Tour de France 2010 is OVER!

The Tour is over.  What did you all think?  It was a lot of drama this year.  When Phil and Paul say that this was the most exciting tour in decades, I believe them. 

Stage 15 was hard for me.  Like, screaming-and-crying-in-front-of-the-TV-at-8-in-the-morning hard.  For those who missed the stage, (how could they?!) it was the stage where my favorite Andy Schleck lost 39 seconds to Alberto Contador.  What was so controversial about the stage was that Contador attacked when Andy was having a mechanical problem.  Cycling is a sport of lots of unwritten rules...  a gentleman's agreement if you will.  And those unwritten rules say nobody should attack while the general contender in yellow jersey is having a mechanical.  So, what Contador did wasn't necessarily illegal according to the written rules, but according to the unwritten rules, it was something to be frowned upon.  It wasn't sportsman-like.  Contador gained 39 seconds on Andy that day.  And in the end, Andy lost the Tour to Contador by 39 seconds.  So, while Andy showed his sportsmanship and said he was over the whole controversy the day after it happened, it cost him the Tour.  In the end, those 39 seconds did matter.  But that's cycling.  I guess. 

It was a hard day for me nevertheless.

But on a brighter note...

With all the drama and controversy, I think Andy won over a lot of people's heart this year.  I think lots of girls (and boys) fell in love with his style, sportsmanship, fairness, his ability to climb like hell, his bad English and his cute smile with the crooked tooth.  And, I'm happy for that.  As a true fan, I'm only happy that a lot of people got to see what I have always seen in him.  I'm a very understanding, sharing fan.  Yup.  That's me. 

As for the TdF 2011...  Well, Andy didn't show any weakness this year to Contador.  He matched Contador on every mountain stage.  He rode an amazing final time trial, which surprised everyone who knows how bad Andy is at this discipline.  Andy's truly ready to take Contador down next year.  Watch out, Pistolero.  My baby's coming to get you.