First Week

It's weird to see Thor Hushovd interviewed on French TV. He speaks fluent French, but with a heavy Norwegian accent. It almost sounds like he's speaking English.

I watched the finish on TV today, because it was one of those days when Tour officials felt like it made complete and utter sense to locate the press center as far as heavenly (I was about to use a more vulgar conjugation of a word beginning with "f") possible from the finish line. Almost all the rest of the journalistic corps watched it on the flat screens here at the Pierre Hardy Sports Center. That's a fancy name for a gym with lots of tables in it.

That's the nature of the Tour, however. You can't get to the second week until you've gotten through the first week. I know that purists want to savor every moment of these long and pedestrian stages, but the fact is that nothing matters but the finish. The honest truth is that if I was at home watching in my game room, I'd have a big cup of coffee in my hand and wouldn't touch the remote for as long as it took for the stage to conclude.

But around here, there's a somewhat impatient attitude that the sooner we get these flat northern stages out of the way, the better. The press is actually getting a little surly about it. The Tour organizers know that there's not a single clear cut favorite, so they're upping the dramatic suspense as long as possible. Why throw in an individual time trial now (or a team trial, as in years past) which would break the pack into a clear pecking order of possible winners? No. Far better to wait until July 21st to hold an ITT (that's Individual Time Trial for some of our newcomers) and separate the wheat from the chaff. Sure, the Alps begin this weekend, but they don't get serious until that assault on the Galibier next Tuesday.

Ah, but see. That's the Tour. This is foreplay. A solid week of foreplay. A slow build to something wondrous further on down the road. The interest grows day by day as the plot gets more complex. We wonder about a guy like Fabian Cancellara, who has worn the yellow jersey since last Saturday. So long, in fact, that he has run out of things to say at press conferences. He's giving a press conference as I speak. Nobody has anything to ask. "How does it feel to be in yellow" and "how long do you plan to defend the jersey" have long been sorted out. In fact, his press conference just ended after only three questions. Three.

And so we wait for the majesty and wonder of Week One to end at the foot of the Alps sometime Saturday afternoon.

It's worth noting, however, that Cancellara made a very bold and telling comment last week. His statement yesterday that his team was willing to defend the yellow jersey at all costs means that Team CSC might have big plans for this Tour. This is the same team whose leader, Bjarne Riis, admitted to doping at the 1996 Tour. Tour officials have asked him to return his yellow jersey, but he has yet to do so. Instead, Riis chose not to be part of the team this year. He feared he would become a distraction.

But somewhere far away in Denmark he is orchestrating a rather defiant poke at the Tour. If CSC manages to stay in yellow the majority of the way from London to Paris it would not be business as usual. Tours are not won that way. Conventional wisdom says that teams get too tired from riding off the front and chasing down breakaways (those furtive individual attacks that threaten to steal the maillot jaune, as the yellow jersey is known) every day. Riis seems to want to have his cake and eat it, too. He first came out about doping before someone else made an accusation, which put him in the power position of being an penitant doper rather than a disgraced ex-team manager. And then he is orchestrating a rather unique Tour strategy.

Time will tell. It's also worth noting that the Astana team, with favorite Alexander Vinokourov as its leader, has been riding at the back of the pack most of the time. This, too, defies conventional wisdom. They've already been stuck behind the logjam of a crash, which would have been fatal to Vino's chances if it hadn't happened so close to the finish, when everyone is granted the same finish time in case of a crash.

Also, I am wondering whether Robbie McEwen was hurt worse than he let on by last Sunday's endo. He won that day on pure adrenaline, but hasn't been among the top finishers since.

This, and many other questions, are soon to be answered. Meanwhile, we are in the vicinity of Chablis. It is a wine region. Tour officials were smart enough to stock today's press buffet with the local terroir -- smoked duck, freshwater salmon, sausage, foie gras, and a dozen unknown cheeses that actually terrified me (selecting the wrong cheese can be an horrible faux pas; attempting to simultaneously chew and spit it out is sure to get at least a little attention).

They also had wine. I resisted the example previously set by the staff writers of the Austin American-Statesman and the vast majority of the British press, and refrained from filliing a very large glass with the local vintage. However, as Andy Hood of VeloNews pointed out, "if they just had a little rose' in the press room every day, nobody would every ask about doping."

So tomorrow we push on for Autun. The weather is forecast to be cold and wet. Before the Tour reaches this very old city, with its 12th century cathedral and Roman heritage, there will be seven rated climbs. Hushovd just stated that tomorrow would be "very difficult" and I have the feeling he's right.

Alright. It's only 6:30, but I need to head off in search of an hotel room. Talk to you tomorrow.

Comments

[don]

i apologize in advance for this comment not being solely about mr MDs blog post today but i just finished watching today's stage and simply have to make note of Paul Liggett's turn by turn on air comment towards the end of the race regarding the peloton catching the breakaway .... and i quote to the best of my ability:

""looks as of the pelton cant get past the boys who refuse to say never say die but will get them in the end if they cant stay away"""

the sad, sick and funny thing is that i know what he was trying to say.

woow!

