I've been actively watching the TDF since Ullrich won in 1997, it's kind of a family thing as my dad used to do amateur cycling with some friends. On holidays we'd go to the Ardennes with all of the families of the cycling fathers, it was always a blast and in my memory it always rained.
I'm enjoying this tour quite a lot, I like how they redesigned the stages. No prologue, an early team time trial, two climbs of Alpe d'Huez in one stage, it's madness! Sunday was fantastic as the stage was exciting from start to finish. On flat stages like yesterday you can sleep (or work) for a couple of hours and wake up about a mile before the finish, but the riders can't be expected to climb the mountains everyday.
I'll say this about dope: There are probably still a lot of cyclists using (you can't change an entire sports culture just like that), but if you look past it, you can see how hard the cyclists have to work and appreciate what they're doing. If a result is caused for 5% by dope and for 95% by a rider's skill and hard work, I like to focus more on the 95% than the 5%. The Sunday stage proved that you can't dominate like Armstrong's team did in the years he "won" or like Sky did last year. Sky paid the price for the energy they'd spent on Saturday.
Froome is looking very strong, it was good to see him attack on Saturday and defend well on Sunday, that's what a classifications rider has to do! The ball is in Valverde's and Contador's court now, anxious to see how today's time trial will shake things up.
I'm happy for Mollema and Ten Dam, but I also feel a bit sad for Ten Dam. On Sunday it was clear he wanted to attack, but noticed that the other riders wouldn't let him because he was too high in the classifications. So if he wants to go for the Alpe d'Huez stage he has to lose time somewhere, maybe today, maybe on the Mt. Ventoux. It's a pretty weird situation for him to be in. Because of his classification he has gotten a protected status (doesn't have to carry water), but I'm fearful that this will cost both a good result. In some ways it's a bit unlucky for Ten Dam that the cards fell this way, I wouldn't be surprised if he would take it easy with the time trial today, but with his classification he might also go all out and just see if he can hang on.
Oh, the psychology of cycling, that's the most intriguing aspect to me. Imagine yourself being in front in a group with 6 other riders (from other teams). On the one hand, you want the group to get to the finish line before the main group with the sprinters get to you, so you'll have to work together and do your part. On the other hand, you have to try to save energy so you can sprint in case you actually do get to the finish line.
It's almost like a game of Diplomacy sometimes with all those shifting alliances. Friends today, enemies tomorrow, I love it! Going back to Sunday with Froome and Valverde, you could see the wheels turning. Valverde might think "damn, Froome is following us, let's stop!" and at the same time think "but, Contador and the others are not, let's keep going!"
