Well, just back from France where I've had no access to internet so haven't been able to join in with the discussion, but suffice to say I enjoyed it.
The only TV on the campsite was in the bar, which didn't open until 5pm, so I didn't get to watch much live coverage until I twigged that anyone could just go in the bar before it opened and switch the telly on. So I watched most of the "Five Cols" stage, which was brilliant. Didn't bother with the time trial but wished I had when I read about it later. Likewise after not bothering to watch the stage that turned out to be Cav's Fifth because I wasn't expecting
that! (Was anyone?) Watched the Ventoux stage from shortly before the main pack reached Bedouin, and watched the final stage from shortly before they reached Paris.
Have to say in light of previous comments that I doubt Contador is clean but still admire his performance in what turned out to be a cracking race in the final week, so I'm happy to see him take the win. Even if he isn't clean, he's not the only one.
As to Wiggo's cleanliness... there were subtle insinuations in the French press (mostly in the form of unaccredited people asking the question of how he could be doing so well when it was totally unexpected
) but no outright accusations. And he mostly scored well in L'Equipe's daily ratings chart.
But sod what the French think - what an absolute hero that man is. As I think I mentioned upthread, I had a horrible feeling that he would eventually succumb to the constant attacks in the big mountain stages, and so it proved to be, but he put in a truly heroic effort every time the road went uphill, especially on Ventoux. The "Five Cols" stage was unfortunate in the way it ended for Wiggo but played to tactical perfection by LA, who was clearly just marking Wiggo up the last climb and making him do the work before blitzing him at the top. If Wiggo had a stronger team to help him in the mountains, he might have been able to compete with the Astana boys - maybe next year?
L'Equipe was also surprisingly favourable in its comments about Lance Armstrong. And I have to admit I was wrong about him - I didn't think he could come back after four years out and still be a dominating force but he rode an excellent race and I seriously believe that he could have challenged Contador for GC if he hadn't been playing the team game like he promised he would, his disappointing TT notwithstanding. Despite the Kloden incident (which I think was a mistake by Contador, or just a communication problem between Kloden and Contador, rather than a deliberate attempt to create more friction) it seems to me that the trouble in the Astana camp was somewhat overhyped by the press and TV - throughout the race, they repeatedly showed what a strong team they were when it really mattered. And two out of three ain't bad, especially given that it took a phenomenal performance by Andy Schleck and the abandonment of Leipheimer to prevent it being a likely three out of three.
Talking of L'Equipe, I did enjoy being able to buy a daily paper that gave proper coverage to the Tour - six whole pages of reports, interviews and comment pieces every day! Brilliant!
And I don't care what anyone else says about Cav, I think he's great. The ordeal of coming through the mountains seemed to have a pretty humbling effect on him - by the time the race reached Paris he was noticeably a lot less mouthy and a lot more respectful. Plus his comments about Hushovd after the big man's lone breakaway heroics were as magnanimous and respectful as you would expect. We've seen Cav really grow up in the last three weeks. Besides, regardless of what you think of him as a person, his achievements on the bike are nothing short of incredible - even Eddy Merckx hadn't won as many TdF stages as Cav at the same age. He is already one of the greats of the sport and it's frightening to think what he could go on to achieve (with Zabel coaching him, I'd say it's a safe bet that he'll win the green jersey within a few years - and let's not forget that this is the first time he's finished the TdF, so to come a close second in the points competition is a pretty big achievement in itself). We should all be hugely proud of him.
d.
