Hey, remember that time....

The 2008 Tour de France is underway and after just 6 stages there have already been some significant surprises. Today was a mountain top finish (Super-besse) that you normally don't see this early in the race. One of the biggest surprises of the day was a certain American who amazingly placed 4th on the stage and now is 4th overall in the Tour de France! His name may escape most people's list of famous American cyclists as he is usually remembered for his unfortunate withdrawal from the Tour a few years ago because of a bee sting (ouch, vdv) and his unfortunate wipe-out in the rain during the team time trial on Lance Armstrong's Postal Service Team, taking out half the team with him (luckily Lance corralled his young horseman and they ended up with the team victory anyway).

I don't remember him most for either of these dubious moments. No, I would have to say that my most fond memory of him was when we were sitting on the concrete steps of some guys garage during a housewarming party. Someone dared him to eat potato chips since Lance probably wouldn't let him. To his credit, he grabbed a handful and munched loudly. I thought he should do a keg stand. He thought I should. I said no way. He said I was a pussy. I said I had the National Championships in 5 days but I would hold his legs up if he did it. Again, he wouldn't. Again, I wouldn't. Then finally... he did. There I was, holding one of Lance's cadets up by the legs, downing cheap beer in a keg in "some-guy's" garage just 6 weeks before the tour. He lasted a disappointing 8 seconds. 6 weeks later, Lance almost lost the Tour title when the team time trial turned upside down.

Fast forward to 2008 and suddenly he's in the headlines again, thankfully on good terms this time. Check it out:

Click above to watch the video.

Nice "stand" on Super-basse today vdv.

Tour de France in Photos... plus, Living in France for 2 Months

I'm actually cheating on this post, writing it several months after the tour... but I thought some people might enjoy the pictures I was able to take during my 2 months in France. Stationed near the Mediterranean in Montpellier, I was apprehensive about the hot weather, especially during July and August. Although I noticed that your mouth gets dry in about 0.04 seconds, it wasn't too bad.

First we'll cut to the Tour photos.
July 18, 2007 - Stage 11
It was actually pretty tough to photograph as the finish into Montpellier was flat and the road was extremely wide. I came away with a handful of blurry shots and photos of the back of people's heads etc. But after the main group passed, there were a few riders off the back. Since I wasn't watching the tv coverage, I wasn't sure what happened. If you remember, there was the infamous crash with Christophe Moreau and the Astana attack. I was crossing the road when I rider approached so I was able to get a decent shot... Here is Simon Gerrans of Ag2r who has some visible wounds.


July 19, 2007 - Stage 12
Marcel Sieberg, Caffinated.


I think something got lost in translation in this one:



"Yeah, I'm telling you, the course goes straight but there's a killer shortcut if you take a hard right. Goes right around the Pyrenees and straight to Paris."


Stéphane Goubert - the local favorite


Nuclear Green


Philippe Gilbert rolls out from the stage sign in


Erik Zabel on his way to finishing 2nd:


In Montpellier, news was leaked that the Danish Cycling Federation lost track of Rasmussen earlier in the year. Perhaps the Federation needs to hire babysitters.



Biking around Montpellier:


Solar Tailwind.


Une Route Etroite.


Le Sommet Evasif
J'ai monte la montagne a gauche mais c'est tres lointain au grand sommet parce que vous devez le monter par derrière. Un jour....


Pic Saint Loup


Eglise St. Jean Cuculles


Not much of a view today.


Climbing Col du Vent
Tricky camera shot... it was a solo ride so I propped the camera up on a ledge about 20 feet up, and set the timer. My camera's timer is only 12 seconds so I had to descend the cliff run to my bike and ride the switchback... all with carbon fiber shoes with speedplay cleats... thank god no one was watching.