They’re back, those beautiful podium girls

broderic on July 5, 2008

I need a French girlfriend.

That’s right, the first stage of Le Tour de France just finished up and I’m watching the podium ceremonies for those especially hot podium girls. They’re in yellow! They’re in blue! They’re in white! And red! That’s the best thing about watching the stage.

On to the action though and Alesandro Valverde makes a cheeky move at the end up a tough climb to Plumelac in Bretegne to get the first stage win, the yellow jersey, and the kiss on the cheeks by the podium girls. What a sweet finish. It was a quick right hander on a narrow bridge then up 2 kms up to the finish. And there were some nice attacks, but in the end it was Valverde.

I think I should get out on my bike. I think you should, too.

Le Tour 2007: C’est lui

broderic on July 26, 2007

The farce that is pro cycling ends. The current leader of the tour gets fired by his team. He wins today’s stage, but loses it all out.

I am so disappointed. I love watching the tour. I love watching pro cycling. Even if it’s boring to others, I find it exciting personally. I always wondered how they do it. Now we know.

Vinokourov out. Rasmussen out. Who’s next? Is even Lance Armstrong innocent? We know Landis was caught. It puts everyone in the sport in a bad position. It puts the sport in a bad position. WTF?! It’s sad.

Up until today le Tour was awesome. The alps. Rasmussen in yellow. The first time trial. The Pyrannees. Rasmussen v. Contador. Everything was exciting. The cycling was phenomenal. WTF? How did it come to this?

They really need to clean this sport up. I am sad again.

Le Tour 2007: Vino!?

broderic on July 13, 2007

Alexandre Vinokourov of Team Astana was a pre-race favorite. He’d finished 3rd in the 2003 Tour and is always fun to watch race because of his attacking style. I am in his camp and always cheer him on because he seems so wreckless.

Today he wrecked.

A nasty one. If you see the pictures, he’s pedaling with his ass hanging out of his torn shorts. Yet, to salvage his tour he kept on going minimizing the damage done. He finished 1 minute 20 from the winners. Overall he sits closer to the bottom at 2 minutes 10 to the leaders. Not far off since the race is still in the flats, but the Alps are coming this weekend. Can he do it? Can he rip off a crazy move? I am rooting for him. Allez vino.

This fifth stage was an awkward one with plenty of up and down hills, a very difficult stage. Not the mountains, but it played out like one. Le tour is cruel.

Capitol Swell asked where the podium girls are. He should check out the pictures posted at the end of the stages on the official site. They’ve changed their style and the podium shots are starting to include the girls. Or he can check out a flickr photo pool.

Le Tour 2007: Yellow Jersey Wins a Stage

broderic on July 11, 2007

Ever since Miguel Indurain won his 5 tours in the early 90s, the way to win was a big show at the time trials but keep contact in the mountains. This continued with Lance Armstrong with his seven wins, but adding kicking ass in the mountains instead of staying with the pack. It’s been a while for the yellow jersey to go out and win a stage that should’ve been for the sprinters.

Fabian Cancellara goes into time trial mode in the final kilometer to take out the breakaway and beat the sprinters to the line to take the stage for the yellow jersey. It was awesome.

Except for the breakaway. Two of the riders were away since the 6km mark. The stage was the longest in the Tour 236kms. That a long way to lose it in the final kilometer. They spent that final kilometer jockeying for position. Did they not care about the peleton closing on them? Perhaps. Too much playing not enough doing. That’s unfortunate.

What a strange stage this one was. The cyclists took six hours to finish the stage. My Tivo didn’t even record it, because the finish occurred past the designated time. They lollygagged for quite sometime letting the breakaway go. Yet, they kicked it into to gear to make the stage exciting in the end. Except for the breakaway.

Le Tour 2007: Day one

broderic on July 8, 2007

I’m blogging while watching the first stage of Le Tour de France. My legs are somewhat stiff from riding 30 miles yesterday. It was an adventure!

