Shoes, Ships, and Sealing Wax

My other July preoccupation

Besides my work projects, I spend a good chunk of July being occupied by the Tour de France.

I'm going to commit heresy:

I'm not rooting for Lance Armstrong.

I would prefer to see someone else in yellow this year, someone like Jan Ullrich or Tyler Hamilton.

I like Ullrich. I feel for the guy...he's gone through some crap. Not like Armstrong's fight with cancer, and some of Ullrich's strugles have been of his own making, but I still think that growing up in the bizarre world of the East German sports machine has to leave a few scars. He got off to a rocky start again this season, but he did just pull out a win in the Tour of Switzerland. Ullrich just seems really human to me, and I can't help but pull for him.

Of course, Ullrich did win in 1997. I'm also kind of a share-the-wealth type, so I'd be thrilled for Hamilton if he won. After all, he managed to finish fourth last year with his broken collarbone...that kind of determination deserves reward.

And I'm not sure I'd like to see Armstrong elevated above guys like Eddy Merckx and Bernard Hinault, and a sixth Tour de France win would do that, in a way. Of course you get the argument in all sports...you can't compare the modern athletes and their super-technical equipment and methods to the greats of yesterday (even if yesterday was, as in cycling, just a few years ago)...but Merckx and Hinault didn't just win the Tours de France, they won the other classic races as well. Everything Armstrong does is to prepare for France, and while le Tour is obviously the most brutal race, earlier champions dominated whole seasons.

Before I get flamed into next month, of course I respect Armstrong. No one can make light of his accomplishments as a cyclist, and even more than that I admire how he's turned his victories into hope for cancer patients. (I ordered my yellow wristbands.) I won't be upset if he wins...I just won't be upset if anyone else does.

Except Mario Cipollini. I usually have a soft spot for old guys, but he's just so freaking obnoxious...and his habit of bailing as soon as they get to the mountains pisses me off. So I'm not really concerned about him, I just don't like him and couldn't stop the rant.

Anyway, I'm not a particularly astute student of pro cycling nor an historian of the sport, just a casual fan with my own opinions. Feel free to disagree, especially you Lance and Lion King fans. And enjoy the next few weeks. This should be good.

Posted by Nic at July 4, 2004 01:31 PM