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Are You Watching the Tour?

07.10.2011 by Ray Niekamp // 9 Comments

I wasn’t going to. All the doping cases have me fed up with the world of pro cycling. For the past three years, I’ve done posts about the different teams in the Tour, and who their sponsors are, and what they do. This year, I didn’t. I just don’t care anymore.

But now the Tour is underway…and every day, I find myself tuned in a little longer, absorbing a little more detail about the race…

Saturday, I was at a friend’s birthday party, and lots of other cyclists were there. Sure enough, one of the most commonly-asked questions was, “Are you watching the Tour?”

Not one person I talked to hadn’t seen at least some of it. One fellow said he’d missed the day’s action, and asked me what happened.

“Oh, Vinokurov decided to go for it,” I said. “He tried to catch the breakaway. Almost did it, too. It was really something to watch him attack.”

I caught myself. I knew as much or more about what was going on as my friends did, even after vowing that I was through with pro cycling.

“But I was yelling, ‘Doper! doper!’ all during his run,” I quickly added.

How did I get sucked into the Tour again this year?

It was innocent enough. My summer school teaching duties ended last week, and I now have some time on my hands. I didn’t try to tune in. In fact, I missed the first two days.

Then I started sneaking peeks. You know, the fabulous aerial shots of the French countryside — the castles — the chateaus. Then when they were passing through farm country the farmers created a large bicycle mockup with those huge round hay bales. And the wheels of the bike went round and round. And the wheels were formed by tractors driving in circles. Big tractors. It was terrific. I called my wife to come see.

So then we sat and watched. And watched until the end.

“That’s Mark Cavendish,” I told her. “He’s the best sprinter in the world. He’s British, but he rides for the American team HTC Highroad, so we can root for him.”

“So who do you want to win?” she asked.

I caught myself again. Don’t forget, I’m anti-pro cycling.

“Uh…I don’t know,” I replied. “I guess I don’t have a favorite. Any of the American teams would be fine with me.”

“Who are the American teams?” she asked.

“Well, there’s BMC…”

“Oh, from Houston. I’ve been by their place lots of times.”

“No, we went over this last year,” I said. “It’s not BMC Software. BMC is a Swiss bicycle company. But the team is based in Santa Rosa, California.”

Then I went through the other American teams: Radio Shack (she knew about them, from last year’s Tour), HTC Highroad, and Garmin-Cervelo. I ticked off the top riders on each team.

“Who are you rooting against?” she asked.

Team Sky's Xabier Zandio

“Team Sky,” I said. “They’re sponsored by BSkyB, the British satellite TV company. Rupert Murdoch owns 39 percent of BSkyB, and wants to buy the rest, but that phone hacking scandal is holding him up. I’ll root against anything with Murdoch’s name attached to it.”

“Anyone else?”

“I’m not crazy about Alberto Contador,” I said. “I’d like to see Andy Schleck get his revenge this year.”

“Is he American?”

Andy Schleck

“No, Luxembourger. He and his brother Frank started Team Leopard-Trek this year. It’s based in Luxembourg, and is kind of an all-star team. My favorite rider, Fabian Cancellara, is on that team.”

“So you’re really for a foreign team.”

“No, like I said, I’m for any of the American teams.”

“Who’s going to win?”

“I think it might be Cadel Evans this time.”

“Is he American?”

Cadel Evans

“He rides for BMC, but he’s Australian.”

“Good grief,” she said.

“What can I say? It’s an international sport,” I answered.

During Sunday’s melee, Vinokurov wound up with a broken pelvis after a horrific crash that kn0cked several big names out of the Tour.

Monday will be a rest day. So I can get out and ride my bike, and maybe go a little longer than usual, coming off a weekend. Then I can get as much yard work done as possible, so there’s free time during the rest of the week to watch the race.

“Hey, did you read on Velo News what they said about…” called out one of my friends at that birthday party.

“Nah,” I told him. “I’m not that into the Tour this year. I haven’t read anything about it online.”

Then I reminded myself that Velo News’s coverage is pretty good. I’ll have to check it out — and even bookmark it.

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Categories // Racing Tags // Tour de France

Those bike team names

07.09.2008 by Ray Niekamp // 6 Comments

Ever wonder just who those companies are that sponsor the teams in the Tour de France? For most of us who don’t follow pro cycling on a regular basis, the team names have an exotic European flavor we encounter once a year. I finally got fed up with seeing the names and not knowing their significance — so here we go.

