Who is the hero?

George Hincapie was involved in a crash just 3 miles into the race yesterday (Saturday). He got back on his bike, dropped back to have a visit with the doctor in the team car, and caught back up to the peloton. We can only imagine that he was either full of endorphins, adrenalin, pissed off that the timeout was ignored, or all of the above because he gave a big "fuck you" to the other teams as he pumped it up to lead the recapture of the breakaway group and assure the defense of the yellow jersey. Stuart O'Grady had taken the jersey for most of the stage, but in the end had to give it back as Discovery Team successfully kept Levi in yellow.

This morning it was revealed that big Georgie broke his wrist in that fall and went under the knife earlier today to put a plate and screws in his wrist. For this act of completely unselfish bravery and determination, he is the absolute hero of the tour!

Here's hoping for a speedy mending so he can participate in his beloved Paris-Roubaix this year.









Today's circuit race in Long Beach was perhaps a bit anti-climatic. I'm sure, as the eighth day of racing got underway, the riders were grateful not to face anymore mountains! But gawd, it's not very scenic, kind-of ugly actually, and I can't help but believe that if it were someplace else, more folks would have turned out. Bit alas, it was all about the sprinters, and at the end Graeme Brown made the big lunge a split second too early, causing him to lose his chance at the stage win.

I'm thrilled that Ivan Domingues, the Cuban from Toyota United, a non-pro team, grabbed the victory in the end.











Here are the three GC winners- Jason, Levi and Jens



The team winners enjoying themselves- CSC








Vive la Tour of California! I'll miss the daily excitement, but I know all things pass and there's so much more cycling coming up now. There are rumors that it might be expanded into 10 days next year, which would allow for some time perhaps in the Sierra or desert areas. It's exciting to see so many folks get turned on to cycling. And now that teams are taking the lead in anti-doping, I think it will only get more respected in the public eye. (I wish baseball would do the same)