Cycling Weekly did a nice report of the theatricals by the other teams, then commented that "Contador's arrival was greeted with boos, jeers and whistles, although they just about stopped short of giving him the thumbs down and sending in the lions."
Yahoo's report, via Reuters, says "A recent survey by radio Alouette FM showed that 63 per cent of French people polled were against Contador's participation in the Tour." and comments that OGL got the loudest cheers (other than for local riders, of course) which indicates that the French public are going to be taking his side in the Tour.
Sky Sports tried to play it down, concentrating instead on quoting Contador and his "I am not a doper" statements. They made the point that Contador is allowed to race, according to the rules.
"Alberto was cleared by the system, and has the right to ride." which is true.
He agreed with all of us, that "Everybody would love to have had a solution a while ago, before the Tour, but that hasn't happened." Sub-text: Blame the UCI/WADA for stringing it out for so long.
Finally, he makes the perfectly valid point "If you don't agree that Alberto is riding, you should question the system and not so much us or him."
All of which is true.
My view? I personally don't want Contador to ride the TdF precisely because of the booing. I like cycling, I like the gentlemanly aspects of it, I don't want it brought into disrepute by people booing and throwing tomatoes at riders.
But if he didn't ride, and OGL won, forever afterwards people would say "ah, he only won because Conti wasn't riding." which would be infuriating for him, and for us.
So on balance, I have to grit my teeth and want him to ride - oh, and what was it? to see Andy kick his bony little butt, for sure. As Andy says. (the "for sure" bit, I don't think Andy has ever referred to Contador's bony little butt. Well, not in any interviews that I have seen, at least.)
Contador, meanwhile, is playing the "oh, I'm very tired after the Giro, the route doesn't suit me, lots of stress from being booed etc" card, thus paving the way to make a future failure understandable, and a future success even more outstanding.
Andy, however, is not hiding: in Velonews he says "I have no excuses. Everything around me is 100%. It's now up to me."
Side issue: I am so pleased to hear OGL say that he is going to give 100% - not 110% as some misguided people do. You can't have more than 100 per cents! I hate that expression! Sorry!
So now we just have to wait, with bated breath. And a nice picture:
I'm also doing my bit to support the boys: here are my work t-shirts, now with the added L-T logo on the back.
A-ha-ha neighing! Well, I think it's funny. I'll let you know if anyone ever stops me in the local supermarket and says "Hey! You're a Leopard Trek fan, aren't you?"
Tuesday, I went to see the Official Introduction of The Team. Before the festivities kicked off, they entertained the 10 or 20 of us gathered there (Really! I was shocked at the low turn out) with a video of Last Year Highlights. The crowd was all merry and buzzy until they got to the part where Andy's chain broke. ICY SILENCE. No boo-ing at all, but just this icy silence. It was very interesting.
ReplyDeleteCoug, the shirts are wonderful. I thought they were official Leopard Trek merchandise!
ReplyDeleteTomato throwing? Well that's just a waste of a perfectly good fruit eaten as a vegetable. *packs a hamper for catching tomatoes in France*
Free lunch! I hope the angry mob thinks to throw a baguette too...
Amanda, I think you've given me unexpected insight into the Luxembourgian psyche--no impassioned displays, but an ICY SILENCE. I find taciturnity a lot more telling than actual displays of anger... I think I'm a little bit scared now.
I agree with you Coug. If Conti didn't participate then WHEN OGL wins....always questioned.
ReplyDeleteLike you, one of the aspects I love is the "gentlemanliness" of cycling. Last year,though, I didn't much mind the booing due to the circumstances - and was even more impressed by Andy (takes big breath and heart goes bumpity bump) when he asked that people NOT do that. But yesterday, I found myself getting tearful when the crowds did the booing. I felt so bad for Conti (a very, very foreign feeling) because,for many reasons going back a few years, I am so not a fan of his. My friend T (only other woman I know, in person, who loves cycling as much as me, and is my son's age (mid-30's, yeah, I'm that old!)said that everyone who boo'd should be made to ride, behind them, up Tourmalet...which would most certainly shut them up! She "hearts" Conti - which makes for lively debates!
So, the booing was very disappointing. I, frankly, did not expect it. And, I don't want to be in a position where I have compassion for Conti. Like Andy says, "there is much more to life than cycling". I hope this doesn't get too out of hand. You know the media will pump it up - just pour le drama! The part of my heart that believes people want to do the right thing envisions that Conti is there to not win. His future depends on making this "right". He should fight hard and still be beaten - then this can all go to the history books and become a part of the past. If not - it will always haunt him. Unfortunately, with all I hear about how adversity spurs him on....eh, not so sure he'll do the right thing...ever. BTW, my son was semi-pro back in the day which is what dragged me into pro racing and it was a major education and continues to be.
