Jul 20 2006
The Top American Contender….
…is back in the race. I wrote Floyd Landis off yesterday as finished in this year’s tour. Nearly every commentator and writer did as well. But today, in one of, if not the bravest efforts I have ever seen in sport, Floyd attacked the peloton 50 KM into a race with four brutal mountain passes, held them off the entire way, climbed from 11th place into 3rd, and erased most of an eight minute deficit to keep his dreams of yellow in Paris alive for the Saturday time trial. He may have won this race’s first time trial if not for a mechanical problem, so the thirty seconds he needs to make up on his rivals is more than doable. That said, the yellow jersey has been known to sprout wings for its wearer (see Marco Pantani), so don’t count out Oscar Pereiro, yet, and Carlos Sastre is no slouch either.
Sadly, the only way pro cycling will continue to grow in this country is if Americans keep winning Le Tour. It’s the only pro event that gets TV time on Sports Center, or has its results updated on sports talk radio. I feared a decline of growing popularity in the post-Lance era, but hopefully this man raised in Pennsylvania as a Mennonite, whose parents watch the race at a neighbor’s house because they don’t have a TV, will find it within himself to win the final time trial and give the French one more thing to cry about this month (see Zidane).
You can watch the time trial live on OLN (Outdoor Life Newtwork) beginning at 8:30 AM, EST — though the start is in reverse order and the leaders go last, so by 10:00 it should be getting interesting. They also replay the stage several times over the course of the day. Vive La Floyd!
One of THE greates comebacks in sports history. I’m sure the French love our 8 years of dominance. Way to go Floyd! I wish I had started cycling in high school.
Me, too. After I built up some fitness (and it took over a year of constant riding) I discovered I was actually a pretty good rider. Too bad I was already 25 and way past my prime! Then, there was Volleyball. If we’d had volleyball in high school, I could have maybe gotten a D2 scholarship somewhere. Oh well, there’s always the glory of the weekend warrior.