  • Cofidis — French — Consumer Credit. Offers customized consumer loans either by phone or over the Internet.
  • Gerolsteiner — German — Bottled spring water.
  • Agritubel — French — Worldwide provider and manufacturer of tubular metal products for cattle, livestock and farming.
  • Silence-Lotto — Belgian — Lotto is the Belgian lottery. Silence is a brand name for Omega Pharma, a Belgian pharmaceutical company. Previous team names of Davitamon and Predictor were also brand names of Omega Pharma.
  • Credit Agricole — French — Largest retail banking group in France. 8th largest in world.
  • Saunier Duval-Scott — Spanish — Part of the Vaillant Group, manufacturing home hot water heaters, heating and air conditioning systems.
  • Liquigas — Italian — Supplies liquified gas products in Italy.
  • Euskaltel Euskadi — Basque — Basque telephone company. Euskadi is the Basque word for Basque.
  • Quick Step Innergetic — Belgian — Laminate floor covering company. Innergetic is Europe’s leading manufacturer of latex foam mattresses, toppers and pillows for the bedding industry.
  • Barloworld — U.K. — Team is registered in the U.K., but Barloworld is a South African brand management company, supplying heavy equipment (Caterpillar), automotive (Avis), warehouse equipment (Hyster), and logistics in a number of different countries.
  • Ag2r-La Mondiale — French — Ag2r Group is a French-based interprofessional insurance and supplementary retirement fund group. The La Mondiale Group is a French-based international group for supplementary pension and estate planning insurance.
  • Caisse d’Epargne — Spanish — The team is registered to Spain, but the sponsor is a French banking company.
  • CSC-Saxobank — Danish — CSC is Computer Sciences Corporation, information technology services to businesses and governments. Saxobank is a Danish online investment bank.
  • Rabobank — Dutch — Dutch cooperative bank, mostly in agribusiness. Set up as a federation of credit unions.
  • Bouygues Telecom — French — Mobile telephone company.
  • Francaise des Jeux — French — French national lottery.
  • Milram — German — Milram brand of the Bremen-based Nordmilch company (dairy). Milk, butter, and cheese.
  • Lampre — Italian — Manufacturer of prefinished steel sheet materials. Secondary sponsor Fondital is a manufacturer of home heaters and radiators.

Garmin-Chipotle (GPS navigation and a chain of Mexican food restaurants) and Columbia (sportswear) should already be known, at least to American biking fans.

Info from Wikipedia and the web sites of the companies. If I’m in error on any of the details, the fault lies with me.

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Categories // Racing Tags // Racing, sponsors, teams, Tour de France

The Tour de France

07.06.2008 by Ray Niekamp // 3 Comments

I don’t race (unless I’m trying to beat that old guy) and I don’t really follow the world of pro bicycle racing. But for the past several years, I have made it a point to get in front of the television to watch the greatest spectacle in cycling — the Tour de France.

For me, what makes the Tour so special is the countryside of France. The aerial shots of the course and the ancient landmarks along it are stunning. My wife often shushes me if she is around and I start exclaiming over this castle or that picturesque village. I can’t help it. Sports played in stadiums don’t have the same je ne sais quoi as the Tour.

However, this is the first Tour I’ve watched since becoming what I consider to be a “serious” cyclist. So I’m watching the riders more closely than I might have in the past. These guys are unbelievable. To watch the bursts of speed they put on at the end of a stage — I can’t imagine what that must be like. And to ride three weeks of 100-mile days, mon Dieu! And let’s hope the effort to crack down on doping this year is successful.

I have taken note of the scandal surrounding the exclusion of team Astana from the Tour this year. They got a raw deal and the Tour is the poorer for their absence. But I’m also interested in the presence of two American-based teams, Columbia and Garmin Chipotle. Columbia seems to be poised to do something special. As Team Highroad, they racked up a number of wins. Garmin Chipotle got more publicity when they formed last year, especially after the Astana debacle, but I don’t have the sense that they have the potential as Columbia. As Dennis Miller used to say, that’s just my opinion — I could be wrong.

Anyway, I’ll be watching TV every day for the next three weeks, much to my wife’s chagrin. I might even spend some of my online time reading up on the background of this year’s Tour — the teams, the favorites, the strategy. They are, after all, the crème de la crème of the cycling world.

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Categories // Racing Tags // Columbia, Garmin Chipotle, Racing, Tour de France

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