Today wraps up the final stage of this year’s Tour de France or “Le Tour”. This is my admission of love for this event. I’m certainly not a bike rider (wrong shape for that) but I simply love to follow this one cycling event each year. It’s not just the amazing bikes, incredible physical feats, or even the drama of the crowds on mountain top finishes. It’s the story of strategy, team strength, differing goals, good days and bad days, psychological warfare, and glorious solo rides off the front. There is so much drama, even during a flat stage, with the ever changing winds, intermediate sprints, and threat of crashes. Each competitor looking for weakness from their rivals, a constant reappraisal of standing, and a reward each day for glory by capturing just one stage. Yep, I love it. All of it.
Yes, Lance Armstrong was the Texan that got me into Le Tour nearly 20 years ago and I have at best mixed emotions on him, but the sport itself has kept me interested all these years. It’s right up there with the college football playoffs as one of my favorite sporting events of any given year.
So, while I may not be the obvious bike nut in our partnership (Moody and Seth holding that role), I want to publicly congratulate Egan Bernal for an incredible race, not just for the yellow jersey, but also winning at such a young age. I hope we see lots more of Egan in the coming years. It’s also worth congratulating Julian Alaphilippe on an incredible run in this year’s tour. He should be proud. I’m sorta sad to see this year’s tour end. It was a great one. Until next year, see you on the Peloton….