In Awe of Landis
I keep up with the Tour de France, mainly on Yahoo Sports and ESPN during most of the race but last night I was able to sit down and watch the 17th stage. Floyd Landis had crashed the day before, falling over 8 minutes behind the leader, Oscar Pereiro. Heading up the alps, Landis took off and avg. 24 mph up hill and left the competition in the dust. At the end of the race he was only 30 seconds behind Pereiro and 18 seconds out of second.
It is being called the greatest moment in the Tour de France modern history, which is quite a statement when you consider the competition of winners; Armstrong, LeMond, Meryck... I believe it is the greatest moment as this guy is riding with a dead hip and is facing major hip surgery after the Tour. He knows it is his last hope for a win in France's premiere event and to ride through all the pain and perform like he has is such an inspiration.
Perhaps the best thing about his performance is the way he conducted himself at the interviews. You can see the determination in his eyes, the fierceness of his desire as he vehemently states, "OK, yesterday I had a bad day and couldn't control it," Landis said. "But, one way or another, I was going to make whoever wins this Tour deserve it."
You have to love a competitor like that. I hope he wins for several reasons; he has spent his previous years helping Armstrong win and it is now his time and he has overcome huge obstacles too, the whole hip thing. Can't wait for the finish!
It is being called the greatest moment in the Tour de France modern history, which is quite a statement when you consider the competition of winners; Armstrong, LeMond, Meryck... I believe it is the greatest moment as this guy is riding with a dead hip and is facing major hip surgery after the Tour. He knows it is his last hope for a win in France's premiere event and to ride through all the pain and perform like he has is such an inspiration.
Perhaps the best thing about his performance is the way he conducted himself at the interviews. You can see the determination in his eyes, the fierceness of his desire as he vehemently states, "OK, yesterday I had a bad day and couldn't control it," Landis said. "But, one way or another, I was going to make whoever wins this Tour deserve it."
You have to love a competitor like that. I hope he wins for several reasons; he has spent his previous years helping Armstrong win and it is now his time and he has overcome huge obstacles too, the whole hip thing. Can't wait for the finish!
posted by Frustrated Writer | 4:07 AM
5 Comments:
I'm not so secret in my rooting - I adore the man. He is SUCH a good guy. If you think his interviews after the stage yesterday were great, you should have seen him after the bonk stage. He was SUCH a great interview - humble, determined, and good spirited. He is one of the best PEOPLE in cycling, and I hope he wins on the criteria alone!
I hadn't been following the Tour de France, but I will have to see if I can catch the rest of it now that I know what is going on! I certainly will root for Landis!!!
Good for him ! I hope he wins, because he certainly does deserve it.
Whatever happened to Armstrong's sidekick, Hincapis (spelling?)?
Alisa - Hincapie had a really BAD crash in the Paris Roubaix, and while many of his fans (me included) would have LOVED to see him ride well, it just didn't seem in the cards. Besides, the team is rebuilding for the future around a younger Russian rider.
Can't say I've been following either, but will give it a peak. Honestly, it scares me to watch sports that involve people moving at extremely high speeds across cobblestones.
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