Monday, July 9, 2007

I love Lycra by Mimitig - mimitig

Well folks, it’s that time of year again. For three weeks of the high summer we have, depending on your point of view, either days and days of fit young men with muscular thighs and calves, clad in skin-tight lycra defying sanity and reason, racing for over 2,000 miles round France and neighbouring countries, or a bunch of crazed drug-loonies racing for …..

Call me naïve, call me a fool, but I go for the former. Unlike last year, the start of this year’s Tour de France could not have gone better. Of the 190 riders due to start, only one did not – and the drug-related reason for Petacchi’s disqualification could hardly be more shaky if it were a sand-castle falling down as the tide comes in. As an asthma sufferer, he is registered with the authorities for the use of salbutamol, and it would appear that only the weather conditions caused him to present an illegal sample of about a nano-gramme. This is a far cry from the dramas of 2006, which saw leading contenders falling by the way-side before the Grand Depart in the wake of Operacion Puerto (still unresolved).

Waved off in the Mall yesterday by London’s mayor, Ken Livingstone, in beautiful sunshine and with crowds of about one million lining the route of the 8K Prologue course, the world of professional cycle racing breathed a sigh of relief. London had scarcely looked more stunning – for once, as commentators Paul Sherwen and Phil Liggett noted – there was no scaffolding masking the architectural treasures of the capital, and all was set for the most exciting of time-trials that I have seen for many a year. Early on Andreas Kloden set a stunning time, just over the 9 minutes and for ages this looked unbeatable. Our own Brad Wiggins rode his heart out and only missed out on a podium by thousandths of a second. At the very end, World Champ Fabian Cancellara made them all look slow, dipping below the 9 minutes and showing the world just what Swiss sportsmen are made of (or maybe just making sure Roger knew what he had to do in SW19 the following day!).

As I watched the scenes in London – so many happy people and such calm organisation, it seemed unreal that only a week before, this country had been on the highest of security alerts due to thwarted terrorist threats. It was a triumph for Ken, the public and the men in lycra. When Christian Prudhomme was interviewed by Gary Imlach and Chris Boardman at the end of the day, he could not stop smiling. His first year as Directeur – what a start.

They rolled out of Town this morning – more stunning TV shots of London (and let’s not forget that it is the French who control the broadcasting) – as our lycra-clad heroes pedalled slowly to the race start in Greenwich. Ken got to wave them off again at Tower Bridge and after a couple of Ks – covered faster by these boys than most commuters manage in cars – the race real began. It didn’t take long for Saunier-Duval’s (and Scotland’s own) David Millar to take on the pack. He led a sole breakaway for what seemed like most of the race. He was joined by a couple of Frenchmen and two others and they led the peloton through the Kent countryside. The peloton stopped off for a communal slash at about the only point on the route when the roads were not lined by an astonishing hundreds of thousands of spectators, while Paul Sherwen got all his words muddled up describing the orchards and hopfields of Kent as the “bread-basket of London”. Phil, who has commentated on the Tour for more years than I care to remember was convinced, as was I, that we’ve not seen crowds like this in the French countryside in recent years.

As the kilometres were covered, the breakaway was pulled back – the sprinters’ teams got themselves organised. Quickstep for Tom Boonen, Credit Agricole for Thor Hushovd and predictably, Predictor Lotto for the Pimpernel aka Robbie McEwen. T-Mobile should have been in it for Mark Cavendish, but a nasty crash (hitting a spectator) had put paid to the young Manxman’s dream, and one didn’t give much for the chances of the Australian either. Robbie had punctured at the start of the race, got back, only to crash – or be crashed into – a scant 18K from the finish. With only 5K to go, although his team were working feverishly, Robbie was pretty much stone last.

