Tour de France Predictions

Let the HOOPLA begin! Oh, guess it already did. Lets see, just got my Bicycling Mag, read the Outside piece; did an interview with the Austin newspaper; etc, etc, etc.... So, my POV?

Lance Armstrong Wins 7th!

Ok, I'm not going out on a limb here. It is the safest and most politically correct way to predict the finish. Actually, last year I didn't pick Lance because of his seeming fallability in 03, but he stomped that down last year, and well, I learned my lesson. I think everyone else who COULD beat Lance also learned the same lesson: Don't mess with this Texan.

The Tour was boring last year. Postal dominated starting with Lance's prologue followed by the bruising team time trial. That day of the TTT, the others must have felt steamrolled. Then, on the way up to La Mongie, the big names fell to pieces and Lance stomped them down. The race was over. It was boring in the sense that we all knew Lance would win; there was still drama in the green jersey all the way to the end which actually was the most exciting aspect of the race.

So, this year, I predict a repeat. There are of course strong contenders, but none of them have the will power and guts to slap Lance down. Nobody would dare. In an interview Ivan Basso said "Lance is unbeatable". He knows it, but of course he is going to compete, maybe for another colored jersey. Jan Ulrich is giving his annual "I'm ready" speach; but I don't even see Ulrich on the podium. His team mates Kloden and Vinikourov will work for him until about the stage to Briancon when one of them will have to chase down Lance and Co leaving Ulrich behind to ponder his potential lost in the hazy days of "X" and parties. Vino or Kloden may hang on; T-mobile is strong enough to get a podium finish.

Other also rans to watch for in my totally biased and distorted opinion: Levi Leipheimer - strong contender, not enough though. Is Gerolsteiner able to pull him along? Phonak has some strong riders, but Santiago Botero already peaked at the Dauphine and will crack mid-tour falling way off to the back. Floyd Landis has foresaken Discovery to pursue his own dreams - godspeed - but there seems to be an insurmountable mental hurdle Landis will have to get over to face down Lance and it won't happen.

Who will be the surprise sensation this year? Who the hell knows. Thomas Voeckler was great last year, and no matter who it will be, anyone who can give it what Voeckler did will win hearts. It may well be another Frenchman, as the French are now without Richard Virenque and 2 years gone from Laurent Jalabert. They need a star to step up and win some stages, wear yellow for a day or 2, and maybe get a jersey.

So, here we go:

GC - top finishers:
PODIUM in order: 1. Armstrong 2. Vinokourov 3. Basso

remaining ten - no order: Bobby Julich, Levi Leipheimer, Jan Ulrich, Andreas Kloden, Santiago Botero, and some surprise Frenchman followed by a Discovery Channel team mates of Lance.


Points/Green Jersey:
An Aussie again? Probably; see Robbie McEwen - he's tough but old. Baden Cooke will take it this year, but Tom Boonen may surprise.


Climbing/Polka Dot:
Wide Open - a spaniard will take it; pick one! Mayo is good enough, can he hold it together to the finish? Roberto Heras possible.


White/Best Young Rider - I have no friggin idea

And finally, my prediction for 2006: 75% dropoff in Americans traveling to the Tour de France; no daily TV coverage...

Your Own Personal Tour de France

There is something about being a cyclist that says if it doesn't hurt, it can't be too hard. Of course, it is true that when the cycling is hard, it usually hurts. It hurts to breath, the lactic acid builds up and muscles ache, and with time everything else can start to ache. Look at the RAAM riders later this week - everything will hurt so bad, they won't even feel pain anymore. (OF course, I wouldn't know since I haven't done anything remotely extreme as RAAM). Before I go on, I have to say that in accordance with previous posts, I don't view "fabios" as the ideal cyclists. I firmly believe in Freds; they are the much nicer of the two. And let me add, that the cycling world is made up of many types of cyclists - ALL GOOD! Anybody on a bike has got the right idea - so I would never knock it!

Now, having been PC, and reinforced my advocacy of cycling; lets talk about our new tour "Your own Personal Tour de France". As you might guess from the opening line above, this isn't for anyone. I can already picture the clients - middle age men and women like me looking to chalk up some more "victories" - aka - personal achievements. Our Tour de France tours and as well our French Alpes, Mont Ventoux, and Pyrenees cycling tours are popular because of what the rider can say when its over! Anyone who rides on these routes is going to suffer; but apparently the suffering is a worthwhile pursuit. That is a bit extreme. There are worse examples of course - like trying to climb Everest when you have more money than brains. At least doing this, its much more difficult to get killed.

