Today, Monday, July 16th, is a rest day for the Tour de France, or Le Tour de France, and I am suffering a mild case of withdrawal. With eight stages completed, the race has become one of the more interesting editions of late, and a morning staple. The field is peppered with favorites, the crashes epic, and every day a new hero emerges.
One of the most refreshing moments was T-Mobile rider Linus Gerdemann's successful breakaway on Saturday, a ride that propelled the 24-year German rider into the yellow jersey and the white jersey (best young rider), as well as the stage win. Gerdemann stressed the need for a new generation of "clean" cyclists to put their stamp on the event that has been synonymous with drug scandals over the past several years.
Of particular note are the two main announcers of the race, Phil Liggett and Paul Sherwen, who bring the beauty of the English language, a deep understanding of their sport, and a keen sense of both geography and history to their broadcasts. Watch a single Tour broadcast and compare them to the panoply of morons that clutter the booths of football and baseball. (Jon Madden has become a bumbling parody of himself with him "booms" and "bams".) Rather than dumb down their broadcast, Liggett and Sherwen assume that you have a working brain.
There are still 13 stages to go...
A final note...check out the www.versus.com website coverage of the race, much easier to navigate than the official website, www.letour.com.
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