The 1906 Tour ventured into the mountains, where 4 riders were caught riding the train (cheeky!) and given the boot. In the end, only 14 of the 75 starters made it to the finish line in Paris. The winner, Rene Pottier had ridden a fair amount of the 1905 tour on flat tires before abandoning altogether. But in 1906 his luck had turned and he won the Tour. Unfortunately Pottier saw but a brief period of joy. In January, 1907, he hanged himself in the clubhouse of his Peugeot team. The story goes that he despaired after learning his wife had an affair while he was away at the Tour. He was considered the favorite for the next year, but alas it was not meant to be. How sad!
Here we are 100 years later and all 176 riders finished the stage today. It was a Norwegian sprinter named Thor Hushovd who turned in the fastest time. Americans George Hincapie and David Zabriskie came in second and third, respectively. I would have thought Hincapie would be wearing Lance's old number 1 but he is wearing number 3 this year. For the non-cycling fans, (who no doubt are still reading this long cycling story) Hincapie is the Robin to Lance Armstrong's Batman. I don't understand how the numbers get doled out.
3 comments:
Landis looked strong today, despite the weird start...
It looked like he might have been a contender for first if he didn't miss the start. It was really strange!
Got a little spinning in at the last minute (10 p.m.). Today will be difficult, but I will manage!
Post a Comment