The Tour de France 2009

The Tour de France, the world's most demanding sporting contest, starts tomorrow. This year the riders will cover 3,500 kilometers over two mountain ranges in 21 stages. The favorite is Alberto Contador of the Astana team. Contador has won each of the grand tours he's entered over the last two years. Lance Armstrong, who will be riding with Contador, sums up his place on his team in the New York Times : “The trick is trying to be a responsible teammate and co-leader and understand that Alberto could not just be stronger, but could be a lot stronger,” Armstrong said of Contador, who won the 2007 Tour as well as last year’s Giro d’Italia and the Vuelta a España. I don't recall Armstrong ever admitting that another rider, even a teammate, is stronger. You could call this year's Astana team the New York Yankees of cycling. The... [read full story]                    

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