Let the Tour Mania Begin
By Bob Roll

If you read my last article I looked forward to the Dauphine Libere and asked that everyone follow the exploits of Cadel Evans and Alberto Contador. Prophetically enough they finished 1-2 on the opening Time Trial. This actually works out perfectly so we can see definitively how Cadel Evans can handle the pressure of being wearing the yellow jersey as race leader of a major stage race. The time trial results might be a bit of a worry for Alberto Contador, although second in a time trial is a great result for most riders to earn the leadership of Team Astana at the Tour De France, a win in that Time Trial would have been a much more emphatic signal to his teammates that he should be the supported leader at the upcoming Tour. In stage 3 of the dauphine Evans lost his leaders jersey to Nikki Terpstra of Milram.  Although Tersptra is a solid rider the chances of him winning the dauphine are very slim.  However major stage races are never won by giving away the leaders jersey.  It sends the wrong message to your rivals and can break the moral of your teammates.  Another possibility for Evans losing the leaders jersey is that he didn’t have the strength to chase Tersptra’s breakaway group.  This is somewhat less likely but either scenario is disturbing and must worry Cadel if he is going to be a legitimate contender to finally win the Tour De France.  Cadel lost the yellow jersey on stage 3 which could be a bad sign. Tomorrow is perhaps the most important day for Cadel Evans and Alberto Contador as we begin the mania that will engulf the world of cycling as it always does as we get ready for Le Tour.

Elsewhere Lance Armstrong is training at the altitude enclave of Aspen, Colorado. Aspen features many long climbs unique to the Colorado Rocky Mountains. Although the gradients aren’t that steep when compared to the Pyrenees the climbs generally start at 9000 feet in elevation and wind their way up to 11,000 feet and provide any cyclist with exceptional challenges. Carlos Sastre had an excellent Giro D’ Italia with a pair of stage wins and looks especially impressive on the stage to Mount Vesuvious. Denis Menchov of course won the Giro D’ Italia but I believe it will be very tough for Menchov to still be on top form as the Tour De France nears its decisive stage, Mount Ventoux, in what will be a full nine and a half weeks from his Giro winning ride at the Cinque Terre 62 kilometer time trial from May 21. Frank and Andy Schleck in the mean time thoroughly dominated the Tour of Luxembourg which is a smaller stage race not featuring many of the stars of professional cycling but nonetheless indicates that they are on track to do another great Tour de France.

Levi Leipheimer has been dominant this year in the races that he won. There were high expectations that Levi could be the 2nd American to win the Giro D’ Italia, however for Levi the Giro coincided with a not unexpected plateau in fitness and while Levi’s ride at the Giro would have been a career highlight for many pros, I wonder if Levi was not a little bit disappointed. The Tour will provide us a chance to see if Levi can overcome any Giro disappointment and establish himself at the front of the peloton in the mountains and a top the leader board standings in the Time Trial. One thing is for certain for all of the men that participated in the Giro is that they have plenty of racing miles to prepare for the Tour. A big star emerged from last year’s Tour de France, his name is Christian Vandevelde. He finished fourth in the overall standings and after a career of outstanding performances has finally achieved the notoriety deserves. Christian used last year’s Giro D’ Italia to get ready for his most wonderful Tour of 08. In last year’s Giro Christian even led the race after stage 1. In this year’s Giro, Christian crashed out early on and sustained a number of fractures. Although Christian can be expected to heal enough before the Tour to participate the lack of racing miles might make it impossible for Christian to race at the same level as he was in last year’s Tour.

This is the most delicious time of the year for cycling fans and are being served up massive portions of hype, rumor, innuendo, out right lies, never ending speculation, and salivations of anticipation. Lace up your boots and tighten down your Velcro straps it is Tour time baby!