the Tour is over

Hey all,

Just thought I’d blog on the Tour de France. I love it! And am sad it is over for the year.

I’m so not a sports player or watcher, but the Tour’s got me hooked! I used to love the Olympics – that was the only sports I ever watched and I watched everything they showed: equestrian, softball – if it was an Olympic game, I was up for it. And I didn’t really care who won, either; I certainly wasn’t rooting for the Americans. Since I’ve come to Australia I’ve stopped watching the Olympics. I suppose it’s a combo of not having time and the fact you don’t really show the winter Olympics here – which was my fave: all that ice-skating!

But since my man, Allan, is a cyclist, he is a dedicated Tour de France watcher. I got hooked because of the lovely Jan Ullrich. Talk about a sexy man! He can’t keep it together to win, but that’s what I like about him (aside from the fact that he’s not a skinny runt – the announcers call him “big Jan” ’cause he’s very large for a Tour rider – he has a great smile, beautifully sculpted face and the earring that just gives him that little bit of alternative edge, though lots of the riders have earrings). Lance Armstrong, he’s just predictable: an incredible machine that will get the job done. Ullrich, well, Ullrich’s kinda like a character in a Greek tragedy – with a fatal flaw – and you’ll never know how he’ll go. He just doesn’t want it bad enough, I guess. Which is understandable; one needs to have a life too. I can totally relate to the not quite believing you can do it and succumbing to the stress and pressure and fucking up – and being second, not the best – I can relate to that. But hey, he’s still a champ: he came in second place in the Tour at only 22 years old, his first time in it, and then 1st the next year (before Lance started winning) and he’s never finished less than 4th place. Even Lance can’t say that! Last year was the fourth place fuck-up. He pulled himself into third this year. So maybe next year it’ll be back to first. Don’t know though: Lance thinks Ivan Basso is the future of the Tour.

I can’t wait until next year’s Tour. Without Armstrong there it’ll be so much more exciting! I was panicking a little before the Tour started this year that Ullrich might just lose it altogether and then I might not like the Tour anymore because my heart’s with Janny-boy and being emotionally involved is what makes the Tour so good. But Jan’s still going strong and even when he’s not anymore, there’s plenty more cute boys where he came from, I guess. But I guess, I will admit, the Tour is more than just Jan. Certain bits of certain stages are truly exciting and these men, shit, they are fucking lunatics – riding for 24 days with a shitload of huge mountains thrown in. It’s totally nuts! I don’t know why anyone in their right mind would put themselves through that. But, hats off… Oh, yeah, and the French scenery is a bonus too… I’ll be there in person one day, hopefully when Jan is still riding, but doubt it…

I await next year.

Rachel