Tour de France

For about three minutes, the Tour de France captured the interest of Americans, as they tuned in to see if Lance Armstrong would ride victoriously through the streets of Paris for the seventh time. That interest might have only been for about sixty seconds had Armstrong's story of triumph over cancer not been so amazing. Not that seven Tour victories isn't amazing in and of itself, but doing it after defeating cancer is that much more impressive. Let's face it though, cycling doesn't capture the hearts of Americans without a story like that and even then it's the athlete, not the sport.

In my household, thanks to my husband's love of cycling and the Versus channel on Charter 212, the Tour captures our attention four hours a night for the three week duration of the bike race through France. I'll admit I've been a hard sell, but after two years, I'm as captivated as my husband. The athletes are both fascinating and impressive, and yes, even the commentators are witty and entertaining. I say this with slight embarrassment....I even know them by name. I'm such a Tour geek!

In my favorite sport, baseball, a player stumps his toe or sleeps funny on an airplane and is immediately placed on the DL. In cycling, a rider breaks his wrist or slashes his leg and gets right back in the saddle, literally, and finishes climbing the peaks of the Pyrenees. Very often he will go on to win a stage the next day while nursing the soreness of his injury. Did I mention he will also usually finish the grueling three week race? Grueling might be too weak a word.

Watching these cyclists ride a hundred miles a day for twenty-one days, either up mountain peaks or in sprints, gives one a whole new respect for the term athlete. And while I realize the sport has been plagued with doping scandals, the desire to clean it up has given cycling a new life, especially in this year's tour. It has even led to the creation of teams dedicated to recruiting anti-doping advocates who are cyclists. (say that three times fast) I'm not trying to recruit you into becoming a fan of the sport, but there is something to be said for the intensity of the race coupled with the stunning European scenery. And one only has to drive through the streets of a large town on Saturday morning to see that interest in cycling is certainly rising.

With two new American teams, Garmin-Chipotle and Columbia, and an American contender for the title, this might be a good time to tune in again. American cyclists Christian Vandevelde currently rides in third position, much to the surprise of Tour experts. If another American rides victorious in Paris, could it possibly peak our interest for four minutes, this time? I guess we'll just have to wait and see.