close the door, I'm waxing my philosophocles!

I don't know if you're going to get that title.

So w/ the incoming poo-storm that is going to ramp up this weekend w/ the 'B' sample de Landis, it's not hard to continue on our collective downward morale when it comes to cycling. But I've been thinking that truthfully it doesn't matter at least to me since I'm connected to this sport, this lifestyle by more than the trials and tribulations of its stars. Simply put I love cycling because I do it. I'm sure that sentiment is shared by a large number of you as well. How pathetically self-righteous can you be to say that you're never going to follow the sport again, canceling your mag subscripts, deleting your bookmarks, and avoiding it while it's on TV? I read that in either Cycle Sport's or Procycling's letters, or on VeloNews.com. You've basically condemned the rest of the peloton as dopers, and you've revealed that something is drastically missing in your life that you've been searching for in the pro peloton. What a douche.

Screw the morale, do some intervals, show some gain in form and look for the next dough-eyed espoir that hasn't had his pelotonal cherry popped yet attending the annual Jalabert Bros. 'pot belge' party. Also look for some of the other good stories from the Tour:

Millar Time Again!

He may not have won the Prologue like he said he would, but you gotta give David Millar props for simply finishing the damn race! Banned for 2 years for admitting the use of EPO he didn't see a single day of racing until his sentence ended a week before the Tour started. He actually got stronger towards the end putting in a storming TT placing 11th! He ended up 59th in the final GC out of 139 that were racing before the Tour (and probably taking drugs...).

Tricky Dick
Although he's retired, Richard Virenque is another reformed doper who came back proving that you can race at the highest level and win. I just finished watching him take Ventoux

(2002) ahead of a charging Armstrong giving the same one arm/one finger salute he'd give during his cocky doping years. He wasn't super, but he was first. By the way, Armstrong put in the record time of 58 minutes for the climb although that was soundly beaten by Mayo 2 years later in the Dauphine. Remember that the previous record was held by none other than Marco Pantani in 2000, who was doping... But I digress.

Aussie Oi!
Cadel Evans will be the first Aussie on the podium. He's still gots lots to work on, but his win in Romandie shows he can roll 'wit the boys. He'll do it though. Oi!

Levi, Levi, he's our man!
If you feel like Levi cracks too much, then you didn't see him ride the field off his wheel this year in the Dauphine. Muy Macho! He may have a case of the bitches every once in awhile, but signing w/ Discovery and teaming up w/ a true Tour team plus the man himself Johan Bruyneel, he will stand tall on the Champs. Plus his wife is hot. Her name is Odessa Gunn. Dude.

Although the French desperately long for a return to glory in their own race, they do have a great way of looking at the race and the riders. They flat out appreciate the domestique, the underdog, and the anti-star. Look at Francoise Simon in 2001, and T-Voeck from the '04 Tour. They went from who, to front page stars during their respective days in yellow. Watch the fans that aren't clad in orange applaud every rider as they struggle up the mountain all the way back to the autobus. They know they work hard and the star wouldn't be winning the stage w/out them. Americans don't consider you unless you've won something repeatedly; especially if it's a fringe sport.

Pick a winner bruther!


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Images courtesy of Cyclingnews.com, I think.