Anyway, vive Le Tour!

UPDATE: Robbie McEwan the ozzie rocket comes from back of the pack to take the sprint. Can anyone stop this guy? Watching the replay and he comes flying through leaving Tom Boonen and Thor Hushovd bobbing in his wake. Damn! That guys a fast finisher!

UPDATE 2: Even better than the sport are the podium girls. I love ’em. Girls in white and navy for the winner of the stage. Girls in yellow for the tour leader. Girls in green for the points leader. Girls in polkadot dresses for the King of the Mountain. Girls rock!

Adventures From My Netflix Queue: Hell on Wheels

broderic on December 5, 2006

Hell On Wheels documents the 100th vesion of le Tour de France by following Team Telekom as they compete in that edition. It was funny to watch a tour from another countries side. If this was an American film it would’ve been about Lance Armstrong notching his fifth straight tour victory. Or even about the herculean effor put in by Tyler Hamilton to go the distance and finish fourth with a broken collarbone. Yet, this was a German film and being such, it focused on Team Telekom, a German team.

Funny that. This was the most exciting race of the seven that Lance Armstrong won, and this film barely mentions him. Hamilton got more coverage and even then it was bare.

The film follows several team members on this tour: Rolf Aldag, the consummate gunny-sargent, Erik Zarbel, the sprinter on his last legs, Andreas Kloden, wiped out and abandoned with a broken cocyx. It also shows some behind the scenes of Aldag and Zarbel with their massuese. These scenes were very reminiscent of the end of an era. Showing the humanity in the racers and their desire to finish. Zarbel especially comes off as being on the verge of losing his legs with his buddy, Aldag and his massuese by his side as his chances of being a force in the cycling world dim.

Anywhoo, I want to go out and ride right now, but it’s late. When’s summer coming?

4 of 5 stars.

Le Tour 2006: Remarkable Ride to Morzine

broderic on July 21, 2006

And I thought that his chances were finished, but Floyd Landis rides a phenomenal 17th stage to claw back into contention for the maillot jaune. He now sits third just 30 seconds back of the leader and with only the individual time trial left, he has a good chance of extending the American streak at Le Tour to 8 straight years.

He broke the contenders backs very early in the stage upon the first climb of the day. His team set a steady, but quick, pace up the Col des Saisies from which he launched his attack. The peleton let him have it thinking that he couldn’t ride at speed all the way to the finish. Yet, at each successive mountain, he would retake time back from the leaders until finally the fabled Col de Jeux Plane awaited where he rode the lone remaining cyclist off his wheel and into legend.

Now the tour takes a breather out of the mountains and a transitional stage awaits for them tomorrow. Can everyone get there legs back in time for the final time trial? I can’t wait.

The tour has been spectacular. It probably hasn’t been this good since the 80s. No more Lance Armstrong and his bossing of the peleton or Big Mig taking time in the time trials to sit and wait to win. This year’s been great to watch and hard to predict because there seems to be no one strong enough to win it except for Landis. I feel that since there is no one dominant team or dominant cyclist that the peleton doesn’t know what to do. It has been great.

Allez Floyd! Allez!

Le Tour 2006: Damn you La Toussuire!

broderic on July 20, 2006

This has been an amazing Tour. What seemed to be Floy Landis’s time came to an abrupt and stunning end on the top of La Toussuire. This was the first time that the Tour had visited this particular climb, and it will now go down as the scene of carnage.

I haven’t seen the footage, but I can hear Paul Sherwin proclaiming, “This is an utter disaster for Landis.” It must have been something to see. Oh! What could’ve been.

There is still tomorrow’s final mountain stage and with the crowd at the top of the leader board it is still anyone’s race. If it’s not decided tomorrow, then the individual time trial on Saturday will definitely sort things out.

I am bummed out for Floyd Landis. He looked so promising. This is one strange Tour, but exciting.