Posts tagged tourdefrance
Tour de France mechanics are just like the guys behind the counter at your local bike shop — only with more talent and less attitude. My video on Geoff Brown and his crew at Garmin-Cervélo was published earlier this week by The New York Times.
The first week of this year’s Tour de France was filled with harrowing scenes of twig-thin riders splayed out on the pavement, bleeding from the head or clutching broken limbs. Or in the case of Johnny Hoogerland (above), extracting themselves from barbed wire.
My story on how riders stay safe in the saddle, despite the omnipresent threat of crashes, ran in The New York Times on Monday.
Sprinters are professional cycling’s prima donnas – riders with egos as big as their bulging quadriceps. In a sport known for its soap opera headlines, these easily maligned riders have a special penchant for melodramatics, on and off the bike.
My story on sprinters — and the art of a sprint finish — ran today in The Christian Science Monitor. Just in time for Mark Cavendish (above) to take his second stage of this year’s Tour.
In the post-Lance Armstrong era, Garmin-Cervélo is emerging as a new sort of American champion — one that can win at cycling’s marquee event without the cloud of doping doubts that has hovered over everyone from seven-time Tour de France victor Armstrong to this year’s favorite, Spaniard Alberto Contador.
My story about Jonathan Vaughters and his Garmin squad ran in The Christian Science Monitor earlier this week.
To read more of my coverage from this year’s Tour, follow me on Twitter.
Jean-Louis Pagès (above), a former geography professor, spends nearly half the year on the road scouting future Tour de France towns. My story on his selection process appeared in today’s Christian Science Monitor.
My story on the atmosphere, the racing and the unleashed donkeys atop the Col d’Aubisque appeared in The Christian Science Monitor today.
If French soccer supporters were frustrated with their team’s performance at the most recent World Cup, one can only imagine what the country’s die-hard cycling fans think about their homegrown talent – or lack thereof – in the Tour de France. It’s been more than two decades since a Frenchman won the Tour.
My story on the plight of French cycling appeared in today’s Christian Science Monitor.
“In the not so distant past, the Tour de France starting line was a simple affair. Riders arrived each day in the backs of cars and changed into spandex suits at local high schools, behind trees or even in plain view of spectators.
Today’s scene is more like a rock concert than a bike race. Teams drive to the start in huge buses adorned with colorful designs and sponsor logos. Fans hover around, hoping to catch a glimpse of their favorite cyclists. Outside some buses, such as Lance Armstrong’s RadioShack vehicle, bodyguards in dark sunglasses scan the crowd.” The lead of my story on the evolution of team buses in today’s Washington Post.
As the Tour de France gets under way, defrocked 2006 winner Floyd Landis has put forward fresh, detailed doping allegations against Lance Armstrong. But Armstrong has become as famous for deflecting scandal as for leading the peloton. My story on Armstrong’s recent travails appeared in today’s Christian Science Monitor.
