the tour. that's what.
enthusiastic reports forthcoming, but for now, we have the following handy distillation of the difference between american professional sports and european professional sports.
shaquille o'neal has been traded to miami because he can't coexist with his teammate, kobe bryant. the lakers were left with the task of choosing from one of two brats.
the current race leader, thomas voeckler (a french rider for the superbly-sponsored brioches la boulangerre team), was struggling to hammer up the race's first serious climb. he kept falling back, then racing back to catch the peloton. then he'd sort of give up. then he'd lay into the climb. well, richard virenque (also french, riding for quick step - davitamon), who's wearing the king of the mountain jersey (he's a legendary climber), drops back to encourage voeckler. i suppose they have nationalism in common, but these guys are on different teams. they have mutually exclusive goals, really. yet the elder virenque slows down to offer a sort of patrimony to voeckler.
no doubt there are brats in professional cycling. no doubt o'neal and bryant aren't entirely representative. these are the two stories of sports that get my attention this week, though.
allez!
Posted by dave at July 16, 2004 6:02 PM | TrackBackthe tour. the tour. the tour! thats all you and natalie can talk about!
Posted by: alianora at July 16, 2004 7:14 PM | Permalink to CommentYesterday's breakaway pack 10 was fun to watch. Though unimportant to the GC, that last series of jabs to the finish line was awesome to watch.
Allez!
Posted by: Jason at July 19, 2004 10:38 AM | Permalink to CommentI need to come clean.
My name is Fritz Fontaine. I am a self-obsessed tour-aholic. Because of my inability to control my habit, I have disturbed, nay, destroyed several close work and friend relationships. my life is a wreck. i need july to be over so i can get my life back one step at a time.
I need to apologize to several loved ones. You know who you are. I will get to each of you in the coming weeks as I sort out what is left of my life as I know it.
Posted by: fritz at July 21, 2004 5:09 PM | Permalink to CommentI've been really disappointed by the booing and jeering Lance has received. I'm reminded of the way Serena Williams was treated by the crowds at the French Open last year. On an indivdual scale, schadenfreude--or just jealousy--is petty but harmless; on a collective scale, it's ugly and potentially dangerous (US Postal has had to take more steps than any other team to prevent sabotage of their equipment). And of course there are those strictures in place that discourage US athletes from publically celebrating their victories at the summer Olympics in Athens. This is the pathological side of rampant anti-Americanism.
Enough ranting, though. The tour has been exhilirating to watch.
Posted by: kari at July 24, 2004 12:43 PM | Permalink to Comment