Can't Decide Who to Pull For

For all intents and purposes, Alberto Contador and Lance Armstrong are tied for the lead in the Tour de France. More than half of the stages have been ridden, but probably 75% of the actual racing remains. As with any distance event, it's all about pacing for the long haul. By this point luck, lack of stamina, and form have eliminated many of the riders, but no one has a decisive lead over those remaining in contention. That will be determined in the Alps and by the final time trial.

I was hoping circumstances would have helped me pick my favorite by this point in the race, but it hasn't. I'd like to see Armstrong win, because . . . well, because he's Lance. It'd be epic. Or even more epic, I suppose, since he's already epic. Watching history happen is always cool. But I really feel for Contador. Lance retired and Alberto became the next big thing. He got himself the top spot on Lance's former team with Lance's former manager and has been dominant the last two years. Then Lance decides to come out of retirement and tries to take it all back. Contador doesn't deserve that. And they can't even have an honest race to see who's better since they're on the same team; as Lance said in a recent interview, they'll both try to win, but the bigger disaster would be their in-fighting meaning someone else beats them both, so sooner or later one will have to back off and help the other instead of fighting to the end. So I want Contador to win, too, since Lance is being such a bully.

Speaking of bullies, the whole Astana team has basically been one big bully. They have so many of the top riders and seem capable of completely taking control of the race any time they want. It will be nothing short of a miracle if another team can overcome them. So the part of me that always pulls for underdogs would like to see the bully taken down a notch.

That starts with Cadel Evans. His situation seems the opposite of Astana's--he always seems to have bad luck, his team never seems able to help when it counts, and nothing ever seems to go his way. He's been second in the Tour for the past two years, so he's more than capable, but he's already a long shot this year because his team was almost 3 minutes behind Astana in the team time trial. He'd be right behind Lance right now if it wasn't for that. I feel for the guy.

Then there's the young Garmin-Slipstream team. A U.S. team built from scratch only in its second year with a ProTour license. Lots of young riders, a family atmosphere, and a commitment to racing clean. The "good guys," if you will. Christian Vande Velde is trying to come back from breaking some vertrebrae in a crash in the Giro d'Italia in May to improve on his fifth place last year. He's spent most of his career helping bigger names, and is now ready to take a shot at the top. Or his teammate Bradley Wiggins, who's trying to transition from an olympic-winning career on the track to being a serious roadie. The guy went from 180 pounds on his 6 foot frame to 160 so he'd be light enough to keep up on the mountains (similar to Lance improving after cancer had wasted away a lot of his body) and he seems to have a fun personality. I'd be more than happy to see either of those two win as well.

The Remaining Stages of Note

Stage 15: Sunday, 7/19 - MOUNTAINTOP FINISH in the Alps
Stage 16: Tuesday, 7/21 - Big day in the Alps
Stage 17: Wednesday, 7/22 - Big day in the Alps
Stage 18: Thursday, 7/23 - INDIVIDUAL TIME TRIAL
Stage 20: Saturday, 7/25 - The Epic, second-to-last-day, Decisive MOUNTAINTOP FINISH

The Current Standings

1 Rinaldo Nocentini (Ita) AG2R La Mondiale 48:27:21
2 Alberto Contador Velasco (Spa) Astana +0:00:06
3 Lance Armstrong (USA) Astana +0:00:08
4 Levi Leipheimer (USA) Astana +0:00:39
5 Bradley Wiggins (GBr) Garmin - Slipstream +0:00:46
6 Andreas Klöden (Ger) Astana +0:00:54
7 Tony Martin (Ger) Team Columbia - HTC +0:01:00
8 Christian Vande Velde (USA) Garmin - Slipstream +0:01:24
9 Andy Schleck (Lux) Team Saxo Bank +0:01:49
10 Vincenzo Nibali (Ita) Liquigas +0:01:54
13 Fränk Schleck (Lux) Team Saxo Bank +0:02:25
16 Carlos Sastre Candil (Spa) Cervelo Test Team +0:02:52
18 Cadel Evans (Aus) Silence - Lotto +0:03:07
28 Denis Menchov (Rus) Rabobank +0:05:02