Cycling: James Raia Reports from the Tour de France - Stage II

Publisher's Greeting

The sun shone in Belgium, and all was right with the Tour de France. Stage 2, as per tradition, was another day for sprinters. The occasion marked only the third time a stage of the race finished in Namur, about 30 kilometers from the home of Adolphe Sax, the inventor of the saxophone.

And as one friend here commented, "One wonders if the habitants of Namur spend a lot of time tooting their own horns."

Note to subscribers: I will be providing Tour de France radio reports on Capital Public Radio (CPR) in Sacramento and its varied Northern California and Nevada affiliates as well as on National Public Radio (NPR). The CPR reports can be heard on July 9, 16 and 23. Reports on NPR reports will be heard periodically throughout the event on Morning Edition, which is repeatedly several times before 9 a.m. PST.

Tour News, Notes And Quotes

Robbie McEwen (Lotto-Domo) of Australia claimed the second sprinters' stage by several bike lengths, while Norgewian runner-up Thor Hushovd (Credit Agricole) assumed the overall race lead from prologue winner Fabian Cancellara (Fassa Bortolo) of Switzerland. Hushovd, who placed third in the first stage, finished second in the second stage and earned 12 bonus seconds. As the first Norwegian to possess the yellow jersey, he holds an eight-second cushion over Cancellara, with McEwen third at 17 seconds . . .

Lance Armstrong, who finished in the main peloton in the same time as the winner, fell one place to fourth and leads six Americans, representing four teams, in the top-20 . . . The field is down to 186 riders after the abandonment of Italian Gian Matteo Fagnini (Domina-Vacanze). Nick Gates (Lotto Domo) finished outside of the time limit of the first stage and didn't start stage 2 . . .

Stage 3 will take the peloton 210 kilometers (130.3 miles) from Waterloo to Wasquehal, and it's likely to continue the sprinters' showcase. But the route will also feature two small sections of pave, the famed cobblestones featured in the classic, Paris-Roubaix. The first cobble section will cover 2.5-kilometers beginning with 64 kms left in the stage. The final cobbles will cover one kilometer and will conclude with 25 kms left in the stage . . .

For those with celebrity interests: Sheryl Crow, the rock star and girlfriend of Lance Armstrong, is in attendance at The Tour. She was accepting of press interviews and revealed that she has ridden the climb to L'Alpe to Huez. With advice from her boyfriend, Crow concluded the climb in about 90 minutes.

Postcard From Le Tour

The computer screen of the guy sitting next to me yesterday in the press room telephone section made me do a double-take. The screen featured the logo of the NBA's Sacramento Kings.

"Oh, you must know Vlade Divac or some of the other European guys on the team," I said while glancing over at the guy.

"I am his first cousin," the guy said.

Indeed, Vito Divac, a 52-year-old bachelor, is the first cousin of the veteran center. He's also a 30-year sportswriter for Delo, a 400,000 circulation daily newspaper in Ljubljana, Slovenia.

Although he has bushy white hair and does not appear in the physical shape of an NBA player, Vito Divac facially resembles his famous cousin. At age 52, he's single and spends a fair amount of time in the U.S. writing columns about skiing, soccer, cycling and, of course, the NBA.

During the seasons in which Vlade Divac has played for the Kings, Vito Divac has traveled to Sacramento several times, usually after reporting on World Cup skiing in Colorado.

"Sacramento is one of my favorite cities," said Divac, as if serving as an ambassador from the city's chamber of commerce. But his reason was sincere.

"Where I live is one of the most quiet cities in Slovenia and I like the quiet," said Divac. "I like Sacramento because it's very quiet like where I live."

When Divac travels to write columns at the Kings' games, his goal is not to be objective. It would be impossible, he said, considering his relationship with his cousin.

"It's very difficult for me to write sports without emotion," explained Divac. "And when Vlade and I get together, there is a lot of emotion. And also, we don't talk about sports much."

When two Divacs last met a few months again in Sacramento, Vito told Vlade, he would return in June if the Kings advanced to the NBA Finals. Now Vito looks forward to a return to Northern California if his cousin continues to play for the Kings.

Americans In The Tour De France

 
Indvididual Stage Results
Stage 2, Charleroi to Namur, 197 kilometers
71. Bobby Julich (CSC), Reno, Nev., 4 hours, 18 minutes and 39 seconds (same time as the winner).
75. Levi Leipheimer (Rabobank), Santa Rosa, Calif, same time.
85. Lance Armstrong (U.S.P.S.), Austin, Texas, s.t.
86. George Hincapie (U.S.P.S.), Greenville, S.C., s.t.
89. Tyler Hamilton (Phonak), Marblehead, Mass., s.t.
94. Christian Vande Velde (Liberty Seguros), Lemont, Ill., s.t.
119. Floyd Landis (U.S.P.S.), San Diego, Calif., s.t.
General Classification
4. Armstrong @ 18 seconds
9. Julich @ 28 seconds
10. Hincapie @ 28 seconds
13. Leipheimer @ 31 seconds
18. Landis @ 34 seconds
19. Hamilton @ 34 seconds
89. Vande Velde @ 48 seconds

For complete results, visit the web sites:

CyclingNews.com
LeTour.fr
VeloNewws.com
More TDF Links

Previous reports:
Cycling: James Raia Reports from the Tour de France - Stage I

© Copyright 2004, James Raia

Posted with the permission of James Raia.

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