it's the start of the tour today, the prologue in luxembourg, and i'm terribly annoyed about not being able to be there today.
instead of standing by the side of the road in the rain, meeting funky people, catching funky merchandise from the caravane, enjoying the atmo, cheering lance and stuart and erik and everyone else, i'll let myself being yelled at by my grandma, and end up sitting in front of the telly alone as soon as tv coverage starts.

bummer.

am still excited though. i love the tour, the tactics, the cyclists, of this hardest sports event in the world, these three weeks of time trials, mountain stages, hors categorie mountains.
i can't wait for the mont ventoux stage in two weeks. i can't wait for the time trials. i can't wait to see lance in yo-yo.



it'll be a lot less exciting without jan ullrich there though, i think, and the doping news surrounding him right now don't exactly help the tour, either (Cyclist Ullrich Faces Sack over Positive Dope Test)

first the dui crash after a night at kegan, knee problems (caused by wrong training, apparently) which made him announce he wouldn't be up for the tour, now amphetamines.
Cyclist Ullrich's Dr. Discusses Case:

"He has been going through a difficult time," Heinrich said. "For me, this isn't a sporting issue, it's a problem for Jan."

even if he took some e recreationally (which really is the only thing making sense here, no point to take amphetamines as a cyclist, unless you're in the middle of a race - no point in taking amphetamines to give yourself the edge while in rehab), it quite simply means his career is over.
it takes more to repeatedly win the tdf than the poor show he's been delivering these past few months.

anyway. it's the start of the tour and i can't be there.
bummer.