Lance lost, or did he?

The Tour De France is over again for another year, and I am left to go through with drawls of watching for yet another year.

For those of you who don't watch or understand the sport of bike racing, this years tour was amazing. It was filled with drama, but it was mostly filled with some amazing riders from many different countries competing for different points in different categories. The Yellow jersey is the prize that the winner of the tour walks away with, but who can forget the king of the hills, best young riders, and especially the sprinters.

Cycling is more than peddling fast, it is about teamwork, strategy, calculation, nutrition, and just plain toughness. On any given day a rider of Armstrong's caliber could win a stage, but if it at the expense of depleting energy that will be needed for later days then it is a loss. On a team there are riders that have the sole purpose of feeding the team and relaying water and food. There are the men that ride in front of their leader and keep him in the slipstream where he can remain fresh for the final part of the stage rides. I was impressed with the Schleck brothers, Frank and Andy. Frank is the older brother and a great rider, his younger brother Andy rode with him this tour. Frank seemed to be at the tail end of his career until Andy came along. To watch these two work together was amazing. Andy would rocket on hill climbs, leading his brother along. At the end of the race they were unstoppable and would ratchet up the tempo to crush entire teams as well as put away riders.

Lance was in competition with one of his team mates this year. Alberto Contador was expected to be the Astana team leader until Lance joined. Ultimately Contador was a better rider and ended up winning the tour. The relationship between the two was cordial, but there was still a sense of rivalry. Now that the tour is over the trash talking has began. Contador has stated that he does not respect nor never has respected Lance. Lance chose not to show up for a team celebration dinner, instead going out with his new team sponsors (Radio Shack).

This has set of fireworks and speculation as to what is in store for next year. My guess is that Lance will put together an amazing team. He has the support of sponsors, He has the money (This year he rode for free, when Astana began to have money problems). But more than anything Lance now has a reason to train harder and a new foe to crush.

Yes Lance did not get 1st place this year, but to put things in perspective, he stepped away from cycling and the tour for 4 years, He broke a collarbone several months ago, taking him away from training, and he is 37 years old. Much older than the average rider. Even with all of these things stacked against him, he still took 3 rd in the overall GC..

Lance is cocky, and arrogant, this is well known. But he is also a role model for hard work, adversity, and now for giving. His Livestrong foundation has raised untold millions, helped thousands, and made people aware of the horrors of Cancer. Lance calls himself a Lifetime Cancer fighter, and is driven to someday beat this foe, just like he has crushed so many others that he has battled with. I believe he will be influential in making this happen. Thanks Lance for showing that real heros do still exist