Well, the Tour De France is coming to the end of its second week and I am really enjoying it so far but there have been a few blemishes as well.
The Race
This year the organizers of the tour mixed things up a bit and tried to get back to the roots of the legendary race. I think they have achieved most of what they were trying to do. The actual racing in the tour has been exciting with lots of changes in the lead and some epic stages. I have been watching as much as possible in the evening. Thank God for my DVR! Cadel Evans is in the Yellow Jersey as of today and I hope he is able to hang onto it through the finish in Paris. There’s a lot of racing yet, including the Alps, so anything can happen
The Distractions
Unfortunately there have been a few distractions from the fine racing. There have been three riders, so far, who have been sacked due to testing positive for drugs (EPO, mostly). I don’t know what these guys are thinking. It has been obvious from day one that doping would NOT BE TOLERATED. I think it just shows how deeply ingrained doping was for some riders/teams. I have always believed that the majority of riders didn’t dope but I am not blind to the fact that some riders will always look for an advantage. At least cycling is trying to do something, finally, about doping. The same can’t be said for many other sports.
If you haven’t been watching the tour, give it a shot. There is comprehensive daily coverage on Versus (check local listings). There is a little over a week to go in the race and I think there will be some great racing to come.
