Monday, July 24, 2006

Floyd Landis

Le Tour came to an end yesterday in Paris. And what an exciting tour (despite the absence of Lance) it turned out to be!

Floyd Landis, the man from San Diego, a former team-mate of Lance in the USPS team most deservedly won the Malliot-Jaune for the last time in this year's tour. After ~3600kms, and ~89 hours of cycling on the most strenuous of roads through the Alps and Pyrrenees, the peloton or the main group of riders reached Champs Elysees, the famous street in Paris.

Arguably the most demanding sport on the planet took its toll on the riders - there were so many crashes, mechanical failures and what not. But out of all this emerged ~130 riders who conquered the country. It was an unbelievable feat when these riders, with ~3600kms under their wheels still were riding at ~70kmph on the roads of Paris. I do not ride even my motorbike at those speeds!

Hats off to Floyd who slipped from first place to eleventh and remarkably bounced back to third position in matter of 24 hours. That does take some heroics and divine resolve.

Long live the tour!

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