Tour de France

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anyone watching it?

I have not watched a stage yet, I just really dont have much interest in watching it this year. I would probably have much more interest if I was there racing in it.
so, just wondering if anyone is watching it

Yes, I am! I think years like this, when a blowout is not likely, when there are many possibilities, are the most fascinating. Of course, professional cycling is one of my special interests. Very interesting year. The guy who went yellow today won the Rose Bowl stage of the Tour of California this year, which I saw in person. Nice to see he is still in good form. Can't wait to see what happens tomorrow.

I just looked at the results and seen that Christian Vande Velde is in 8th, I would like to see Garmin do good, so I guess that is who I am rooting for.

One race I did I showed up at the start line and was standing behind Christian and Dave Zabriskie , among other pros, (thats when I started to worry lol) and slipstream just pretty much won it easily and called it training, lol.

On Stage 6 David Millar did a long solo breakaway that did look like it might succeed (yeah, they always do...). Yes I like Garmin, too. The only guy in the race I have ever met is George Hincapie. He broke his wrist a few years ago in the ToC, four months after I broke mine (in a less heroic way). I saw him crossing the parking lot for the last stage and had to say hello. Very nice guy. Good luck with your racing! The only time I have raced was in tris and was frantic to stay as far away from the other riders as possible--just freaked out by proximity.

I have watched some of it.

I've been watching every stage more or less, for the past 8 years. I absolutely love it.
My interest was peaked a few years ago when the first South African team (Barloworld) was given a wild card entry.

It's just the perfect sport to watch. No other sporting event takes place in such a beautiful environment...

Alberto Contodor for the win!! !! !!

Yes, I am pretty much parked in front of the tv for three weeks in July. My husband is trained to not schedule vacations during this time. Just watching the exquisite scenery, I feel like I am on vacation. I am always excited when some country has its first team or even just its first rider.

I think my first year watching it was the year Bjarne Riis won. It was shown here on ESPN2 during the middle of the night. I was in the bike club at work and someone would bring the tapes in at lunch and all of us rocket scientists would watch.

I got to say that the most exciting tour ever for me was when Floyd Landis won, of corse we all know what happened then
I think it was so exciting to see someone you have met, and have met his family and hung out with them and everything, to see him win, I guess it was just a exciting tour with Lance not racing, it was hard to tell who was going to win. Then they had to crash the party... oh well, then with everything happening with the restructuring and the fight with the UCI and such, I sort of was sick of following the cycling news and races on tv.

I hadn't thought of that! I bet the cycling community there in Pennsylvania is itself like a family. I can imagine how sad the whole thing must have been. Just a crappy outcome, no matter the truth of the situation. I sometimes pass through Murietta and they definitely love him there.

I forgot that I occasionally see Tinker Juarez mtbing on the trails I hike around here, although I rarely do more than nod (he's usually flying down the trail).

Oh yeah I've watched every stage so far. Today is the first rest day.

I'm amazed at how well Lance has been riding. I expected a solid performance such as those he put in at the Giro and ToC (top 10 finish or so) but he's been riding much better at the Tour! The 2009 title would have been his if it weren't for Contador! But such as it is the two will stay locked together in the mountains and Contador will put in a better ITT in two weeks and take the Yellow in Paris.

I've always thought that the better you are, the more you need a Nemesis--someone who will study your weaknesses and push you to do what might otherwise be impossible. This Tour is a delightful example! Perhaps it could be a very bizarre opera...

Haussler is in the breakaway fat the moment in stage, 13. 4min 15sec ahead of the peloton.

Heinrich Haussler has won the 13th stage in the rain.
He's an Aussie-born German.

Enjoy the victory! What a happy guy crossing the finish line. What I want to hear more about is the pellet gun attack that hit Julian Dean and Oscar Friere. As if riding in the rain on slidy roads wasn't exciting enough...

Perhaps the new personal preference question will be not Maryann or Ginger, Coke or Pepsi, boxers or briefs, but Columbia or Garmin.

Well... today's stage went about as expected. Saxo Bank sacrificed their whole team to lift the tempo? Check! Cadel sucking wheels? Check! Andy and Contador duking it out? Check! Contador kicking ass? Check!

All contenders rode away from Lance. (I figured that would happen.) All except Menchov actually. I guess he's happy with first at the Giro and isn't really trying at the Tour. Or he simply gave up after losing 5 minutes in the first week?

The only surprise was Sastre getting dropped at the bottom of the climb. He managed to ride back up to the leaders. I was expecting him to attack today as well and perhaps pull back a minute or 90 seconds. He didn't have it in him. He'll try for sure Tuesday or Wednesday. He has no choice.

WTF happened to Boonen this year? Stomach problems sound like an excuse. He hasn't contested a single sprint! It almost looks as if he was staging some sort of a protest. Perhaps he isn't happy with Quickstep?