Wahoo - The Tour de France 2007 started today in London with the Prologue Time trial. After a long season of the "Spring Classics," the men in Spandex have started the granddaddy of all bike races. Though they may look like a bunch of skinny guys in Spandex, they are some of the toughest athelets going (though not as tough as the Ultramarathon Man)and the TDF is one of the most grueling events in sports. This year, starting in London, the TdF goes counter clockwise around France. The Tour will consist of 2204 Miles, 2 Mountain ranges - the Alps & the even more brutal Pyranees. The 219 riders from 21 teams burn between 6000 and 9000 calories per day, for 18 stages over 21 days.
Though it's not readily aparent, there is a lot of strategy associated with the teams and their individual riders. Everyone of these guys dedicate their life to cycling and everyone of them would like nothing better than to win even a stage of TdF. The way it works is most riders spend the entire race "domestiques." They fetch food and water and pull the team captain up the biggest mountains and then deliver him to the front of the pleleton so the captain can win a stage and hopefully the race.
The cool thing about today is it's an individual effort. Anyone that can Time Trial can win and end up with of the coveted Malliot Jaune. It's a dream of a lifetime. The Brits want David Millar, I was pulling for George Hincape to win today - but he just came in 2nd.
The new Kazakstan team, Astana, has 3 of my favorite riders - Alexandre Vinokourov, Andreas Kloden, & Palao Salvedeli. It's a nail biter!
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