[Larry]

Unfortunately, I've not been able to jump in here as I am reduced to watching the reruns late at night, after all is said and done. Its all been dissected when I get here, but I'm enjoying the discourse nonetheless.

Might sound a tad odd to some of you Markins but I enjoy listening to Phil Ligget - could possibly listen to him read and discuss numbers in a phone book. He's up there with Geoff Gowan (sp?) who covers Olympic track events.

And how 'bout our boy Marty?
Raconteur, bon vivant, and tour guide non-pareil. Good job buddy!

[jessica]

Hi ya marty. Personally I'd love to watch the entire stage live, with a big cup-o-coffee but instead, found myself trying wrestle on a shirt while putting on shoes, all while searching the screen for Robbie McEwen. Because I agree, he is hurt. I don't think he's playing possum nor did I like the look on his face on the day of his win/post crash.

And Cancellara - I'm just going to throw it out there but in his interviews, it felt like watching a bit of channeled Lance. Like there was some delicate choice of words, trying not to reveal a very detailed plan. I realize that they may all do that to a degree. But this will be so interesting to watch!

Now wheres that vid? Keep Pushing!

Always!

[susie b]

Speaking of track & I know this doesn't really belong on the TDF dispatches, but I thought of you Marty last Sunday when I watched one of those Golden Track events (where the TV zooms in on a stack of gold bricks before every commercial....) from Paris & Allen Webb won the 1500 in quite a dramatic fashion. That was great! However, "the horrible" was the 3000 Steeplechase. The bell ringer got confused & rang the bell on the 2ND to last lap instead of the last lap. PLUS, because of that, other guys pulled one of the barriers from the course before its time. The TV guys were going apoplectic. In fact, I have NEVER heard sports announcers go so crazy in the booth. "Travesty", "unbelievable", "this is a farce!", etc were tossed around repeatedly. Really, the one guy sounded like he was hyperventilating. The race was ruled null & void. Don't think I've ever seen that happen before at a major international meet. Just thought you'd want to know. :)

Anyway, I agree that Rockin Robbie may be hurt. I was really hoping he'd win it today, but he finished FAR back, for him. Will have to watch tonight to see how that transpired. I couldn't even get the Eurosport Live Audio Feed to work today, so couldn't listen. Boo-hiss. I'm still hoping the injury will get better & we'll see Robbie, pro-cycling's own "little Nash Rambler" (beep,beep!) zooming out of nowhere once again for the win. ("Hey, guys, how do I get this bike out of 2nd gear?":)

And Larry, I've missed ya!

[Lucas]

The Phil Ligget expression dictionary gets thicker by the day. I concur that Phil's diction of a phone book would be entertaining.

Anybody laughing as hard at those Miller High Life commercials as I am?

"...clean up on aisle get some common sense..."

OTOH, if I hear that damn Saab aircraft engineer BS one more time, I'm going to do harm to somebody's Swiss Yuppy Mobile.

While we're on the topic of Riis and Cancellara. I don't know if anyone saw it on TV, but I swear that as Cancellara was leaving the finish line, he was greeted by Mr. Riis. Does Riis have a twin that hasn't excused himself from the tour? Marty, we need some investigative journalism here.

g'day mates, hope McEwen stays strong!

[Lucas]

Regarding the Riis question, that was yesterday's stage win when i saw this.

[catherine]

Lucas - Have you noticed only about 12 companies have signed up for ad time during the TdF? Let's see, hot model who likes her computer (torso shot only), video game start urging kids to ride motorcycles, women with bad period symptoms, dry, rough and cracked feet, that poor Korean girl who is chased by wind/blond without a car to get to work, the couple who has bad taste in paint, the car chased by jets, bull riding & cage fighting on VS of course, confiscated beer, and then a few cheap ads for local businesses (yea, liked I'd go to him to have my eyes fixed).

Pathetic.

[Waddy]

Phil is brilliant, and for those who've not seen it, here's the link to the Phil Liggett Fan Page. Classic Phil quotes are all there.
http://www.liggettfan.com/main.htm
That said, Phil's got a hard-on for Boonen. He always picks Big Tom to win even though Tom hasn't won a stage since 2005. Talk about loyalty. Problem for Tom is, if he doesn't get a stage win but manages to hold on to the green jersey into the Alps, he'll have to slog through the mountains if he wants to claim green in Paris. Ahh, the TDF is truly a bitch goddess.

[Waddy]

Holy Cow! Just read on cyclingnews.com that Matthias Kessler's B sample came back positive for testosterone from before Flech Wallone.. And with a value of, get ready, 85:1! Floyd was 11:1. Good thing for the women in France that Matty's in Germany on suspension. I'm starting to sound like Dick Pound, or as I like to call him - "Pound,Dick". Sorry to the regulars, but I've been good all week. This was too much - 85:1!

[catherine]

Thanks for the link, Waddy. I love the picture of Bitch Kittie and Phil....

[don]

awesome.,

http://www.liggettfan.com/main.htm is now my homepage and pound, dick is my screen saver.

