Le Maillot Jaune
France.
This morning the Tour de France saw the completion of Stage 9, and the first real change in the overall standings. Lance Armstrong sacrificed the yellow jersey to Jens Voigt, from Germany, in what will hopefully prove to be a wise tactical decision. David Zabriskie, early wearer of the yellow jersey, dropped out of the race today. After finishing over fifty minutes behind the leaders yesterday, he popped out early on the first mountain and decided he didn't have it in him to climb mountain after mountain on his own. This is unfortunate as Zabriskie was my own early favorite and local boy. In a more positive note, Michael Rasmussen, a man who is most likely a distant relative of mine, broke away from the peloton after four kilometres to win today's stage. It was an exciting finish that had me cheering.
What the...
Why am I so interested in the Tour de France?
Honestly, I don't know. I do know that this is the first sporting event, probably in my life, for which I am truly excited. I care about the outcome, I care about the trivia, I watch every stage. Something about cycling, about Lance Armstrong, or about the competition turned a switch in my head and sparked my imagination. Not only that, but in some combination of inspiration and concordance with current goals, the Tour de France helped me make a rather ambitious goal for myself. In a year, approximately at the same time as 2006's Tour de France, I intend to run a triathlon. So for some reason I've been caught in a sudden fit of athletic interest that is very against my personal history. Whatever the reason, it's okay, and I'm glad of it.
This morning the Tour de France saw the completion of Stage 9, and the first real change in the overall standings. Lance Armstrong sacrificed the yellow jersey to Jens Voigt, from Germany, in what will hopefully prove to be a wise tactical decision. David Zabriskie, early wearer of the yellow jersey, dropped out of the race today. After finishing over fifty minutes behind the leaders yesterday, he popped out early on the first mountain and decided he didn't have it in him to climb mountain after mountain on his own. This is unfortunate as Zabriskie was my own early favorite and local boy. In a more positive note, Michael Rasmussen, a man who is most likely a distant relative of mine, broke away from the peloton after four kilometres to win today's stage. It was an exciting finish that had me cheering.
What the...
Why am I so interested in the Tour de France?
Honestly, I don't know. I do know that this is the first sporting event, probably in my life, for which I am truly excited. I care about the outcome, I care about the trivia, I watch every stage. Something about cycling, about Lance Armstrong, or about the competition turned a switch in my head and sparked my imagination. Not only that, but in some combination of inspiration and concordance with current goals, the Tour de France helped me make a rather ambitious goal for myself. In a year, approximately at the same time as 2006's Tour de France, I intend to run a triathlon. So for some reason I've been caught in a sudden fit of athletic interest that is very against my personal history. Whatever the reason, it's okay, and I'm glad of it.
posted by Thuan30 | 2:18 AM
1 Comments:
Maybe then, in a year, after all that running and swimming and cycling, "Thuan the Large" will become "Thuan the slightly less large but probably overall more fit?"
Wasn't it a great stage! The outcome was rivaled by the stage previous--Kloden losing by 0.0002 seconds--but it was still great. Can't wait for Tuesday morning.
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