Congratulations to Contador

Congratulations go out from this blogger to Alberto Contador on his third successful Tour de France jersey. He now has two of the four closest margins of victory. Lemond's nine second overall victory after the final time trial in '89 still stands. The Schleck-Contador battle this year will go in the annals of tour history right next to Merckx-Ocana, Anquetil-Poulidor, and Lemond-Fignon. As far as I can see Contador could easily surpass Armstrong's record for the most tour victories barring that the Tour adds a team time trial. The question is whether the Schleck brothers will finally break through and win.
On another note I really liked Jen Caudil's article on the podium girls. I have to thank her for criticizing the ugly attire of the podium, particularly the KOM dress. I feel sorry for the Radioshack team for trying to honor cancer victims with their 28 jerseys. Sadly the UCI rules prohibit the changing of jerseys in a race. I wish they didn't have to be this picky on the rule but that is how they keep teams in line. This was a very appropriate tribute.

The Tourmalet stage redux

Today's stage to the top of the Col du Tourmalet was an epic duel among the best two cyclists in this year's race. It was an entertainment and sporting gem. Andy Schleck and the Saxobank team setting an incredible pace that decimated the entire field and the breakaway. The two contenders for the yellow jersey rode away with Schleck through the fog only to reappear as they approached the finish line. I should point out that all Contador did was ride on Schleck's wheel in a similar fashion to the Courchevel stage of the 1997 Tour. It is also an unwritten rule that if you are wearing the yellow jersey and your opponent has attacked the entirety of the climb then you should gracefully cede them the stage victory in the two man sprint. On another note Garmin-Transitions seems to be a factory of Tour de France GC contenders since they have someone in the top 10 every year since 2008. It is never the same person is what continues to amaze me.

The unwritten rules of cycling

I watched a small portion of SportsNation and one of the topics of discussion was whether Contador's attack when the chain on Andy Schleck's bike failed. Colin Cowherd said that there was no responsibility for Contador to wait for Schleck. For one thing Colin wouldn't care about cycling if there wasn't Lance Armstrong as a competitor. Since his views are that the unwritten gentlemanly rules of cycling don't matter. I am going to go about writing these unwritten rules that I have picked up from my many years of watching the Tour de France. They are as follows:
1. You have the responsibility to slow down the pace if your major opponent crashes or has a mechanical problem. This rule primarily is related to mountain stages and the ascents.
2. No peeing on crowds when you have to go on mid stage.
3. Crashes are part of the race, but when the entire peloton crashes and takes extraordinary amounts of time to get back on the bike then the peloton has the responsibility to neutralize the race.
There have been two different cases of incidents, crashes or mechanical incidents, that have significantly altered the race. The first was Frank Schleck's crash on the cobblestones of Northern France. His fellow teamates attacked on that section of cobblestones and had no responsibility to wait for Lance Armstrong and Alberto Contador. The other incident was the chain slipping on Andy Schleck's bike on Monday's climb to Port de Bales. In this case Contador should have stopped his attack until Schleck was able to rejoin the group. The key factor is that it seems Contador didn't know his opponent had a problem.
Today's stage was very interesting with the first climb of the Col du Tourmalet. Also we saw Lance Armstrong in a break for the first time since he lost seven minutes in the Alps. He showed glimpses of the old Lance, but he clearly didn't have the strength and stamina to pull away from his breakaway companions. It is sad to see Lance in his swansong Tour suffer from age creeping in on his amazing talent.

