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Mark Cavendish is a Tour De France star in the making.A sprinter extraordinaire.
So far this year he has won over 80% of all sprints and finished 2nd in the rest.A native of the Isle of Man, he has a certain Scouse twang and (over)confidence about himself.He has not so far acknowledged any Scouse roots but they can't be too far away.Two hours on the Sea-Cat I suspect.His nickname is the Manx Missile and for once he takes time to explain his tactics and strategy.Nothing is left to chance.
Guess that's why he wins so often.On Sunday the tour was in the Pyrenees, not far from the bull run in Pamplona.An opportunity missed.Maybe next year when I am not so unemployed.Also, the last testing stage on this years tour is the dreaded Mount Ventoux.It was on this mountain that our last TDF hero Tom Simpson died by riding himself to death.His last words were 'go on,go on'.Sadly his body wasn't listening.Vive le Tour.Funny how all the podium chicks are pretty white girls.
I don't know why but I've always had a soft spot for The Tour De France.It's not rational since I find Formula 1 incredibly boring.So what is it about cycling around France in the glorious sunshine.Maybe it's because I also love driving around France in the glorious sunshine.Well today, amidst the annual drug furore that seems to overshadow the tour these days,Mark Cavendish (a Manxman with a scouse accent) became the first Englishman to win three stages in a tour ever! Drugs and cycling have always seemed to go hand in handlebar since the sixties.In fact Lord Roby was first introduced to 'substances' by an amateur cyclist f(r)iend.My pushers cycling collegues who were, either semi-pro or pro cyclists, all had jars full of the stuff!
Another thing that attracts me to the Tour is the madness of it all and the levels of fitness required just to compete.I'd be hard pushed to drive the course in the same time.
A particular tour hero is/was Tom Simpson,shown dying above.Tom literally rode himself to death on Mount Ventoux on a scorching hot 13th Stage on the 13th of July 1967.As well as drinking brandy 'en route' he also ingested some amphetamines for good measure. This coupled with a stomach bug and allied to the fact that the Tour organisers in those days only allowed 2 litres of water to combat dehydration, lead to Toms slow asphyxiation as he approached the summit.Not one to give up; his last words as the bike went sideways instead of forwards were 'Go on,go on!'