BolderEl
The pre-Tour Dcoumentary about Andy Schleck:
ReplyDeletehttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kgg4dA0SglI
I like the way he says "I hope to be a good Time Trialist someday" as though he were a little, little boy in lederhosen / suspenders, eating ice cream and dreaming of being a professional cyclist. Bless.
http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/07/01/us-cycling-tour-schleck-idUSTRE7601F020110701?feedType=RSS
ReplyDelete"Some riders don't need the fans but personally I need to have the public and the people behind me. It gives me extra motivation," Schleck told a news conference on the eve of the Tour on Friday.
BolderEl
It sure looked to me like OGL was in the leading group before the idiot spectator (when will they learn?) crash. Lot's of chatter about Conti being held back in the second group. I'm darned sure Andy was next to Frank in the front group - then another crash (I was still thinking OGL was in the "safe" section.) No more mentions of Andy...but he came in after Conti, just a few places down. So, my question....did Andy deliberately fall back? It sure lookes to me like he did - if so - I am proud of him for his integrity and not wanting to do what Conti did last year. Not so sure how wise it is for an overall win for Andy - but it would be a moral victory. I can't figure out how he could have come in behind Conti unless he was deliberately going backward.
ReplyDeleteBolderEl
Article 20 - 3 KM rule has now been enacted and OGL finishes .06 behind Gilbert and way ahead of Conti.
ReplyDeleteDisregard prior post!
BE
BolderEl, I was rather worried about that second crash as well, and checked the overall standings after stage 1, on the Tour de France website:
ReplyDeletehttp://www.letour.fr/2011/TDF/LIVE/us/100/classement/index.html
Eva and I were discussing this on Twitter (insomuch as one can have a discussion on twitter), and according to her, Ivan Basso seems to have tripped on some asphalt, which obliged Andy to stop, and manoeuvre around him.
According to the official classification results, Andy is 6 seconds behind the GC, and Alberto 1 minute, and 20 seconds.
I was pretty confused for awhile there! Running ahead of the website updates. I mean - I was watching Andy and Conti cross the line - but knew OGL had been further up. Like that questioning look a dog gets if you move their food dish! WTF? LOL. Great start to the Tour...doubting the reality I "saw"....
ReplyDeleteI think I'm glad they honored the 3 km rule - but the possibilites before I knew that were quite entertaining!
BE
I hope the French don't think about occupying Luxembourg....
ReplyDeleteApologies for the delay - I was writing answers on LLB's laptop after watching Stage One yesterday, when Blogger crashed on me! Augh! Locked out again!
ReplyDeleteLuckily this morning it seems to be ok.
Figgy, thanks for the link to the pre-Tour training vid: watched the first 2 mins and realised it was 40 minutes long! Have book-marked it for later drooling over, as I'm a bit pushed for time this morning.
BoulderEl, nice article! D'aaw, Andy is so sensible, asking fans not to hassle Contador.
And I am soooo impressed that you know the article number for the 3km rule (which, incidentally, I wasn't sure would be invoked, as it was an uphill finish.) (Quick check to make sure nothing changed overnight - nope, it's ok, Article 30 was indeed invoked.)
Out of interest, does reading the TdF rule book suck out your soul in the same way that reading the UCI rules does? I can only take so much of it at a time before I have to go off and recuperate....
Coug
Am now going to check if I can finally upload the entry I made yesterday... so don't think that I spent ages this morning writing a new post, it was all done yesterday!
Did you hear of the unbelievable stunt UCI pulled this morning? Mandatory position shifts for the seats on the TT bikes? I know they hit Radio Shack - but not sure if LT had to deal with it as well or if they were smart enough to not "assume" the rules were the same as in their last race!
ReplyDeleteUCI and TdF rulebooks are insane and yes, incredibly soul sucking!
BolderEl
Unbelievable! No, I hadn't heard about this, BoulderEl, I spent all of yesterday standing in a field selling plants, thus missing the TTT. But LLB sent me txts with updates from time to time (d'aaww!) and also videod the hightlights for me, so I'm up to date but hadn't had any extra time for research.
ReplyDeleteWhat are the UCI playing at? The MOST important cycle race in the world, in the year, people like OGL spending their whole year so far working up to it: and they spring this one on the teams just minutes before the event starts.
It's a complete disgrace, and I cannot imagine how upsetting to the riders this must have been.
