The Cycliste Moderne - July 1, 2005

Once again, Geoff is consumed with work and you get to hear from Kristin. The Tour de France starts tomorrow, the weather is ugly, and next week there will be plenty to say. Until then, here are latest musings from the work widow.
- Kristin Wardle

The Greatest Story(ies) Ever Told

When the 2005 Tour de France concludes in Paris on Sunday, July 24th, what stories will there to be told? The story that everyone expects, even non-cycling fans, is Lance’s record shattering #7. For some people, that is the only story. They’ll watch the evening news, catch a glimpse of Lance Armstrong in the race, fret when he’s not wearing the yellow jersey in the first week, and listen to the occasional recap by a local anchor who most likely has no clue what he’s talking about. A few more people will watch the highlight shows on Sunday afternoons, with their ears perking up when they hear “Armstrong,” but missing most everything else.

Then there will those who watch the occasional coverage on OLN, especially a key mountain stage, and get excited when they actually see a race in motion. Suddenly, things start to make a little sense. They see a domestique shoving a dozen water bottles in his jersey, or sacrificing his perfectly good bike for his leader who just had a mechanical problem, and then they understand what a cycling TEAM is. They see a rider go down hard and stumble across the finish line far back in the pack, only to start again the next day, and they see the endurance required for the greatest race on the earth.

Still there are others, like Geoff and in recent years, myself, who wake up every morning of the Tour to watch the action unfold, every single second that OLN will give us. We will tire of the sponsor ads after the first week, but watch them anyways because it’s the Tour de France. We will watch the Story of Lance unfold, or fold as the case may be, and see all of the other stories that ought to matter to everyone, but at least matter to us.

I wasn’t born a Tour de France fan. Only in 1990, when Geoff and I were dating, did I sit down and watch any Tour coverage. These were the days of the two hour retrospective on NBC with the cheesy John Tesh soundtrack. Greg LeMond won that year, so it was a compelling story. Every year since, I’ve watched the tour with Geoff, each year learning more, caring more, and now waking up every morning in July to watch history be written.

Think of the great stories from last year. Tyler Hamilton, the superman of the prior year, riding backwards through the riders to climb into his team car. The camera shot of his bruised spine as he abandoned still makes me wince. There was Thomas Voeckler, the young Frenchman who spent a miraculous ten days in yellow. I’m sure I wasn’t alone in pulling for him as he fought to hang on to his lead in the mountains; and he did hold on, days longer than anyone expected. There was the insane and sometime violent crowd on Alpe d’Huez which made reaching the top, and the blessed barricades, even more appealing. Remember Lance setting up the win for his teammate Floyd Landis in Stage 17, only to be chased down by T-Mobile? Lance snatched the win away from Andreas Kloden – no gifts. And yes, of course, there is the story of Lance winning the record 6.

This year, I hope the stories include a young rider who surprises everyone, a stage that turns everything upside down, a favorite who fails to meet his potential, and a favorite who gives Lance Armstrong the challenge of his career. If Lance wins #7, great. If not, even better. If you are lucky enough, you’ll get to watch all of them from the comfort of your bed, snuggling with someone who loves the Tour even more than you.