On the Tour de France

The tour de France took the second wheel during its first week to the World Cup, but know it has the full attention of most of the world. This years race has been grueling and trying on the cyclists. There were no easy flat stages to start the race until the first set of mountain stages. Instead the hills of the Ardennes caused the first chaos to the peloton followed the next day by the cobblestones of Northern France. While these are not typical parts of the race route, there inclusion has increased the sporting and entertainment value of this years tour. On the eve of the Pyrenees the race for the yellow jersey is mostly a two man competition between Andy Schleck and Alberto Contador. These two cyclists should be the stars of a four act, stage, battle up the steep mountains that border France and Spain. The unique ending incorporating the stage finish atop the Col du Tourmalet could provide all the fireworks cycling fans enjoy. I fear that Andy Schleck may leave the Pyrenees with the yellow jersey only to lose it in the time trial from Bordeaux to Pauillac to Alberto Contador. As for Lance Armstrong, ever since he lost seven minutes on the stage to Morzine-Avioraz he has taken a real relaxed viewpoint on the tour and even conceded more time. This being his last tour we can clearly see that his best days are in the past though he is still among the better cyclists in the tour peloton at 38 years of age. Enjoy this race because otherwise you have to wait eleven months for another edition.

World Cup Rounup: The Trophy is Presented

Congratulations to Spain for winning the World Cup. The were truly the best team in the entire tournament. They didn't win it by dominant scoring, but by balance across the team with solid defense and potent scoring. They had the most brilliant, smooth, and exciting play of any team in the tournament. In the final match I was disappointed in the Netherlands play. They played overly physical and violent. It was no wonder that they picked up the red card in overtime with the way they had played. I expected a much more matched time of possession between the two teams. It would have likely led to a more entertaining game of attacks and counterattacks. I understand the defensive alignment of the Dutch was based on the American and Swiss successes in the last two years against Spain, but they didn't even try to create sustained scoring efforts throughout most of the first half. I feel sorry for the Dutch as they are now the team that is cursed at the World Cup. Hopefully in four years time the Dutch will be back to make another amazing and deep run at the Jules Rimet trophy.

World Cup Roundup: The final

Sunday's World Cup Final should be tantalizing and entertaining. We will have a new World Cup champion. The Spanish and the Netherlands are both possession and finesse passing teams. If the time of possession is roughly equally split the game could be tantalizing and may require overtime and possibly a shootout. If the Spanish dominate play then I feel that they will come out on top.

World Cup Roundup: On to the semifinals

The semifinals are set with Germany to play Spain and the Netherlands to play Uruguay. The nice part is that all four teams will play at least one more game after the semifinals. We have the possibility to see a new team being crowned World Cup winner if Spain and the Netherlands make it to the finals. We also could see a Uruguay-Germany final which would pit previous cup winners. All the quarterfinal games were rather entertaining although the Germany-Argentina game got boring after a while due to the German scoring plethora. A key aspect of the games will be who is ineligible due to yellow card accumulation and red cards. The list includes: Luis Suarez of Uruguay for the intentional handball (red card), Nigel Dejong for accumulation of yellow cards, and Thomas Muller for accumulation of yellow cards. I sincerely hope that the Netherlands gets to the final and finally wins the World Cup. Adding an eighth winner of the World Cup would be nice.

2010 Tour de France preview

On the eve of the Tour de France I figured it would be appropriate to discuss it on my blog. This years route is fairly interesting in that it starts in Rotterdam and then proceeds to follow the North Sea which will provide a wind that could cause separations in the peleton. Throughout the first week cobblestones and tight streets in the finish cities could destroy a contenders chance at the overall victory. The end of the first week will be history making as Friday's stage ends with a mountaintop finish in the Jura mountains. The race will clearly be won in either the Alps or the Pyrennnes. Alberto Contador is on the record as saying that the Pyrennes will be the deciding factor in this Tour. Let's hope so as this would provide some last minute heroics. It should be noted the fabled Col du Tourmalet, first climbed a hundred years ago, will be climbed twice in three days. Among this years contenders are Frank and Andy Schleck, Alberto Contador, Christian Vandevelde, Ivan Basso, World Champion Cadel Evans, and Lance Armstrong. Those who could be contenders will be Bradley Wiggins, Michael Rogers, Samuel Sanchez, Robert Gisink, Denis Menchov, and Vladimir Karpets of Katusha. The French will once again hope that somebody comes through with a great showing and is competitive. They haven't won the tour in almost thirty years. Alberto Contador is the clear favorite with his excellent climbing and time trialing skills. I believe Contador will repeat as champion again.