The Tour de France begins this Saturday. Without the best team in world. Astana was not invited as you all know which means the defending champion, Alberto Contador, will not be defending his title. There is some interesting speculation about that. Seems that this was the crux of Team Discovery’s problem. Johann Bruyneel and Lance Armstrong were not able to bring another sponsor on board as they knew they would not be able to ride in the Tour. Seems it was the Armstrong backlash. At least that is what Armstrong explained to Procycling. So the Tour organizers went after Astana anyway. That was/is pathetic.
So now the Tour is upon us. Wh do we root for? There are a couple of American teams, Team Columbia and Garmin that may do pretty well. There aren’t any Americans that will challenge for the podium. So don’t go thinking we have another Armstrong in the waiting. The best hope we had was Levi Leipheimer and he’s stuck with Astana.
So this year I’ll probably root for the whole of the American teams noted above. For the overall I’ll hope that Cadel Evans can pull it out. He’s due. I’ll hope taht Robbie McEwen can grab a green jersey in the absense of cocaine user, Tom Boonen. I have no idea who will win challenge for the Polka Dot jersey. Maybe a Frank Schleck? Maybe his brother? We’ll see.
I’m less enthused about this year’s Tour than in years past. But as it goes along I’ll find myself intersted in the stories that will evolve. I’ll enjoy the strategy and suffering as usual. It’s the Tour. The biggest race in the world. Being a cycling fan it’s pretty hard to ignore.