But this man is a wonder to behold (he had already 11 Stage wins in his Tour career), and less than 200m out, suddenly, there he was. Blazing up the right-hand side – just as we were thinking little Robbie Hunter would steal the glory – and just swept everyone away. It was one of McEwen’s best wins, and with skin torn from his leg and a damaged wrist, one could only laugh at the irony as he described himself as a “light-weight”.

David Millar got his due reward for a courageous breakaway, and canny riding for the intermediate sprints and climbs, so starts tomorrow in the Polka Dot Jersey of King of the Mountains, and in third place in the General Classification. Brad Wiggins’s brave ride in the Prologue leaves him fifth – the first time I can remember two Brits in the top 10. Robbie is resplendent once again in green and who would bet against him winning tomorrow in Ghent? It is, after all, his adopted home. Fabian stays in yellow – he now has two of those cute cuddly lions this year.

I love Le Tour de France, I love men in lycra, I love the sight of French gendarmes on duty in the streets of South London. As Phil said: “it doesn’t get much more bizarre than that.” For the Tour and for its English hosts, it doesn’t get much better than the last two days.

79 comments:

Anonymous said...

Excellent report Mimi.

I missed the prologue round London but saw most of stage 2. I missed the ‘communal slash’ too, now was that before le chateau de Sissinghurst or après? Perhaps l’equipe could sponsor these moments and hand out free copies so the slashers can maintain (Pascal-style) decorum, non?

McEwen’s run home reminded me of Kiwi in the 83 Melbourne Cup, last at the turn, stormed home, saluted the judge. Young Robbie did it easy in the finish.

Who’s going to win?

Anonymous said...

Thanks lev. Couldn't comment on Sissinghurst, but we were in stitches here! Robbie was utterly magnificent and I wish I'd put money on him for the green jersey. Who will win overall - fack knows!

DoctorShoot said...

Levre seconded
truly excellent piece of sports writing Mimi.
balanced, colourful, with scenery, heroes, the commentary team and the eccentricities... loved it. Missed it on the telly but now I don't feel so frustrated... thanks Mimi, quality writing with loads of informative detail.

next report maybe give us the main time differences if you have them... (like how far ahead is yellow, and does RM have a chance or only the sprits? etc)

Anonymous said...

Aw look Doc: I'm just a fan. Le Maillot Jaune has about 13 secs at the moment and that'll keep him in yellow tomorrow I reckon. For the next few days it's about him being safe in the peloton and all about the aussies - well Robbie, anyway. And I'll be keeping an eye for the Corner.

DoctorShoot said...

Mimi
just a fan with a good pen hand.
relax and enjoy well earned plaudits when they come your way...

some posts one reads and wishes for another few paragraphs in the same vein and this was one...

Anonymous said...

Thanks mimi, that prologue was the only stage I have wanted to watch in years and I missed it. I'm sure it must have looked beyond strange.

I'm not into cycling at all (pétanque is my summer sport) but with writing like that on offer I might actually follow le tour this year.

Zephirine said...

Really good piece of reportage, Mimi, even as a non-cylist my interest was held, now I even feel like I know something about the Tour!

Margin said...

Fantastic piece Mimi - and lycra obsession aside I couldn't agree more about the start of this year's tour.

I was so cynical last year that for the first time since I can remember I paid no attention to le tour at all. It seemed like a pointless waste of energy to engage for three weeks in something so discredited.

But this year I have got really quite excited again. The event has so many little subplots that it is truely unique. I even want to want proven drugs cheats like David Miller to prove thay can do it without the pharmaceuticals, and so set a good example having been part of the problem before.

Maybe all that is because it started in my home town this year - or maybe it is because there was no flurry of drug scandal just before the prologue. Or maybe (hopefully) its because this feels like a new beginning for a tour that is taking the action needed to change and avoid a slide into eventual obscurity.

But its great and your article sums it up brilliant.

Anonymous said...

