Good evening,
It’s a cloudy night, with a low temperature in the mid sixties for Whitewater. Most of the day here was beautiful, as the day was, also, in the French Alps on Stage 8 of the Tour de France.
If you’ve been watching the Tour, you saw today how unpredictable cycling is. A race over weeks, and thousands of miles, could hardly be otherwise. Contador saw his chances of a second Tour victory fade, and Armstrong saw his (less likely) chances of an eight Tour victory vanish altogether. Armstrong was well behind after seven stages, and Contador hardly a sure bet, but todays’a racing changed the likely outcome in paris still more.
I’ve not been a great fan of Armstrong, to put it mildly, yet I still feel sorry for the day he had today. He feel three times, and he leave Europe a couple of weeks from now to bigger disappointments ahead. I know that there’s a certain kind of American cycling fan who’s quick to champion a European favorite (anyone, really) over an American. It seems sophisticated to them, as though to support a European makes them seem more knowledgeable and genuine.
I am not such a fan; it’s natural and customary to support competitors from one’s country. I have no favorite this year, but I would always prefer to cheer on a fellow American. We’ve also no need to favor a European in a futile, transparent attempt to appear sophisticated. More important still, America doesn’t need to look to Armstrong to find a great champion. We had a great champion, whose legacy looks better by the day, in Greg LeMond.
We can always feel good about that.
There’s a cycling race coming to Wisconsin, this Wednesday, in nearby Lake Geneva, Wisconsin. See, Bicycle races come to Walworth County about the Point Premium Root Beer International Cycling Classic/Superweek Pro Tour. From that story, here are the details of the Lake Geneva component of the tour:
The Lake Geneva race officially is titled the Keefe Real Estate Lake Geneva Criterium presented by Simple Café and the Geneva Lakes YMCA.
Criteriums are held on short courses, usually less than a mile long, and riders race dozens of laps to cover the total race distance.
The Lake Geneva course is eight-tenths of a mile. It heads north on Center Street, east on Main Street, south on Lakeshore Drive and west on Baker Street. Riders will zip along Geneva Lake, past Flat Iron Park and down Main Street. Spectators can line the barriers along the entire course.
The story also has links on competitive cycling information, Wednesday’s race, and even where to go for a good spot to watch.
Few better ways to end a day than with something from Duke Ellington. “It Don’t Mean a Thing (If It Ain’t Got That Swing)” was composed in 1931; the embedded video is of a 1943 performance. Enjoy.