With all the excitement surrounding Vino and the Chicken, a few of my blogs got sidetracked. Hey, there was some good stuff in there, if I do say so myself. Read on.
I talked with Quick Step director Patrick Lefevre about Tom Boonen and his quest for the green, sprinter's jersey, something Tom has tried hard to win for the past four years, but has come up empty each time. Lefevre noted that in the past Tom was down to 174 pounds for the Tour trying to be lighter to be able to get through the mountains. Patrick felt, looking back, that was too light for Boonen; after 10 days he was finished. This year Boonen was up to 181 pounds which is the optimal weight for him.
Lefevre also remarked that in the last several years Tom has had a lot of pressure on him to win. He raced too many races. This year, after the classics, Lefevre told Boonen to take some time off to rest but also to take off the pressure. And apparently, as Belgium's most popular cyclist rides down the Champs Elysees in green, the plan worked!
How about Levi in the final TT? Leipheimer told us at the Discovery Channel pre-Tour press conference that he was planning on peaking in the third week of the Tour and he did just that. And he almost snagged the yellow jersey. As Hannibal Smith used to say, "I love it when a plan comes together." More importantly, because Rasmussen's departure opened a slot on the podium for Levi, it was critical that Leipheimer ride well to prove that he earned, rather than inherited, his podium spot. Levi's ride on the last Pyrenean stage coupled with his TT win clearly proved he earned third place.
There's going to be a major war between the ASO, the company which owns the Tour, and the UCI. This feud nearly crippled pro racing early this past spring. After the doping scandals at the Tour, you can rest assured that Mssrs. Prudhomme and Clerc are not going to let the UCI control their race. Frankly, the UCI has been extremely two-faced when dealing with the doping problem and they have no leg to stand on to defend themselves. However, the UCI being the UCI, they will attempt to defend their actions and the rift will cause even more damage to the sport of cycling. Stay tuned; it will get worse before it gets better and I am not talking about the doping problem.
Thanks for coming along for the ride,
Bruce
Active Expert: Bruce Hildenbrand
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Sally
In agreement with the above writer, a big thanks, Bruce, for your educational and interesting updates that gave us "at home" participants and cheerleaders" great insider information. Hope you stay on line a few more days, if necessary, and give us the scoop about the new sponsor for the old USA teams.
Also, how about your thinking about and promoting an East Coast, USA tour that could go from New England to Georgia? The route could maybe be in as close proximity to the AT as possible, with perhaps, a side trip into our Nation's capital? This area of the USA has scenery, history, and towns to show off even though they differ vastly from the what we enjoy seeing in the Tour de France. We need a new ride in a young country for the new kids on the bikes!
Hope to hear from you before 2008! Arcadia, Maine to Atlanta, Georgia - or the reverse!
Bruce, thanks for the blogs during the past three weeks. Too bad Versus lousy technical equipment didn't allow us to see some of the award presentations at the end.
Maybe next year?