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Tuesday, July 18, 2006
Pages: Not the Tour de France without Lance
By John Pages
Matchpoint
Who cares about the Tour de France?
I don’t. I used to. I mean, back in ’99, when a man from outer space slipped on cycling shorts, rode a bike called Trek and pedaled, I watched. I followed.
I read every item on velonews.com from ‘99 to 2005. That’s seven years.
Today? Nah.
Has the Tour started yet?
I haven’t noticed.
You can’t blame me. You can’t blame the millions, maybe billions, around this planet who’ve sat mesmerized at one man from the outer galaxy called Lance Armstrong.
You see, those two words are not mere letters to spell a person’s name. “Lance Armstrong” means life. It means a deep breath of air in the face of death. It’s the Big C called Cancer conquered by the Bigger C called Cycling conquered by the Biggest C called Champion.
I miss Lance Armstrong.
Who cares about the Tour de France?
I don’t. I used to. I mean, didn’t they already rename it the “Tour de Lance?”
There’s one word best to describe Armstrong.
Superman.
He’s Superman on wheels. He can fly on the asphalt, zoom down a mountain, catch a rival like a bullet. The only difference is the costume: not blue-and-red with an “S” in front but yellow with “1” at the back.
He’s Armstrong. His arms are strong. His lungs are strong. His legs are strong. Yet, his strongest muscle isn’t the one that powered the pedals or gripped the handlebars or breathed in air inside the chest. It’s the one that pumped inside.
I miss the Tour de Lance.
Who’s heading the Tour today? It’s a guy named Oscar Pereiro. Who in the world is Oscar Pereiro? At second place is Floyd Landis. Who in the world is Floyd Landis? OK. He’s American, the former teammate of Armstrong years back with the US Postal Service team, he’s the leader of Team Phonak. Fine.
He’s also the man most expected to win this year’s edition.
Fine. But who is he?
Want to know what I miss most about the Tour de Lance?
I miss staying up until 1 in the morning to catch the “live” showing (never mind the all-French commentary) on cable TV. I miss sending the yearly text message to Chris Aldeguer saying, “It’s that time of the year again!” I know who also aches a lot: Danao Mayor Ramonito Durano and Danao Councilor Boying Rodriguez, who watch both the live and delayed TV coverages, read every Internet and magazine article on LA.
I miss the man in yellow.
It’s like when Michael Jordan left the NBA. To me, MJ is the Lance Armstrong of basketball. When Jordan retired, there was no use watching the NBA. It wasn’t just boring, it was lacking. It was missing the one character you came to see. It’s like going to the concert of The Rolling Stones and not seeing Mick Jagger.
I guess there’s a disadvantage at being an Armstrong. There’s a negative to winning Le Tour seven straight times. The fans get used to it. He wins. He wins again. He wins once more. Wins again and again and again and again.
To spectators, we had gotten so used to seeing one man wear that yellow jersey, one man stand up the podium, one man hold aloft those lion teddy-bears and kiss those two gorgeous ladies left and right.
Maybe if Jan Ullrich and Ivan Basso had raced this year it wouldn’t be so tough. In fact, had those two riders joined, the race would be a thrill. Finally, we can say, a new star will emerge from the shadows of Armstrong. Sadly, what emerged was the shadow of drug accusations. And what a dark shadow.
And how I miss the shadow of a non-drug cheat who ruled the Tour de Lance...Lance.
Today’s Tour reminds me of this event in tennis we call “a non-ranking event.” This tournament excludes all the top players.
So if you’re ranked from one to eight, you can’t join; only those unseeded can. It’s an event designed to give the lousy players a chance.
The 2006 Tour de France is a “non-ranking event.” It’s for the lousy, unseeded...
Who cares about the Tour de France?
I don’t. Well, I used to...
(john@brighacademy.edu.ph)
For Bisaya stories from Cebu. Click here. (July 18, 2006 issue)
Write letter to the editor.Click here.
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