Technically Speaking: Off the Cuff

What a finish to the Tour!. I had the fortune/misfortune to watch the last stage live. I was happy about that for I kept getting news of the Tour before I had a chance to watch it via TiVo. The unfortunate part is that I couldn’t skip the commerials and the boring segments.

I haven’t figured out the nuances of the riding etiquette. For the last stage, I think that the overall leader’s team has the privilege of leading the peleton all the way into France. It seemed to be a traditional thing that all the riders had agreed upon. This makes the last day of the Tour a bit boring. No action till they reach the Champs-Élysées, Paris.

What I found really exciting about the last few stages of the Tour is how Lance gained the lead and steadily increased it through to the end. By the end of the 18th stage Lance had a commanding lead, nearly assured of victory. At the end of the 19th, Lance was all but named bonified winner. Starting the 20th stage, short of a race ending crash, Lance was the winner, no one could touch him. Now that is the way to ride to victory, without a worry and assured victory.

Lance has set a new record of wins, consectutive wins, 6 for the Tour. When asked if he would be there again for next year’s Tour, Lance was a bit apprehensive to commit. But I think that he will continue to dazzle us until he feels that he can not do it any more.

Check the results of the last few stages. (more…)