You're all way too kind. Sadly through the week I only get a one hour highlights programme, and I doubt that'll include such gems as the peoloton's "comfort" breaks, but I'll see how it goes for another piece next weekend. Thank you all very much.

guitougoal said...

mimi,
you really have a gift for capturing the excitment of cyclism and making it come alive through the words you put on a page.thanks to you I was there for a while.

file said...

I always wear lycra when I comment, explains a lot huh?

great piece mimi, your energy and enthusiasm really come across, a day to remember and another article for the book surely

Anonymous said...

For those of you who are kind enough to read and comment on my offerings re Le Tour, here's an update.
Just one Tour virgin abandonned yesterday so the pack rolled into France today and shortly crossed the border into Belgium. Dreadful conditions with lightening and torrential rain favoured the 3 man breakaway. There was a nasty crash for pre_Tour Stage winner pick Frank Schlek, but we think he's OK. The peloton swallowed up the break, Cancellara took a heavy fall in a mega-crash a few Ks short of the line and may be injured. Blond Belgian heart-throb Tom Boonen lost out to team-mate Steegmans (used to be Robbie's lead-out man) in a photo-finish.
If I get any positive comments, I'll give you more tomorrow.

Anonymous said...

I didn't watch the stage but I heard the TV commentators screaming about the crash, so I watched the finish. It seemed to me that Steegman was leading Boonen for the sprint and then got caught up in it and just forgot to let his leader win. Funniest cycling episode I've seen in a long time. Will he get an earful from his team director at the hotel tonight? I wonder.

Anonymous said...

Haven't seen it yet - report done from on-line reading. No live streaming for the Mimi today. Wonder if Gert is still secretly working for Aussie wonder Robbie then? Can we be the first to launch a Tour conspiracy????

Anonymous said...

I enjoyed that too mimi. It's great to be able to be positive about the Tour and your piece portrayed that happy feeling.

It was quite a weekend of sport, though I only caught a few minutes of it on TV, and some radio time. To think that once life was not about fucking school fairs and more about watching four hours of tennis genius or Le Tour.

guitougoal said...

mimi,could you do at least a short on each leg? that would be great.

Anonymous said...

well, you've only yourselves to blame. There'll be a little write up - whose shorts whose legs I'm not decided yet, though Thor's are fairly tempting, each day that I have the time!
Saw the re-run and thank dog Robbie's fine. Not sure about the Maillot jaune - seemed in some pain and I think a few may abandon with collar-bone injuries before tomorrow's start. Ah me, soon we'll have less than 180 men in lycra for the Mimi!

Anonymous said...

I have read a lot of cycling journalism - like cricket, it seems to produce the very best in writers - and this report is right up there with the best Mimi.

I was all flushed with pride as the city of which I am immensely pleased to call home put on a spectacular show and was so favoured by the weather and television coverage magnifique!

Pseuds may may read my piece written immediately after Landis' great ride last year with its final line added in its hideous aftermath - so you won't be surprised to hear that I still feel the pain of a lover scorned. Notwithstanding all that, I recognise that it is a beautiful sport as so beautifully conveyed here. Ken's investment has paid some dividend!

Of course, not all of us Brits understand pro-cycling as this clip shows http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hbwYLaJo0zs

guitougoal said...

hopefully London will be a new beginig for the tour,a "fresh start" so to speak.

Anonymous said...

Cheers Mouth - Chris Morris is of course a god (he wrote it all, Alan Partridge is just ...) and we did have a lust for men in lycra there. Ah me, only another 12 hours or so before they set off again, these chaps with chaffing.

guitougoal said...

"beginig" to feel the jet lag, sorry mimi.

Anonymous said...

