Le Tour 2007

I was going back through a few of my posts and one thing that struck me was how many posts I've made about sport. The Tour, rugby, basketball...I love sports. Good ol' American sports and new sports as well. One of the things I appreciate about living in London is the exposure to new kinds of sport. Both good and bad.

Le Tour is one of my new favorites. I don't know that I am a cycling fan per se but definitely Le Tour. The reason is simple - sportsmanship.

The evidence is bountiful...Stage 18 - Sandy Casar won. He won after a running into a dog crossing the course. After hitting the dog he took a nasty spill, I mean nasty spill that landed him splat against the road. He got up on his bike and received treatment while riding. No complaining, no whining - just focus. One mission to get back into it. The fact that he stayed with the lead group was impressive enough. The fact that he won the stage is amazing.

Also in the same lead group, a rider had a mechanical error with 20K left. The other three riders slowed to allow him to work through it and get back to the ride.
Vinokourov - one of the pre-race favorites - out. Tested positive for doping. No questions asked - gone from the race.

Rasmussen - at the time the holder of the yellow jersey. Sacked by his team. He didn't test positive but it came out that he wasn't truthful about his whereabouts a few months prior on a trip to Mexico. I'm sure we don't know all of the details but the team felt that was enough to force him out.

All of the doping seems to continuously be an issue with the racing. But is it an issue? The fact that there is such a no tolerant policy seems to be evidence that it's not an issue. You cheat - you're out. There's no lingering doubt. You're out. The majority want to do right. Now I'm not naive and I know there are still shades of gray within all this. But they WANT to do right. Sportsmanship is a huge part of this sport. And for that. I am now a cycling fan.

All of that doesn't even begin to describe the excitement of the Peloton catching up to the lead group and the sprint to the finish of the stage. This is exciting stuff! This is sport!

On top of all that, one more thing has pulled it all together for me - my mom. She's not a huge sports fan, but this year she started watching The Tour because she thought I was racing in it. When I told her I was volunteering she misunderstood my role. Maybe it was my participation in the MS 150 a couple of years ago? Maybe cause it started in London this year? Regardless, she started watching. And she was hooked. She was so hooked that she knows what a Peloton is. And she appreciated the excitement of it. Throughout the course of the three weeks we regularly shared stories of the last couple of stages. I have to admit that was very fulfilling for me. I will never forget our first Tour together. Even though I'm in London, thousands of miles away, we were able to share in the sport. I will never forget that and hope it's the start of more to come. We're hooked.

I've been a fan of sport the majority of my life. As most fans of sport, I've wondered what sport if any I would have been good at. What I enjoyed the most. I think it might have been cycling. Throughout high school I rode my bike. I rode BMX street freestyle. I even tried my hand at BMX racing. I never pushed it too hard but if I had to do it over, I would have. If I had the opportunity to do it over, I would have tried cycling. I suppose I still can. =)