Real Life behind the scenes at the Tour de France

Jul 23, 2004

There's a great hullabaloo over the almost undisputed fact that Lance Armstrong will almost assuredly win his 6th consecutive Tour de France. You can't get away from Lance mania, and I admit, this year, like the previous 3 years I have been caught up in the race. I'm not a cyclist, but I find the sport is absolutely fascinating, and I really want Lance to make cycling history by winning 6 in a row.

Aside from Lance's magnificence on the bike, we sometimes forget there's some real life stuff going on behind the scenes. Former US Postal teammate, and team lead for Phonak Hearing Systems, Tyler Hamilton, suffered the loss of a significant loved one during the race. He chronicles this loss on the Velo web site under Rider Diaries. 

To quote the friend that sent the article: "Don't read this unless you want to CRY!!!! But do anyhow, it's a great read."

Damn, my mascara's running. I'm such a sucker for dog love stories.