Update - and the last you'll get till next weekend, when I may write a new piece. Rewiring my neural networks to lycra mode this afternoon, I realised that the longest stage of the Tour, following an absolutely hideous crash yesterday (fortunately only one abandonnment)could be dull. And so it started. A four man breakaway led to some excitement, but the peloton was in cruise recovery mode, and why not? Weather was pretty vile - Belgian - with thunder, lightening and torrential rain for part of the stage. Reminders of Paris-Roubaix so apt as the stage ended racing over fabled paves (cobbles). The breakaway took glory for 231K, but just as Paul predicted, they were caught at the flamme rouge as the "black heaving mass that is the peloton" bore down and wiped these brave men out. Cancellara took the spoils - extends his lead to 33 secs. David hands the polka dot jersey to Auge (sp?) but stays in 3rd in GC.
Apparently the Swiss also just won the America's Cup as well as Wimbledon and are now set on a path of world domination in sport.
Oh and thoughts of Thor's thighs have to wait - he has a trapped sciatic nerve and is in pain.

Anonymous said...

Sensational ride from the Maillot Jaune - the aggression reminded me of Hinault and that's the highest praise.

Don't let me fall in love again - I couldn't bear the pain.

Anonymous said...

It was reminiscent of the original Badger. Courage mon ami, this is the most open Tour we've seen for years, so fall in love again and look forward to more than 2 weeks of ups and downs, heroes and derring-do. I believe in the clean-up and I just love those men in lycra!!

DoctorShoot said...

Mimi
I need your tour coverage!!
In the middle of the night with the gales howling off the southern ocean I stagger in the dark to tuck the kids back in, and stoke the fire embers, and flick the screen on but no sound or wakies and mayhem...
and all I get is someone in the breakaway who I don't recognise...

why no reports for a week now you have me hooked??..

Anonymous said...

I'm both 12000 miles away and shoulder to shoulder with the Doc on this one Mimi. Especially once the road goes up.

Anonymous said...

Doc - I have a life outside loving lycra and am out for the next few nights, so won't be able to post instant stuff, and a retrospective just wouldn't be the same. I don't get many readers on my cycling threads, but value those few muchly. Rest assured there'll be something done at the weekend.

DoctorShoot said...

Mimi
you have shattered my illusion of you lazing around in the glittering sunny reflections on the Firthy banks, on a chequered rug, wearing a Matisse print sarong, drinking champers and watching the race on the portable... and taking notes for the DAILY posting...

now you are telling me that there is other more important life!!

Anonymous said...

Ah Doc - I hate to shatter your illusions, but current weather sees me hunched over the computer, in cashmere with extra alpaca (hand-knitted for me and sent from Melbourne) shawl, writing away at my little cricket articles and trawling the websites for news of the lycra boys. It's not glamourous, but someone has to do it!

Anonymous said...

Nice one mimi,
I'm wearing a lycra balaclava, does that count?

Anonymous said...

Duncan, you're sooooo trendy. I'll have to get a lycra loincloth just to keep up...

Anonymous said...

mimi, this is great stuff. keep writing when you can. I am reading too. Left a comment on monday but am having technical difficulties.

Offy, how the hell are you? What's your 20?

Anonymous said...

For my fan (Doc I can't let you down!) here's a short on today at Le Tour.
A mere 193K to cycle with four category four climbs for polka-dot lovers. Chances, on a mainly flat stage for glory in a breakaway and a big sprint finish. Millar took a few points on the first climb to close on Stephane Auge and a 5 man group went after 30K. Comprising Flecha and Chavanell this could have been interesting as both have featured on previous Tours and Flecha ("The Arrow") won a stage in 2003. There was what the Beeb call a comfort break or what here at Pseuds's we describe as a communal slash, but no-one lost any time. The 5 stayed away as the beast organised. T-Mobile for Cav, Liquigas, Barloworld and Quickstep all got involved, but it was big Thor (he of the thighs) who got the win. Little Robbie (Hunter) was very peeved and I don't know where Big Robbie (Aus monster McEwen) was.
Won't see the highlights, but am guessing Fab is still in yellow, with another cuddly lion. What do they do with them post-race? Why have I never been sent one as a loyal fan? Questions, questions.
If you want more, you have to ask for it. I could be doing other things you know!!

