Day 7 continued

Wow, finally getting some time to post more. By now, everyone knows how the race ended, so I will skip the obvious and continue on from the last post where we were setting up.

Our riders were spread out for start times by over an hour, due to their overall standings in the GC. The truck and RV got there early on order to set up, which means hurry up and wait for the riders to arrive and get ready. My biggest challenge was trying to keep the RV cool... as you may recall we blew up the generator a few days back, so I was on the hunt for shore power. I was trying to sponge off of a box close by, but every time that I plugged in and started the AC, I would pop the main breaker and take out about 6 merchants' power, which they really didn't appreciate. We finally had them run us a separate line, which did the trick.

Levi flew in his personal coach whose name I can't remember to prep him and ride in the car during the time trial. They wanted me to be at the first timing station and get splits for the riders that we were most concerned about - Kloden, Teejay and Christian. They also wanted Finney's split time, because he had already gone and completely torn up the track.

Of course, they only knew where the timing station was from the perspective of driving around the track, so they decided that I should jump in the chase car with them and follow Peter Velits as he raced... they would stop quickly at the timing station and drop me off. So, I got to ride in the chase car while Peter raced, which was pretty darn cool.

For the record, Phinney's split time was 8:38, Teejay 9:00 and Christian 9:00. Levi went through at 9:09, so we pretty well knew right then that he wasn't going to be able to retain the overall yellow jersey as he only had 9 seconds to work with. The final time showed Levi losing 33 seconds to Christian, which of course knocked him down to 3rd in the GC. The good news was Peter finished 4th overall, very respectable for a young and upcoming rider.

Lot's of work to do after the race. Bernard C acted as Levi's escort for the next couple of hours while he dit the podium and press tour, while the rest of us packed up and headed for the hotel. One hiccup was that the truck left before me, with my keys, so they had to come back and that cost us an hour which sucked.

Back at the hotel, it was time to dismantle and pack everything, and give back the RV and the cars. We also had over a dozen bikes to dismantle and pack, along with probably 40 wheels, tools, helmets, and on and on.

When Levi got back to the hotel, he made a point of coming back to the pit and shaking all of our hands and thanking us for the hard work. He was truly disappointed in his final standing, and felt like he had let us all down. I did get him to sign a jersey for me, which will go on my wall at home.

He also insisted that we all go out for dinner. By the time we were packed and grabbed showers, we ended up eating at 9:00 at a burger joint downtown. Levi and the whole team finally let their hair down a little, wolfing down burgers and fries and washing it down with a few beers and wine. It was fun.

We then made our way to The Tavern for the wrap-up party. It seemed like all the riders were there and having a great time - especially the Phinney/Teejay gang, 'nuff said. My highlight was getting a chance to talk to Tyler Farrar a bit - truly a nice guy and I think he has a huge future ahead of him. I am not the photo/autograph type too Canadian I guess, so nothing to share there.

Monday was the drive back to Durango with the rest of the local crew, have dinner with Alison on the boat and SLEEP.

From the eye of the storm

We are parked right in front of the Denver courthouse, in the middle of the craziness.  The bandstand is beside us, and the place is rocking.  The 'big 5' got front row parking this morning, and we are next to Specialized (our bike sponsor) and they are really helping us out. We are going to set up the trainers under their awning, so the world can watch Levi warm up.

First rider goes off at 1, and Levi goes last at 3:15. The beauty of the yellow jersey is that you get to see everyones time before your own. You can follow along live on the tur tracker app, or on the website. Going to be an exciting day!!!!

Thoughts on Lance

I just read this excellent article by someone named Stratton that kind of summed up my feelings on Lance's announcement.

It also made me realize that if it wasn't for Lance, I wouldn't be doing what I am doing this week. Lance was the reason that almost all current American cycling fans started watching The Tour, and getting excited about it. I was living in Texas when he first started winning, and Lance Fever was rampant, as you can imagine. I loved watching the Blue Train drive the peloton, 'The Look', the crazy duels up Alp d'Huez, and so much more.

