The Tour Day 23

“I think that the man that works the hardest is the man who deserves to win.” Lance Armstrong

My husband and I celebrated with Krispy Kreme donuts and Irish Breakfast tea as Team US Postal led Lance Armstrong onto the Champs Elysses for the final laps of the 2004 Tour de France. Croissants and champagne would have been more appropriate, but we made do with what we had.

The sprinters had the final glory today in a hotly contested race. McEwen, the Green Jersey leader took the first sprint on the road increasing his lead overall by two points. He lost at the second sprint line but not enough to lose his lead. Tom Boonen of Quick Step-Davitamon won the stage, his second this year. McEwen came in fourth with 272 points in the sprinter category, a clear win over Thor Hushovd of Credit Argicole with 247 points.

Richard Virenque went away with two awards, the Polka Dot Jersey for best climber, and the overall combativity award. I though Thomas Voeckler would have been a better choice for the combativity award, but rumor has it that Virenque will be retiring, and he is the darling of the French housewife, so I suppose that is why he took that category. Surprisingly Filippo Simeoni of Domina Vicanze took the individual combativity award today, as he attacked the peloton four times early in today’s stage. It is considered bad form in professional cycling to attack the yellow jersey on the final stage, and Simeoni’s bratty attacks on this last day cemented his reputation. Each time he was caught a number of riders pointed to the side of their head to indicate what they thought of him. The most interesting gesture I saw came from US Postal’s Ekimov. I’m not sure what it meant, but it didn’t look like an I love you to me. Procycling reports there may be repercussions for Armstrong.

There was no challenge today to Vladimir Karpets White Jersey for best overall rider under the age of 25. Thomas Voeckler was part of a ten man breakaway on the Champs Elysees that gapped the peloton and held the lead for three laps, but their forty-five second lead was gradually eaten up by the sprinter’s teams. The catch was thanks to the hard work of Jan Ullrich who drove the peloton in a hard chase for his teammate Eric Zabel.

I think every rider who finishes this race deserves recognition, even Jimmy Casper who finished last in the tour, not once, but twice.

Today’s Tune to the Tour contest word is “Paris”. Did any readers win anything?

“It’s special to stand on the most famous boulevard in the world and have your own country’s national anthem played six times in six years.” Lance Armstrong

The supposed hostilities between France and the United States was laid to rest momentarily today when the National Anthem was played on the Champs Elysses in honor of Lance Armstrong’s sixth Tour de France victory. Without lending too much of a political bent, I can hope that the American tourists treated their French hosts with respect, and that this will be the beginning of a bridge of understanding between the people of these two countries. Despite what the politicians want us to believe for their own agenda, the gap can be healed when ordinary people meet other ordinary people.

Vive le Tour! Vive Lance!