Anonymous said...

It was Hunter's race for the taking but he started his sprint 50 metres too early and boy did he know it.

Offside - you'll have to tell me where you got your lycra loincloth. Here in London, they never seem to have my size...

Anonymous said...

I'm toying with the idea of a lion-print lycra bikini and if it would get me any more readers, I'd even wear the damn thing!!

DoctorShoot said...

Mimi thank you
most appreciated and enjoyed.
There is a long way to go and I am on your magic carpet all the way into the mountains and down again to the great Arch...

Mouth
love your gentle boast...

my friend Rhino, who takes a fairly large size himself, reports that in the west indies - (he rates shopping in Antigua as a sport requiring higher faster stronger quicker and that two sided coin sweeter/meaner) - one can purchase almost anything at all in lycra and in some really superb colours and all sizes...

Anonymous said...

Doc - I just lost my post, but it was along the lines that if a fan asks, a fan gets. So I'll go on reporting here. in my lion-print bikini, but with no cuddly lion. Surely, surely the Tour organisers should trawl the web and send stuffed lions to the Mimi???

DoctorShoot said...

Mimi
no stuffed lions but here's a fantasic clip of an Aussie trio with two handsome young kangaroos and some good advice for tour riders...:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q22-uLkzEZc

enjoy in the break...

guitougoal said...

mimi,
reporting in lion print bikini on the tour de france it's cool,remember to cover your head.
mimi in mini bikini wearing a sombrero: priceless.

Anonymous said...

Thanks Doc - lovely song. I was feeling a bit blue this afternoon, but as always cheered by the Pseuds.

Anonymous said...

I'm in France for the tour but...

Don't need to read l'Equipe
Don't need to watch TV
I got the Mimi
And her little summary
I got the Mimi
In her lion print bikini

Anonymous said...

OK fan(s0. A quick update on today's stage which considerately set off from Chablis giving me the ideal excuse to quall a glass of vin blanc while following the boys. 184K lay ahead to Auten with eight classified climbs and a distinct chance of an early breakaway taking the spoils. Chavanal was among them and although they didn't make it all the way (Rabobank worked hard in the peloton, trying to create something for Denis Menchov), he did enough to nick the polka dots from team-mate Auge which might make for an interesting exchange at dinner. David Millar nipped off the as the sprinters's teams wobbled a little, but was caught in the final 500m. The subsequent bunch sprint was chaotic with no proper lead-outs and Pozzato (one of my pre-Tour picks for a stage win) nicked it for Liquigas - and nicked Millar's 3rd in GC. Fab got ANOTHER lion and has 33 secs in his pocket. A shocking day for Tour favourite Vinokourov saw him bite the tarmac hard and he trails by 2 min 10. Eric Zabel has somehow got the green jersey - don't know how that happened, and once again McEwen wasn't in at the death. I think the climbs did him in.
There you go. Hope you appreciate the effort I'm putting into this!!

Anonymous said...

And that should have read "quaff" not "quall"!

file said...

appreciate, you're bringing it all alive for me mimi, no TV coverage here and a hugely limited personal frame of reference, keep going, you're our only hope

Anonymous said...

Zabel, christ he's about 60 yrs old isnt he?

Now whatever he's on I'll have some!

Anonymous said...

There'll be a few more from me, but when I go away I will hand the baton to Mouth for coverage - he may not have a lion-print bikini, but he's ridden stages, so you'll probably all enjoy his coverage the more.

DoctorShoot said...

Excellent again Mimi thank you.
Your writing on this stuff is really first class; picturesque, informative, short and to the point and fun, really enjoying it...

DoctorShoot said...

Mimi
btw the two boys in the clip are my boys from a yesteryear relationship...
crikey...

Anonymous said...

Your boys Doc?

You mean mine might be like that one day, all big and confident and as ease with the world?

Anonymous said...

