Un-Mellow Yellow


Wherein Our Heroine Doesn't Backpedal.
It's summer, and our heads are filled with thoughts of France - quaint and winding streets, broad fields, and mountainous crags. Not to mention crashes, broken bones, and nailbiter sprint finishes.

The Tour has landed.

With The Man From Texas trying for his sixth straight win (unheard of in the sport), it's all Lance, all the time in the media. But there is someone else I believe needs to win this thing before he bows out of the sport. Tyler Hamilton went down last year in a spectacular multi-bike crash in the first stage, broke his collarbone, and still managed to finish fourth overall. His account of the crash and its aftermath is well worth reading - I was traveling quite a bit this time last year, so I didn't get to see a lot of the Tour, but I do remember seeing him win stage 16 as well as other milestones. I've dipped into his journal here and there, and what I see time and time again is his appreciation for the team around him, his modesty and his utter lack of strut. Just a nice guy from Massachusetts, gutting out what was probably the worst pain of his life to get the job done.

So, the more I see of Lance, especially in endless commercials for Subaru, Dasani water, Nike, his soon-to-be-ex-sponsor, and all of the other companies that are slavering for his endorsement, the more I get this feeling that they're celebrating the wrong guy.

Yes, Lance - go for six. Enjoy your fame and the endorsement money while it still comes in. But I will always think that 2003's fourth-place finish was a more amazing accomplishment than anything on the record books. And though it means nothing to you, I'll be rooting for the guy from Massachusetts.
Posted: Tuesday - July 06, 2004 at 08:00 AM         | |

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