TdF

Le Tour is done, those 23 days in July are over. Lance Armstrong's comeback was the highlight for me. His charge on stage 16 after falling behind on the climb to Col du Petit-Saint Bernard gave us a chance to see the old Lance...amazing!

Other highlights were getting to see the climb of Mt Ventoux for the first time. The stage that day itself was a little let down for me as it did not produce much excitement. There was too much strategy of the defensive kind on that climb and less of the risk taking and fireworks. Alpe d'Huez still remains my favorite TdF mountain. Another find from this year's tour was finding a really beautiful vacation spot. The tour this year passed through a really beautiful lake town, Annecy. Check it out here...Annecy.

TdF remains one of my favorite sporting events. Don't know why, maybe it is the sheer brutality of the event or the fact that it is the ultimate example of what an unwavering spirit can accomplish. Or is it Lance Armstrong? Unlike other things in life which you really start to get into only when you dig deeper into the subject and start to appreciate the nuances, TdF had me hooked from the beginning. The first time I watched TdF I knew there was a human by the name of Lance Armstrong riding in it and it was probably why it hooked me but this happened without me knowing squat about cycling or much the event itself...

Getting back to this year's TdF, the Schleck brothers were amazing. Andy Schleck is just 24, compare that to Lance Armstrong who is 37. If I want anyone else other than Lance to win next year it would be Andy. They both need to improve their individual time trialing ability. Can't wait for next year, can't wait to see what shape Lance will return in. Can he still remain in the top 3 and make a run for the top spot??? I sure hope so, can't wait to see the head to head between Andy and Lance...