The Tour de France 2009 is well underway and has not disappointed…yet. A lot of the news is covering the comeback of the ’sainted’ Lance Armstrong, but he is not the one I am interested in — actually, I am interested in seeing him be a team player and handing the reigns off to a new generation, but that is not likely to happen.

The guy that I am watching is Alberto Contador who is the team leader of Astana. Contador won the Tour de France in 2007 and the 2008 Giro d’Italia. Lance Armstrong is his teammate and there is much talk about their rivalry. During stage 7 Contador went on the attack and broke away from the rest of his team and raced up the mountain alone. He was able to make up time, took second and bumped Armstrong to third place. Some call this strategic and others call it reckless because it only angered Armstrong. Doesn’t Contador understand that Armstrong is entitled to yellow jersey? Anyway, today the Tour returns to the mountains which could be a pivotal moment. It will be exciting to see who will be triumphant.

Just so there is not misconception about me being anti-American — Contador is a Spaniard – I am also rooting for the “other American” Christian Vande Velde as well. He currently stands in 8th place. During the 2009 Giro d’Italia, he crashed and broke 8 bones and now, two months later, he is in the Tour.

Others to watch for are Mark Cavendish, Cadel Evans, and Carlos Sastre.

Enjoy the tour!

-Doug

Oh and I took this photo yesterday while riding my bike and thought I would share. At the beginning of the summer, I got lost and came home two hours later than I was supposed to, I do not ride without my cell phone any more. It was a beautiful day and a beautiful ride. There is nothing like cycling!