| Well the first climbing stage of the 2008 Tour de France was taken by “Le Cobra” Ricardo Ricco – hey R.R. – I like those initials! Ricco is the most trash talking cyclist in a long time. In the past Ricco has accused the peloton of having the collective IQ of sub-atomic particles… he talks serious jive and its hilarious! I do believe he’s a real interesting rider, a real talent in the mode of Pantani. He’s not afraid to speak his mind and he’s a real breath of fresh air in the peloton. Following his 2nd. overall in the Giro, Ricco has obviously brought his fitness with him to the Tour. Today he picked his stage and rode a perfectly tactical race to win.
As for Stefan Schumacher, he’s out of yellow after tangling with a teammate and crashing within 1k of the finish. Unlike the flat stages (with the 3k crash rule), you’re on your own on mountain top finishes and you’re responsible for handling your own bike.
I have to also say that Christian Vandevelde rode a fantastic race with a thrilling effort at the end. If only he could’ve contained his youthful exuberance for the last 200 meters he might’ve won the stage. Big props to Christian and the Garmin/Chipoltle team, they’re having a great Tour so far and being the # 1 ranked team proves it.
Bobke’s Inside Line: Saw the aero bars off your Tri bike, sell your car, buy a ticket to France and spend the next month riding the hills and valleys of Le Tuy de Dome. It is so gorgeous up here – I promise you will not regret it!
BONUS BOBKE: About That Film Footage
To celebrate Bobke’s birthday earlier this week, the Versus Channel dug some righteous Bobke race footage out of the vaults from when was a spry young rider on the 7-Eleven team. One clip showed Bob riding into a small stadium vying for a stage win in the Tour of Britain. In the last corner Bobke unclipped from the pedals and lost the sprint to the finish. Immediately after, Bobke could be seen flailing his bike in disgust. We asked Bobke for the story….
“That was the 1987 Tour of Britain and I was racing Paul Haagedooren for the win. I was using the first generation of Look pedals and they had no spring tension. We’d just come off the cobbles and as I moved my foot about one millimeter I got unclipped and it was like riding a flat pedal. On top of that my chain also came off. The Royal Family was across the pitch and I really wanted to win in front of them. However, after that fiasco and losing a race I could’ve won, I threw the bike down and started cursing like a sailor with Tourette’s Syndrome!
One problem we had was that the team bus had been impounded after the team director was arrested for fighting with a Hell’s Angel’s for trying to pick up his girlfriend. I was fifth GC that day and wining that race would’ve put me on the podium for the overall. I lost both the stage win and overall podium in a blink of an eye…but that’s cycling for you. That race cracked me, but it made me stronger."
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