From the best blog in the cycling universe:
Well, the rain-soaked Tour of California ended yesterday. And speaking of things that are watered down, non-threatening stage race specialist Levi Leipheimer won the overall classification. This is highly significant, as it makes him the only rider in the event’s three year history to have won the race more than once.
However, this is undoubtedly a bitter-sweet victory for Leipheimer, as he and his entire Astana team have been banned from this year’s Tour de France. Consequently, he’s responded with a characteristically unobtrusive grassroots campaign, “Let Levi Ride.” I confess that I was initially confused when I stumbled upon the website, thinking that perhaps it was the home page of a Malaysian pop star named Letle Viride (pronounced LET-li VI-ri-day). This impression was enhanced by the photo of Leipheimer, whose black hat, bikerish jacket, and steely (or at least aluminum foily) gaze all imply he’s not going to take this whole thing lying down—even though that’s exactly how he’s taken his previous Tours.
Frankly, I find this campaign difficult to rally behind. Something just doesn’t ring true. I think there are a few directions they could have taken this instead that would have at least spoken to the issue more directly, such as:
“Let Alberto Contador Ride”
I was unable to follow the Tour de France last year due to extreme lack of interest, but according to information available on the internet Leipheimer’s teammate Alberto Contador won it last year. I’m not sure then why we should rally behind Leipheimer, who finished third. If I want to watch opportunity being squandered for three weeks I can just follow one of the French teams, or any liberal arts school graduate.
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