2005 Tour de France Thread!!!

[Shannon]

The Tour de France, the world’s most prestigious cycling race, begins July 2 and runs through JULY 24!

21 teams of 9 riders face one of the toughest challenges of their lives and to add to the excitement of the 2005 event, six-time winner, LANCE ARMSTRONG, will be fighting tooth and nail for an unprecedented seventh victory before he retires.

For more information, visit the following websites:

• TourDeFranceNews.com
• Official Tour de France website
• Tour de France Stage Guides

[Shannon]

Anyone wagering against Lance winning his 7th consecutive Tour win? Anyone wagering he'll be dethroned this year? How about any takers on if this will really be his last year?

These guys get their bikes up to 60 mph on some of those mountain descents, and 30 mph is pretty much their "norm" outside of sprints and descents. I've been up to 22-23 mph on my bike on a descent (I'm a newbie) and it's mind boggling to imagine screaming down a mountain on thinner tires, in high altitude (less oxygen) air, sometimes on slick asphalt and with THRONGS of people in the street waving things at you... all the while going 60 mph. You gotta love PAIN and calculated RISK to thrive in the Tour.

[Shannon]

From www.Canada.com:

(AP) - Lance Armstrong has a black eye, a cut over his right eyebrow and abrasions on his hands and knees.

The six-time defending Tour de France champion crashed at low speed during the start of a training ride last week. He lost control on his time-trial bike and sailed over the handlebars, his helmet splitting in two on impact.

Armstrong shrugs it off. Bumps and bruises are small stuff for someone who's beaten cancer and rewritten cycling's record book.

"I'm excited about the race," Armstrong said from Nice, France, on Sunday. "I feel very good on the bike, and I would even venture to say that I feel better than I've ever felt."

Take your marks, everyone!

[ploddinTod]

Kinda gets you and Justin pumped up for your training rides, huh?

[Shannon]

Hmmm... lost a couple posts, there. A few surprise issues cropped up from the server upgrade, and it looks like we lost a few posts.

In response to your post, Absolument (Absolutely), the Tour and Lance's 7th tour bid are terrific inspiration for our newfound/rediscovered enjoyment of cycling... albeit at a much slower pace and far shorter distances.

It's hard not to be amazed by a race that lasts for three weeks and covers 2,240 miles through mountain climbs so steep they're classified as "Beyond Classification" to describe their intensity/difficulty! :eek:

[Shannon]

More Tour coverage here (CyclingNews.com)