MCC’s Take on the TDF

I think we can all agree on two things:

1. Specialized won The Tour.  A welcome change in my eyes, though likely a disappointment in the land of Trekies.

2. 2010 has been the most exciting Tour de France that we’ve seen in awhile.  How about those cobbles, eh?  Renshaw v. Dean?  The fight for the green?

I’ve enjoyed watching cycling’s most arrogant mavens struggle with their egos.

Given the popularity of mystomachisfullofanger.com, I would imagine that I am with the majority in my support of Andy Schleck.  Some may recall that my pick for this year was actually Frank Schleck, for whom I’ve always had a very soft spot – just next to my pastry-filled spot for Jan Ullrich (the rider, not my car).  Obviously, I was disappointed in Stage 3 when he went out with a broken clavicle.  Part of the allure, I think, is the Schleck brothers package – almost as fun to watch as a Luxembourgish Mario and Luigi; this could be Nintendo’s next big windfall.

I enjoyed watching cycling’s little brother in the golden fleece.  I felt good watching – like Landon Donovan’s injury-time goal against Algeria, or David Ortiz’s game four, two-run home run in the 12th inning to keep the Sox in the 2004 World Series.

And then comes the 15th Stage.

It seems very feasible that Andy mis-shifted.  Nonetheless, I am of the school of thought that the yellow jersey deserves a bit of respect.  Did I expect Contador to stop and wait?  No, this is a bike race for crying out loud.

But,should he have attacked?  I don’t think so.  Usual convention would suggest not.   But then, this is the same guy who regularly attacked his own teammates in this very race last year because he can’t Leg’o his own ego. His version:

“Today I managed to get on the podium, which makes me happy. The problem with that was the circumstances. Right when I attacked Andy had a mechanical on the last climb. The race was in full gear and, well, maybe I made a mistake. I’m sorry.

At a time like that all you think about is riding as fast as you can. I’m not happy, in the sense that, to me, fair play is very important. The kind of thing that happened today is not something I like, it’s not my style and I hope my relationship with Andy will remain as good as before.”

My take away?  Win first, integrity later – if it’s convenient.  So who are all of the fans of this “popular rider”?  Andy said in an interview just after the stage that the yellow jersey deserves honor, and I tend to agree.  Hopefully next year Andy or Frank – or really most ANYone else – can scrub away the taint.

The real irony, I think, is that Andy lost 39″ during Stage 15, and Contador gained 39″ during the time trial.

I think I am most impressed with Andy’s quick acceptance of the facts, and his – at least in public – forgiveness of his frenemy, going so far as to ask that fans not boo Contador.  You’ve got to feel for Andy.  I bet he races a mean prologue next year.

In other news, while a Lance fan I am not, it was nice to see The Shack win the team classification.  It was nice to see a TDF that was not all about the Armstrong, but about his teammates.  I even enjoyed the Alfonse commercials.   Though, some critics argue that it was simply Lance feeling the need to demonstrate that he is still larger than le Tour, I think the black team kits today gave strength to Armstrong’s testimony that this year was about something bigger than himself, and even I can appreciate that.   Sorry, Adam, I still play Guitar Hero, too.

I do find myself, along with a few others in the media, wondering what role the fraud investigation played on Armstrong’s mental acumen, and I’ll admit, I revel a bit in the thought that Floyd might have been able to take the Tour from Lance without even being there.  This year’s Tour would hold up at a roller derby, but the Lance of yesteryear always seemed to find a way to avoid the carnage.  This July, those points just weren’t quite filed.  Regardless of his public denial, I’ve got to believe that a federal investigation of this scale could be a bit of a distraction.

In terms of green jerseys – what a battle!  Thor is always my pick, but I wasn’t terribly disappointed to see it remain on Ale-Jet’s shoulders for his first career win – especially after I watched Thor fade sooo hard on the final sprint.  I was glad to not see it go to Cav, mostly because I enjoyed his brief moments of unprecedented humility over the past few weeks.  It was just another example of the inverted precedent that we saw so often during this Tour – some for the better, others to fuel the fire.

In this same vein, Cavendish took home five stage wins this year; three of which were done without the help of Mark Renshaw, who is arguably the best in the business.  Renshaw’s elimination from the Tour is controversial enough in itself, but I can’t help but wonder whether or not his stock goes down a bit now that Cav knows he can do it without him?

All-in-all, I wouldn’t call it a happy ending, but it was certainly an incredible journey to watch, and I rather hope that next year, Mario and Luigi will come back to “take [their] revenge.”