We have organize this new tour to ride Alpe d'Huez, Galibier, Mont Ventoux, Tourmalet, Luz Ardiden, and Hautacam, among some other less know cols in France - all in one week on one tour. Now, as going on a tour to the Tour de France has become quite popular, it is still not possible in most cases to ride all these in the same tour. Why? Because the TOUR de France takes more time to cross the mountains with a few days in between and most companies give the choice of ranges, not usually both. If you are still unitiated in the TOUR de France, then let me say that they ride 200+ km per day in these ranges including massive peaks such as these and they are hammering each other all the way. We will ride these routes, but at our slower, older pace, and at a much lower mileage.

Now, if you made it this far into this entry, then you must be fascinated by the idea this tour offers. You can read about the tour at the link but, let me describe how it might go at the weekend club ride:

"I'm off to France to ride the big mountains of the Tour de France."
"Wow, cool, which one are going to ride?"
"All of them."
"Uh, what do you mean, all of them?"
"Uh, I mean, I'm going to ride Alpe d'Huez, Galibier, Ventoux, Tourmalet, Luz Ardiden, Hautacam next week. I'll bring you a photo from each."
"duh....."

Cycling Mont Ventoux

The Giant of Provence - Mont Ventoux - is a legendary cycling destination. I had another chance recently to get up this wall while I was in France and had a ride to remember.

Mont Ventoux stands out above Provence and is a point of reference for all around. ON clear days you can see the Mediterranean and way off into the Pre-Alps of Haute Provence. Because it rises up from the plain, it is famous as a difficult climb. From Carpentras you can slowly cross the plain gently rising up to the town of Bedoin where the real climbing starts. Bedoin is one of 3 access points to the summit of Ventoux, and this route is considered the hardest.

On Monday mornings Bedoin has its village market, and it is a good one! Bedoin is also one of those very charming provencale villages that you would picture in all the travel guides to Provence. Stone houses, village square with Plane trees, little cafes and restaurants, and nearby an surprisingly good number of excellent wines! So, I arrive on Monday morning, park in a municipal lot and unload the bike. I mount, and after crossing the village, follow the detour around the market and I'm climbing. 22 kilometers to the summit. I make a mental note of the distance and basically think about nothing else as I continue; constantly calculating how many more kilometers to go!

The thing is, Mont Ventoux is steep. Grades from Bedoin vary from a few percentages at first, to mostly grades of 9% to 11% throughout. Oh, and its not like you go up 500 meters and then cross a flat for 100 meters of relief; nope, its all up. Only 50 meters perhaps of relief about 2 km below Chalet Reynard at the 6 km to go sign.

I started early, and soon found myself alone on the roads. This was May 1, so fairly early in the season, and the morning air was brisk. I rode with pull on sleeves, but in shorts, and was never cold. After passing Chalet Reynard, I did ride along a number of snow drifts alongside the road now up above tree line. The ride from Chalet Reynard is much easier than the previous part; and I managed about 14km/hour on this last stetch. Making it to the summit in 1 hour 40 minutes. A personal best, but 44 very long minutes behind Iban Mayo who set the record at last year's Dauphine Libere Tour.

At the summit, I reached for my camera, against the gale force winds and found my batteries had died. Well, a little extra dead weight never hurt, but I was pissed. Since I was too early in the season to find any of the services open at the summit, I went back down, passing a great number of cyclists coming up, and was at the Bedoin market 25 minutes later. I loaded up my bike, went back to our rented farmhouse, and was on the beach at La Courronne 3 hours later. On the drive back, I could barely make out Ventoux in the way off distance and imagined my little speck self at the top earlier that day. There were probably many specs at the top now!

Want to try it? Go for it! Here are some additional thoughts:

Train - meaning push until it hurts. Ride hills until you are dying for air. Climbing Ventoux won't come to you any other way.

Apart from that; you just need to get to France. Cycling Classics, one of our companies, does offer a tour at Mont Ventoux. We also offer bike rentals for use on our tour, or for your own personal use on something you may book and plan for yourself separately. Some good hotels in the area include the Hotel des Pins at Bedoin and the deluxe Hostellerie du Crillon le Brave about 6 km away from Bedoin. Nearby trains from Carpentras and Avignon or Orange connect to Paris and the TGV. Car rentals are available in both Orange and Avignon. Also, another big attraction around Ventoux is the lavender. Nearby Sault is in the heart of Provence lavender country and offers some beautiful riding, including a trip through the Gorges de la Nesque. Don't forget the wines; appellation of Cotes du Ventoux, and nearby Gigondas, Chateauneuf du Pape, and others.

The restaurant at Chalet Reynard is open year round and a good place to break up the ride, although I probably wouldn't advise it until coming down. There is a place to get water from a well just next to the restaurant as you start up the hill.

Well, next its on to the Alps.

L