Doc, does that make them 'offshoots'?

DoctorShoot said...

Mouth
that's for sure.
Cameron about my height and Jamie a tad shorter.
Good boys though their talents are a mystery to me...

yes Bluedaddy
offshoots indeed...
song for the bamboo all over again... don't know if the boys can wait for next issue (youngest 4 months) to catch up and join the band...

their mother and adopted father might have something to say...

"dont fall to hard" after all....

Anonymous said...

Despite the fact he's peddling madly
Things dont look too good for Bradley
The pack is chasing pell mell, sadly
Come on Bradley! Come on Bradley!

Anonymous said...

Mid-stage observation:

Englishman Wiggins all alone in front but his 20 mn lead has already been cut down to 5 mn.

How can you pedal all day through the vineyards of Bourgogne and not stop for wine tasting?

Anonymous said...

Another long flat grind today from Semur en Auxois to Bourg en Bresse. Two category 4 climbs and 3 sprints for the green and red-spotty boys to fight over. It was always going to come down to a bunch sprint – last chance for these chaps before we go into the mountains tomorrow. Brad’s brave escape (he led for 190 of the 199.5K and at one point was +17 on the pack) was doomed to failure and only lasted as long as it did because of his heart and the romance of Le Tour, honouring Tom Simpson 40 years after his death on Mont Ventoux.
Bad day for Astana – Kloden started with a fractured coccyx confirmed after yesterday’s crash, and Vino had both knees and an elbow stitched up last night (and probably his bum cheek too, but we weren’t told that officially). It’s all you need to know about Le Tour and the hard men who ride it, that injuries would have most of us signed off work for weeks are regarded as a mere inconvenience. Unsurprisingly neither did much today, but they’re still there. Can’t say the same in the team for Matthias Kessler (not riding Le Grand Boucle) but til today was still part of Astana. No longer. Sacked for a positive testosterone test back in May, but at least prompt action taken to back up Pro-cycling’s claims to being tough on cheats.
Once Brad had been swept up, Gerolsteiner, T-Mobile and Quickstep did most of the organising for the sprint, and Belgian heart-throb Tom Boonen, snapped derailleur not withstanding, took it on the line from Oscar Freire and nicked the green jersey. Begs the question: Where’s Robbie? And I have no answer. He’s been invisible these past couple of days so I’m just hoping he makes it through the Alps and blazes again on Thursday when we could have a sprint finish after the flat stage across the Camargue from Marseilles to Montpellier.
Fab gets YET ANOTHER lion (keeps +33 secs on the damaged Kloden) and obviously isn’t reading this site as I still have not received my cuddly giftette from le Maillot Jaune. And Chavanal stays in the polka dots. Millar’s back up to 4th, kicking Hincapie when he’s already more than a tad down, and poor Brad, for all his courage is 143rd.
Now there’s a lot of coverage out there for this Tour (no doubt the Grand Depart in Londres and 5 Brits in the pack have something to do with that), but for goodness sake, when GU’s “correspondent” knows so little about the bikes that he refers to The Hour as “the 60minute challenge” (sic), where, dear fans, would you best be served for your reports? And I bet that the Beeb’s reporter wasn’t wearing a lion-print bikini!
I may do little updates tomorrow, but plan to write a proper new article on Sunday evening for your delectation.
Thank you for reading.

Anonymous said...

Merci Mimi, best coverage around, bikini or not.

Just a minor detail, it's Sylvain Chavanel, not Chavanal. If you write his name right for the 14 juillet, he'll be delighted.

Anonymous said...

btw: Zabel is 37 years old.

Anonymous said...

aw shucks - I seem to have been recklessly inconsistent in my spelling of Chav. So I'll get it right for Bastille Day, and if in doubt, will just call him Sylv!

DoctorShoot said...

