Tour de Farce
This is the second year that i've been able to watch the Tour de France live and not have to wake up at the crack of dawn to do so. When i lived in Toronto, i was having to wake up at 8.00am - ON A WEEKEND - to watch the live coverage of the race. Now, however, i can awake leisurely on a Saturday and Sunday morning, read the paper, and turn on the TV around 2.00pm to catch Le Tour.
Prior to the start of the tour, i was quite excited and explained the basic premise of it to Paul. Paul, bless his wee soul, feigned interest but really, if it isn't Celtic - forget it. Although Jan Ullrich, my favourite rider, had recently retired from cycling amid a storm of controversy (over doping, of course), i was still thrilled to watch it.
And then yesterday the overall tour leader, Michael Rasmussen, was kicked out of the Tour by his own team (basically for lying to the anti-doping agency). THIS after Alexander Vinokourov, a talented rider who used to ride with Jan Ullrich on T-Mobile, failed a blood test indicating he had received a blood transfusion earlier.
In addition, two small explosions were set off yesterday along the race route in Spain about 40 minutes apart; the second explosion occurred about a half hour before the riders arrived but after a publicity caravan had passed by the spot. Apparently the explosions followed after a warning from the Basque separatist group ETA had been issued.
Worst Tour ever!
3 comments:
I have similar feelings about this years tour. Im noticing that all my favourites are being picked off one by one and I am loosing interest at an alarming rate.
Kat, i hear ya. It is a total disgrace!
I miss Jan Ulrich too. He was my favourite. I was really shocked when he was involved in the doping scandal. It's turned into a bit of a farce this year and you can't help wondering if they're all at it (doping) and just haven't been caught yet. Still love the scenery and the nostalgia trip (used to live there) though.
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