(Not upsetting in the "Waaaah!" tears sense, but upsetting in the "spoiling my rhythm" sense.)
There was a comment that "nearly half" of SaxoBlank's riders had to be adjusted, I don't know if that means they were the worst hit, or just that the journos are concentrating on the favourite's team?
I might even have to do a post on the subject, later!
Coug
UCI seems to be stuck at the breakfast table for the year -(ie: continually have egg on their faces). Bruyneel and Riis were both pretty upset with UCI - apparently it was all 22 teams - not just Saxo & Shack. UCI needs to get their act together or maybe we just need an entirely new organization that is actually functional!
ReplyDeleteBE
Well, I keep reading that on the forums: people are pleading for pro-cycling to break away from the UCI and form it's own league.
ReplyDeleteOn the one hand, it's hard to imagine an organisation running things worse than the UCI have been doing.
But on the other hand, things were just starting to come together: the doping is all out in the open and being squashed instead of being tolerated, and at least the various Tour organisers are now talking to each other.
And yet, and yet: the UCI really don't seem to have a clue about what cyclists actually want, and the way that the actual riders are the last to be involved with these decisions - race radios comes to mind - is diabolical.
I guess that if cycling broke away from the UCI, the new organisation would be formed from ex-cyclists or at the very least, people who had been involved in the cycling world and knew what was going on.
Coug
PS Thanks Figgy, for the compliment about the shirts!
Waaah! I finally have time to watch the 39 minute documentary that Figgy kindly linked, and it's gone! Withdrawn by the person who put it there - boo!
ReplyDeleteCoug (doleful face)
Coug! Link to documentary: http://www.dr.dk/Sporten/Dokumentar/AndySchleck/20110609204022.htm
ReplyDeleteWarning for those of a nervous disposition, Susanne's link is to the Documentary - you know, the one we saw the snippets of - and starts with Andy in the shower, then goes on to Andy shaving his legs..
ReplyDeleteMany thanks to Susanne, (*waves arms and cheers loudly*)
Coug
Can't be bothered to duel with Twitter's insane word limits.
ReplyDeleteI meant that when he says he'd like to be a good time trialist "someday", he sounds like a little boy, dreaming of becoming a professional cyclist, as opposed to the UCI ranked athlete that he is.
Incidentally, speaking of UCI rankings, did you know Bertie's full name is Alberto Contador Velasco? Why did he drop the Velasco? Does it make him sound like the kind of mobster who lops off thumbs?
Thanks for the link to the proper video Susanne. I'm more interested in the waterproof wristwatch.
I don't understand why anyone would cut the first part out of the video - I mean, it's Andy in the SHOWER!
ReplyDeleteI was so "lucky" as to watch it with my parents and my brother. The nudity really shocked my mum. Rather taken aback and embarrassed she said: "Nobody wants to see him shave is legs!" I refrained from answering her comment as it would only have made things worse :P
Oh, and I actually like Bjarne Riis in that documentary. Of course you can't really understand him but he's saying some nice things :D
ReplyDeleteYes, I have to say, there was a tender look in Bjarne's eyes when he ushered Andy into the car. Presumably that part was filmed before Andy jumped ship?
ReplyDeleteNow, don't send me straight back into Andyhab, let me finish the sentence: I very much enjoyed watching the shaving of the legs bit because I have always wondered "how" exactly they did it. Did they use electric razors? (cor, can you imagine the headache you'd get with two men in a tiny hotel room, both going BZZZZZZZZZZZ for about 20 minutes..)
Now I know that they (if we assume OGL to be standard) wet shave, standing up over the bath, and presumably shower all the suds and stuff off afterwards.
I hope they have a strainer thing in the plug-hole like I do, otherwise their drains will constantly be blocked! And no, I don't shave a pair of long-haired legs, I just shed a lot of debris when I shower after work. Hair, dirt, bugs, twigs, leaves, grass, you name it.
I've just read Bradley Wiggins' autobiography, he said that he shaves his legs the night before a race. Not sure how that works for a three-week race. (thinks: have we ever seen a five o'clock shadow on a cyclist's calves?) Or for training, come to that.
I did laugh out loud at the "flexibility" bit, it looked a bit like a naked contortionist with Andy's head stuck on the top. Hard to tell the difference between Andy's leg and Joshi's arm.... and I'm secretly a little pleased that I am so much more flexible than Andy is. Of course, I can't pedal up hills like he can, but at least I can get my own knee flat against my chest without a heftly masseuse leaning on it!
Figgy, I was teasing you about the lederhosen. You are of course right, he does sound a little like a dreaming beginner, rather than a top athlete. I suspect there are many riders who dream of coming second twice as being the pinnacle of their career!
