city of Boise hosts a Twilight Criterium downtown on a hot Saturday evening in mid-July.
We were actually scheduled to be in Sun Valley this year at this time but decided to come back early to catch the crit (cycling slang for criterium.) In respect of B’s bedtime, Grammy and Grandpa watched Belén while Andy and I went down to the race. We had a nice dinner and then caught the end of the master’s race, the penultimate of the night. The final race started at 8:30 at which time a pack of skinny, fit, colorfully dressed males embarked on over a hundred laps of a 8-block circuit consisting of 9th, 10th, Bannock and Grove streets.
Even though we have clearly established I am a cycling fan, I didn’t know any of the riders or teams in last night’s race and with a criterium, the riders fly by you so quickly and it is harder to tell what is going on (and because I think I have ADD) I couldn’t really seem to focus on the race. It turned out to be a wonderful place to people watch full of tweens, cougars, super-fit people and gaggles of kids past their bedtime with parents attempting to entertain them.
Being that we typically cycle run in more “fit” friend circles, we ran into many of our friends and also family members so it was a ton of fun to see people we haven’t seen for awhile.
Now my July obsession is out of the closet. If you have any interest in watching the Tour de France, the next three days of mountain stages in the Pyranees are going to decide the winner and it is promises to be SUPER exciting. Andy Schleck and Alberto Contador are duking it out for first place and it will be a doozy. I have already revealed who I want to win (Andy!) If the cycling doesn’t do it for you, the fans on the mountain stages are great as well especially in the Pyranees with all of the crazy Basque fans as well as other crazy fans from around the world. And if that isn’t enough to entice you, they are in the south of France which is ABSOLUTELY GORGEOUS and historical, begging me to visit EVERY day I watch the tour.
This is the 97th Tour de France. I am thinking Andy and I and maybe the kid(s?) need to book for the 100th edition. Actually considering that it is a wine country maybe we better leave the kid(s?) at home.
Cycling + Wine + French Food with my husband…seriously what could be better? I need to get on those French lessons!
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I think you really need to go! I follow the tour mostly for the hot basque riders. Gora Euskaltel eta Gora Euskadi! …..it also helps get me excited for Jaialdi
I admit that I’ve been following the tour very closely myself again this year. I’m not quite as fanatical as you, but then again my spreadsheets might indicate otherwise!
I’m definitely rooting for Andy Schleck. I’ve always liked and been impressed by him and it’s especially easy to root for him after Frank’s crash. If he can win this year under these circumstances, it would be very impressive indeed! I’m afraid that Contador might be the stronger man, though…
I had no idea you were such a huge tour fan! I want to get in on this fantasy action. Dennis and I have been planning this trip for two years and, so far, it is well worth the stress of booking hotels in random mtn towns and dealing with european drivers!
Am loving le tour. I share your addiction. Not everyone shares it though. Sitting in my hotel room in Prague watching stage 5 coverage in German, my roommate said “cycling is so boring,” and he fell asleep. So what. I love it.
Thank goodness for DVR!
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