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Posted: July 3, 2005

Cycling: TOUR DE FRANCE TIMES - Volume 3, No. 2 (July 2, 2005)

By James Raia
www.ByJamesRaia.com

Publisher's Greeting

The Tour has begun and what a day for Americans. David Zabriskie upset favored compatriot Lance Armstrong and six U.S. riders finished among the top 14.

It was overcast and mild, and all the talk of then end of American cycling quickly subsided with the U.S. performances.

The race has just begun, but several subplots have already begun. Is Jan Ullrich's crash into a team car on Friday more serious than expected?

How long can the CSC team keep Zabriskie in yellow?

And just what's up with Armstrong slipping out of his shoes? He lost perhaps four seconds when the problem occurred in stage 1. But considering Armstrong's meticulous ways, similar mechanical issues sure seem to happen to him often, don't they?

Sunday's stage 2: Challens-Les Esssarts, 181.5 kilometers.

For today's results, visit the Tour's official web site: www.letour.fr.

Feature Showcase

Leipheimer Has Sight Set On Tour Podium

Levi Leipheimer of Santa Rosa, Calif., has finished ninth and eighth in the Tour, now he's ready for a better result as the leader of the Gerolsteiner team.

Postcard From The Tour

The flights and drive to Tour de France was replete with delays and then a 4 1/2 hour drive around Paris to Pornic, a small Atlantic seaboard city one hour north of the opening stage.

Asking directions is common at the Tour de France, and after stopping only twice for help, I arrived nearing midnight. That left plenty of time to visit the only open restaurant and bar in the city, Casino.

Located along an inland beach front, Casino is, in fact, a casino, restaurant and a bar with a small inside and outside seating area.

After nearly a day of traveling, the evening's slight breeze was refreshing and relaxing. A French guitar player and singer and his woman partner entertained patrons with a combination French and American pop tunes.

It was good to be back in France, but bad music is bad music any language. And so it was for The French version of The Village's People's anthem, YMCA.