And yes, I too was distracted by the concept of wearing a watch in the shower. I would never do such a thing. Quite apart from not having a waterproof watch, of course. I mean, when you were trying to wash/rinse yourself, you'd bash yourself with the strap, surely? I am perfectly capable of breaking my own skin (accidentally) with my own fingernails, let alone a solid chunky watch-strap. (*shudders*)
Coug
In Spain it's common or maybe even a rule to have 2 names: first the father's one and second the mother's.
ReplyDeleteIf you look in the startlist you can see that for all the Spanish riders.
I don't know which name gets dropped when one gets children.
It hadn't occurred to me that Alberto's name might have something to do with cultural tradition, so thank you for pointing that out Barbara.
ReplyDeleteI was so mad when I learned that, had my mum seen Ridley Scott's Alien while she was pregnant, that I might have been named after Ripley. Instead, I got stuck with her name, and Abigail. I feel like I lost the naming lottery. I could have been a Kendo master, violin virtuoso, instead of me.
Actually, the watch intrigues me on two levels:
1) Why does he not take the watch off? It suggests that he's busy, and can't afford not to have a watch on his person. Also, that he's absentminded, and liable to forget to put it back on.
2) Money. Proper waterproof watches cost money. I don't think Andy worries about money--he's accumulated enough wealth, that it's no longer an everyday concern. That must be nice.
Thank you Barbara, saved me having to say it! A lot of the Spanish riders have names about a mile long, just watch the places listings while listening to what the commentators say.
ReplyDeleteIn many ways it makes sense, to ensure your children don't marry too closely: I have considered suggesting something similar for the UK, now that so many marriages break up, or don't occur in the first place. Combine that with the way we all move around these days, and it must be a nightmare to ensure that potential mates are not related too closely.
Logically, when couples have children, they would combine his first surname (father's name) with her second surname (mother's name)?
Moving on...
Figgy, despair not, there are two options open to you.
1) Change your name to Ripley. It doesn't cost much - in the UK it's free to do so! You can do it on the internet. It's just a pain having to change all your documentation and to insist that everyone who knew you as "S" calls you "R" instead.
2) Remember that Ripley was played by Sigourney Weaver, who changed her name (see? told you it was easy) to Sigourney from Susan.
So really, you ARE named after Ripley!
Returning to the topic at hand - yes, I too had thought of 1)a as being the most likely: he lives his life being timed, and I guess it becomes a bit of an obsession. 1)b is also possible - we've heard him described by Chris Anker Sorensen as "chaotic" so it's quite likely that he'd forget to replace it... (*thinks: wouldn't his arm feel strangely light, though, without that enormous chunky thing on it?*)
Like all successful athletes, he probably gets sent boxloads of "stuff" to endorse. A watch manufacturer would be able to get a lot of publicity from being the one who supplied Andy Schleck's wristwatch. (*oh no, another google search term looms..*)
No, I don't think Andy worries about money in a day-to-day way. I suspect that his parents have always taken care of that side of things. But he has his own flat now, and he will at least have to do his own shopping!
Unless his mother, or the cleaner, stock up the fridge for him, (which I do consider to be entirely possible).
Ah, the fascination of other people's lives...
Coug
I don't really remember the part with Bjarne and the car? (I'm going to have to watch it again! :P) But the parts where he's talking to the camera he's being really nice - and it's all filmed AFTER all the "back-stabbing".
ReplyDeleteI love your shirts Coug! Did you make a stencil? I am thinking about borrowing your idea for a tee-shirt or two of my own.
ReplyDeleteHi Lauren, yes, I did a simple stencil (*adopts sing-song voice as though talking to very small children*)
ReplyDeleteThis is what to do:
Google "leopard-trek" and look in images to find a good one of the logo.
Print it out using an "enlarge to fit" option so it fills an A4 page.
Stick it onto a sheet of fairly thin card.
Get an adult to cut round it with a scalpel or a sharp knife.
Don't forget to cut out the middle of the O as well!
Buy a fabric paint pen. (The one I got looks like a fat felt pen with a chisel nib.)
Stretch the chosen garment over a large book or a chopping board.
Put stencil in position: I found it best to do the centre of the O first, then reposition the big part of the stencil so that bit was in the middle.
(whoops, I forgot about the silly voice half-way through)
IRON IT!! Otherwise it will come out when you wash it, and ruin the shirt.
Wear with pride.
So far, no-one has accosted me in the supermarket, but I live in hope.
Send us a picture when you've done it!
Coug