back in the saddle again
Aah, the cyclism is upon us once more. Sadly, Mike's not here to enjoy it with me this time around, but OLN's transition theme still makes my heart leap. I wore my new bright yellow dress shirt (I should cave and apply for a Target card, really) as a nod to Tom "Boom-Boom the Tornado" Boonen (can we get just one more nickname for absurdity's sake, please? Though despite the boy PWNING the world of cycling, he hasn't quite found his footing yet in the Tour).
All the talk about who took over for Jan Ullrich, Oscar Sevilla, Alejandro Mancebo and Ivan Basso once the Operation Puerto drug screenings shook down was a bit depressing at the start. But by the same token, it's nice to hear the commentators describe the field as "deep and balanced" because, and don't misunderstand, like the rest of the world I concur that Lance Armstrong is a tremendous athlete (but please for the love of all that is holy STOP SHOWING THAT CRASH involving the spectator's bassinette) and a class act of a competitor, hearing the same five names (read: team Discovery Channel) over and over last year got a bit boring. Letting the underdogs (read: everyone whose name isn't Lance) like Christophe Moreau and Levi Leipheimer have a real chance at glory is just fun.
In my heart though, it's still Tom Boonen. No chance in the mountains (Bourg D'Oisans will be a MONSTER of a stage) but so nice to watch for now. He's this big kid (25 years old, 6'4" and 176 lbs) on a bike that looks all but outgrown, and it's incredibly darling in that way that I want to lick him kind of all over. zeplum put it perfectly: [T]hat smile? It's gotta be made from puppies and rainbows and glitter and SEX, because nothing else could be that purely cute, sweet, and utterly hot.
Lookit his beautiful... well, ALL OF HIM:
Adjusting his maillot jaune after winning Stage 3. Though he can't wear both, he also won the green Tuesday:
The Associated Press' Christian Hartmann is SO my new photographer boyfriend.
In other things I love, Al Trautwig calls announcing the jersey standings "a fashion update of the Tour," while Phil Liggett swears that Robbie McEwen's stealth finish-line magic involves Harry Potter's invisibility cloak. Also, the drama so far:
- Thor Hushovd clutching his bloody arm at the end of Stage 1 (those spectators always freak me out, almost as much as rainy days)
- Crashes taking out Erik Dekker and Fred Rodriguez, then Alejandro Valverde, in all eventual likelihood Stuart O'Grady (how do you even stand with a fractured vertebra?), and Bobby Julich today before the first time check
- Matthias Kessler having the balls to try what failed during Stage 2 and taking Stage 3 by what may as well have been a mile
- The agony of watching Boonen go from 12th in the first time trial to 41st today.
It really is anybody's Tour this year, kids.
Also, there are the bonus aerial views of France. With its castle ruins and palatial estates and centuries-old churches and hay bale sculptures and endless stretches of green in between, the entire country is beautiful. I know we joke that Europe is where history comes from, but France really is a spectacular country, obviously modernized but without abandoning what was. Especially here in Florida, that sense of history is almost completely lacking, which is ironic because while Miami only got on the map in the middle of the 20th century, St. Augustine is the United States' oldest city.
All the talk about who took over for Jan Ullrich, Oscar Sevilla, Alejandro Mancebo and Ivan Basso once the Operation Puerto drug screenings shook down was a bit depressing at the start. But by the same token, it's nice to hear the commentators describe the field as "deep and balanced" because, and don't misunderstand, like the rest of the world I concur that Lance Armstrong is a tremendous athlete (but please for the love of all that is holy STOP SHOWING THAT CRASH involving the spectator's bassinette) and a class act of a competitor, hearing the same five names (read: team Discovery Channel) over and over last year got a bit boring. Letting the underdogs (read: everyone whose name isn't Lance) like Christophe Moreau and Levi Leipheimer have a real chance at glory is just fun.
In my heart though, it's still Tom Boonen. No chance in the mountains (Bourg D'Oisans will be a MONSTER of a stage) but so nice to watch for now. He's this big kid (25 years old, 6'4" and 176 lbs) on a bike that looks all but outgrown, and it's incredibly darling in that way that I want to lick him kind of all over. zeplum put it perfectly: [T]hat smile? It's gotta be made from puppies and rainbows and glitter and SEX, because nothing else could be that purely cute, sweet, and utterly hot.
Lookit his beautiful... well, ALL OF HIM:
Adjusting his maillot jaune after winning Stage 3. Though he can't wear both, he also won the green Tuesday:
The Associated Press' Christian Hartmann is SO my new photographer boyfriend.
In other things I love, Al Trautwig calls announcing the jersey standings "a fashion update of the Tour," while Phil Liggett swears that Robbie McEwen's stealth finish-line magic involves Harry Potter's invisibility cloak. Also, the drama so far:
- Thor Hushovd clutching his bloody arm at the end of Stage 1 (those spectators always freak me out, almost as much as rainy days)
- Crashes taking out Erik Dekker and Fred Rodriguez, then Alejandro Valverde, in all eventual likelihood Stuart O'Grady (how do you even stand with a fractured vertebra?), and Bobby Julich today before the first time check
- Matthias Kessler having the balls to try what failed during Stage 2 and taking Stage 3 by what may as well have been a mile
- The agony of watching Boonen go from 12th in the first time trial to 41st today.
It really is anybody's Tour this year, kids.
Also, there are the bonus aerial views of France. With its castle ruins and palatial estates and centuries-old churches and hay bale sculptures and endless stretches of green in between, the entire country is beautiful. I know we joke that Europe is where history comes from, but France really is a spectacular country, obviously modernized but without abandoning what was. Especially here in Florida, that sense of history is almost completely lacking, which is ironic because while Miami only got on the map in the middle of the 20th century, St. Augustine is the United States' oldest city.