Mimi
great stuff again thank you. top marks. you should be getting paid for this...

the photo of you in lion print bikini hunched over laptop, telly on the cycling nearby, headphones on for the cricket, printed emails fluttering around the walls like pinned moths, with the firth out the window and a raging seagull being attacked by your black cat in the distance...

it is the book cover!!

Anonymous said...

Let's be clear here - I am doing this for my fan - that's you doc. I've had a terrible day with climactic conditions leading to the most horrible hay-fever, so through sneezes and swollen puffy-eyes, I bring you today's report. In honour of my fan's nationality, I'll start with news of the Aussies - stonking for Cadel Evans and Michael Rogers who are now real contenders for the overall win. No sign of Robbie who is being nursed throught the Alps by Predictor-Lotto, and hoping for sprint wins later next week. Cadel must just be hoping that Mattie Haydon remains out of the limelight for the next few weeks, as they only have one pair of eyebrows so can't be seen in public at the same time! It was, actually an amazing day's racing. Vino and Kloden carrying bad injuries are still in it, Valverde is still in the hunt - Caisse d'Epargne worked really hard, as did Barloworld - justifying their wild card entry. Rabobank hammered out an infernal pace at the front of the peloton in an ultimately doomed attempt to rein in the breakaway. Astonishingly the virtually unknown Gerdemann not only took the stage, but also the white jersey and the cuddly lion. Cancellara rode for his team - working more like a domestique than the maillot jaune, at one point being the water-carrier. CSC worked hard at the front and I felt for the riders when the cameras pulled back to show the height of the Col de la Columbiere and Phil said "Ooh, that's horrible!" I knew what he meant. 16K of climbing, and then, the terrifying descent. These men are insane. Speeds of up to 70 kph or more with no protection. A technical descent, they try not to touch the brakes despite the hideous drops on the sides of the hairpins. I can't even descend the slope to the harbour without brakes.
Anyway, as we closed on the finish, Phil's voice was raw and my fingers are raw after a week of Tour coverage. God knows how sore the men in lycra are. And there's no rest. Tomorrow is an even more testing day in the mountains and I'll do my best with a new piece for the Corner.
We end today with GC on its head. Gerdemann leads from Landeluz and De la Fuentes. No bleu blanc rouge for the French on Bastille Day, but the race is as open as I can ever remember.
Thanks for all your comments - it's been emotional.

Anonymous said...

I felt it was a hero's day. Gerdemann did what riders often do towards the back end of the race - get into a break, sit in while it gets whittled down by the gradient, then jump away. To do it on the first mountain stage was a magnificent ride which would have been hailed to the rafters had Millar or Hincapie pulled it off.

I'm a bit baised as T-Mobile have done all they can to address the drugs and my younger boy is also called Linus (even pronounced the same way - Leenus).

Mimi - I hope you're recovered sufficiently to give us an epic report on an epic stage tomorrow. I going for Sastre.

Anonymous said...

Damn mimi you are good at this. That was a great report of today's stage. There's absolutely zero chance of me staying awake to catch the highlights. But I feel like I dont need to now.

I hope we dont get any of the old bullshit about missing superstars at the end of all this. You win the tour clean and you are a hero, whatever the year, whoever is missing.

Could be a record year for how many wear yellow.

file said...

think you're gonna have to invest in another 's' mimi; FANS!

yet more gripping reportage, you bring it alive everyday and you're funny too, really great evocation of your enthusiasm and the trials of the men in lycra

frankly speaking, all I know about this is what I read here but I'm hooked, chained to the tour, geared up for your next installment, not at all tyred of it, and pretty sure I spoke for all when I say this is a Tour de Force and should definitely be recycled in the hard copy

fully aware of the effort you're putting in and hugely appreciative, go mims, thanks much

Anonymous said...

Find further comment from me on Two Wheels Good at the top of the Corner.

DoctorShoot said...

File seconded
great stuff Mimi, your forte reached for sure... am off to two wheels... for more
cheers
Doc

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