Did they dope? I am sure they all did. It was an era where doping was rampant in this and many other sports. Is it right? No, and it never will be. The fact that 'everybody did it' is no excuse. But you can't take away how amazing it was to watch the race unfold over 3 weeks in the beautiful countryside, with drama, intensity, and a sense of awe at what they could do on the bike.

Americans knew very little about pro cycling before Lance. Sure, we had 7-11 as well as Lemond, but coverage was spotty and you really had to be a wonk and read Velo News or buy a foreign newspaper at the store to know what was going on. The increased coverage that Motorola and then USPS generated with their success drew legions of fans, who then went out and bought bikes and jerseys and rode those bikes while reliving those moments in their heads. Cycling went from a fringe sport to something that a large part of the country at least did occasionally, and certainly watched a lot of in July.

Lance was also instrumental in starting the USA Pro Challenge. He worked with Governor Bill Ritter to get it off the ground, and his connections and influence were a key reason that Quizno's signed on as the anchor sponsor.

So - fast forward to this week - I volunteered to help out at the Durango stage because I have truly become a cycling wonk, and I have had no problem bantering about bike racing with my crew mates. Thanks to a steady diet of Phil and Paul, I understand the strategies and the races within the race. And thanks to the motivation that watching the pro's has given me to ride hard and push myself, I have at least a tiny understanding of the dedication and the pain that goes into being a successful pro rider. These guys are tough as nails.

So thank you Lance, for igniting the cycling passion in me and so many others. I am truly sorry that it ended this way for you. Now if you'll excuse me, I'll go back to busting my ass to support this great race in this great sport.

YELLOW BABY

It was now or never. Now was good.

Another Crisis Averted

The plan was to send Colin with Bernard up Flagstaff with the warmup jackets for the boys to wear on the descent back to the RV after the race. Bernard ran the feed station (and was on TV yet again today - we are calling him the meia whore) and was to stop at the Team area and pick up Colin and jackets.

Unbeknownst to him, the convoy back from the Feed zone came out 14 blocks above us. And by above, I mean a nasty climb up to Chautauqua. Luckily, we scrambled and bummed a ride wiht the TT1 guys who found themselves in the same situation. Colin jumped in with Bernard, and I did the run back down the hill (much easier) and am now watching the end on the Tour Tracker in the RV.

Pretty exciting stage! The whole peloton fell apart on Left Hand/Lee Hill. BMC fell off the front, and Garmin is starting to shape up. This bodes well for Levi - he just has to stay in the largest lead group he can hang onto, then KICK IT up Flagstaff!

Big names are big businessmen

One thing that I find interesting is how much time the big names spend on their phones. At first I thought they were just hitting Twitter, texting, or playing games. While this is true for the younger and less know riders, the big guys are doing business.

I have overheard phone calls from Levi, Cadel, Hincapie and others where they are talking with their managers and handlers, arranging sponsorships, organizing charity events, talking contracts, and working on their other business such as clothing, shoes, and more.

Cadel just dropped out. He has looked tired all week, especially last night and this morning. My guess is he is beat up after a long season, combined with his new adopted child and, of course, his extra-curricular business that keeps him on his phone.

Race Day 6 - Boulder finish

Howdy from the bottom of Flagstaff. We are about 3 blocks from University of Colorado, the greatest University in the world - where my kids both go. In fact I just had a vist at the RV from my son, which was great of course. I took a picture of him in the RV which I can't share here...

We left a very windy Colorado Springs this morning for the commute to the start in Golden. Lots of crowds in town, and it was fun to drive the closed rode from Golden to Boulder, honking at the crowds and throwing them a few used water bottles. My apologies to the State Trooper who tried to flag me to a stop at a red light a little too late. I am sure I will hear about it later.

Skies are finally clear, and the boys look sharp. I am sitting in the RV in the Team zone, waiting for Bernard who will come through here after he does the Feed in Nederland, then head up the hill. We can't take the buses or trucks up there due to the limited space at the top, which is a bit of a bummer for me as I chill here at the bottom.

Think I will jump on my bike and cruise downtown real quick. Later.