[Julie]

McEwen has been talking openly about what bad shape he's in. His crashed knee has been a big problem, and his other knee also became a problem, because he was compensating and not sitting right on the saddle. He's still hoping for improvement, but is not able to go full power in the sprints.

On Kessler, he claims mysterious Chinese packets from his "alternative health practitioner." Sorry, Matty, but who swallows four packets of unknown stuff in this day and age?? (I'm not saying he didn't, I'm just saying it was a bonehead move if he did!)

[Julie]

I've also been thinking CSC is making a statement for and/or by Bjarne. But I still have to disagree on the power position thing - the entire team, save Jan, fessed up before Bjarne, he seemed pretty forced into that one if you ask me.

[Waddy]

I saw that claim, Julie. You're exactly right. And does it matter how? He's not denying. If we're talking about leveling the playing field, does it matter how it got there? He's probably just fishing for a lighter sentence, but he's not denying. And it makes 11:1 seem almost incidental.
And yes again Julie. I don't think there's anything other than what we see going on here with CSC and Riis. I see no power in being a penitant doper. Maybe makes him a little more of a sympathic figure. Right now in cycling, that ain't much. But Marty also thought his revelation about 2 big names that claimed Lance doped and Austin's pre-Tour piece coinciding with the Walsh book were going to be a big deal. Turns out, perhaps, that in a Tour that may be without scandal (so far), those revelations about people no longer in the sport don't amount to anything meaningful to the 2007 Tour. This is a unique edition where most of the drama is taking place on the road instead of the press room.
CSC does have all the components necessary to win a Tour, albeit spread out over the ensemble as opposed to being encompassed in one contender. The race is not ridden on paper. We'll see how it fleshes out. In Marty's defense with regards to CSC though, he seemed to be speculating and not really relating it from a source. He's right about Riis calling the shots from wherever he is. I'm sure there's quite a few phone calls being made between the team car and Riis. He's the owner. Not even remotely scandalous.

[CMehl]

Susie b, the Riis look alike is actually Brian Nygaard--he's the pr guy for the team and a super, super nice guy. A couple years ago at SF Grand Prix he was with Basso and DZ at a press conference and his name tag read "Not Bjarne Riis" since all the uninformed Americans were presuming that the bald guy had to be BR!!!

[Larry]

Speaking of investigative journalism, where is Stuart O'Grady? What's he waiting for? Did he morph into a climber in the off-season to escape Robbie MacEwan? I keep looking for him, elbows up, looming at the front....

[Julie]

Larry - Stuey talks at VeloNewsTV about his change in role from sprinter to worker, you should check it out!

[susie b]

With all the women that read this site, I can't believe ONE of us didn't fess up & say, "Oh, so THAT's the reason I always 'enjoy' the 1st week..."
:)

[Waddy]

Larry, Good to have you back. Where you been, bro? I think Stu O was physically and mentally smarting a bit after his prologue crash. He sounded demoralized. And for those guys with long term goals, I think staying quiet and safe in the first week is the better approach. Even Thor spoke of the fear at the finishing run of the stages in the first week. I think we'll see Stu soon enough, when the sprinters start getting shelled off the back.

What always amazes me about watching these Tours is how they completely stop talking about riders that tested positive. Regardless of what you want to think of Floyd Landis, isn't it amazing that nobody even brings up his name during the TV coverage? He was last year's winner for crying out loud. I don't know any other sport where they just kick you out the door and totally forget about you. The same thing happened to Tyler Hamilton. Anybody have any thoughts about this? Marty, do you hear people in the press corps talking about Floyd?

[LUcas]

Cmehl, thanks for the Riis look-alike info, did not know this!

George D., did you catch Landis on Talk of the Nation yesterday? I did notice that one of the Vs. commercials mentioned making it 9 straight American wins w/ Leipheimer. Perhaps there's some backroom support for Landis at Vs....? Of course they do call last year's tour the "tour of chaos" in the other commercial w/ a shot of Landis at a press conference thrown in there. Agree totally on the other sport thing too George. Look at Barry Bonds, you can't miss the press on his breaking of Aaron's hr record.

Catherine, it looks like the VS. budget is not what the OLN budget once was during the Armstrong days. Let's hope they keep enough higer profile advertisers on board to keep coverage of cycling. Although Marty's comments on the lack of Americans in France seems to cast some doubt on that! I like the specialized commercials. It's nice to see an American bike manufacturer besides trek get some exposure, not that they need it or anything though! alright back to the tour, commercial breaks are short and frequent this morning.

[Larry]

A nod to Waddy and Susie B.
And thanks to Lucas for the Ligget sidebar and Julie for setting me straight on O'Grady.

And George D muses "isn't it amazing that nobody even brings up his name during the TV coverage?" Expect some circling of wagons and an inevitable "market correction". Higher forces, out of our sight, but with a pipeline into the commentators head set may have said "OK boys, we don't shit where we eat."

EVERYONE feeds from the same trough, best not to poison it. That's what I'm thinking is at play. It does, however, make it easier to tune in and BELIEVE. As Marty says, people can redeem themselves. It remains to be seen if a sport can redeem itself. One supposes media pundits would play a part in that.