I'm just rootin' for Landis as a rider, not an American. Their nationality generally means nothing to me but rather how they conduct themselves as professionals. When I found out how hurt Landis was my desire for him to win increased. I think Disco really needed to take this year, re-group and figure out who was capable of what on the squad. Instead it's been a post-lance party that hasn't stopped since the Tour last year. Too many distractions trying to stay on television, shooting commercials and such IMHO. That said it's gotta be tough trying to singlehandedly bring cycling back to the eyeballs and hearts of America.

And we wonder why the world has a problem with us.... :Sigh:

DrPete

If you are referring to him being a fan of american riders you are wrong, I would say that many other countries have a stronger national pride than ours.

If you are referring to him being a fan of american riders you are wrong, I would say that many other countries have a stronger national pride than ours.
This is true, and it's only America who gets pissed on for it. As if we should be ashamed to be Americans while the English, Italians, et. al. continually celebrate their nationality in the world of sport. English fans root for English teams and English fighters in events where nationality plays no part (i.e., not the World Cup). The same can be said for other European countries, and it's accepted. It's even encouraged. Those same fans then whine about arrogant Americans thinking they're so great. It's a terrible double-standard.

I was a USPS fan before they were Motorola. . .

As for OLN hyping the whole Lance thing?
it's an american station, fighting for ratings and the whole
cycling/tour coverage is questionable for next year.
If it takes dragging Lance into EVERY discussion they
have I'm all for it. I'm not really looking forward to the
tour being distilled down to 1 hour recaps every weekend.
so yah, trot out Lance every chance you get, I just wish
they would do the same with Giro, Vuelta and MORE spring classics.

marty

I'd love to see more of what it takes to qualify for The Tour. That would be awesome.
There is nothing wrong at all with nationalism in sport.
The French are finally getting some heroes out of this Tour.
Does Canada have ANY pro riders, that may qualify one day? Steve Bauer was a loooong time ago.

This is true, and it's only America who gets pissed on for it. As if we should be ashamed to be Americans while the English, Italians, et. al. continually celebrate their nationality in the world of sport. English fans root for English teams and English fighters in events where nationality plays no part (i.e., not the World Cup). The same can be said for other European countries, and it's accepted. It's even encouraged. Those same fans then whine about arrogant Americans thinking they're so great. It's a terrible double-standard.

+1
Well said.

I for one will never be ashamed of my love for Americans in the tour. I hope Floyd is in yellow in Paris.

Go Floyd GO!!

This is true, and it's only America who gets pissed on for it. As if we should be ashamed to be Americans while the English, Italians, et. al. continually celebrate their nationality in the world of sport. English fans root for English teams and English fighters in events where nationality plays no part (i.e., not the World Cup). The same can be said for other European countries, and it's accepted. It's even encouraged. Those same fans then whine about arrogant Americans thinking they're so great. It's a terrible double-standard.

There's a fine line between cheering for your countrymen and calling yourself "the greatest country on Earth," don't you think? I don't know that anyone from Luxembourg was claiming a fundamental superiority over other countries that extends beyond cycling as they cheered their man on today...

DrPete

And if we can't win the TdF, we can definitely show them that we're the greastest at spelling...

What does being a Landis fan have to do with being a Disco fan? How many americans are even ON team Disco this year? 2? 3? (edit) Oh, sorry... One.

And we wonder why the world has a problem with us.... :Sigh:

DrPete

1st. its an online forum, not a spelling contest, I think you got my point. Im shure the after lunch celebration "Landis in yellow, lets go drink!" didnt help any either.

2nd. A man can have a noble profession, such as yourself, "Dr.Pete , the racing surgeon" so it seems you know how to be proud of yourself like I am of my country, as you have every right to be. (I seriously cant say enough of good doctors that save lifes everdAY- the REAL supermen imho) so I dont mean any dis-respect to you.

3. Im just tired of all these people giving disco a hard time like they were supposed to blow the field away without a blink.

4. do you have a mouse in your pocket ? "we" dont all care as much how others think all the time. I for one used to, and "we" have plenty to be embarrassed about- but even more to be proud of. Nobodys perfect, but we try the best we can to help more poeple in the world than any other country.
Our issues are wide and deep, but please tell me who does more for others than USA ?

5. I talk to much when I drink

I'm just rootin' for Landis as a rider, not an American. Their nationality generally means nothing to me but rather how they conduct themselves as professionals. When I found out how hurt Landis was my desire for him to win increased. I think Disco really needed to take this year, re-group and figure out who was capable of what on the squad. Instead it's been a post-lance party that hasn't stopped since the Tour last year. Too many distractions trying to stay on television, shooting commercials and such IMHO. That said it's gotta be tough trying to singlehandedly bring cycling back to the eyeballs and hearts of America.

For what it's worth, my hockey loving North Carolina friends did not care where their players came from...they have the Stanley Cup.

I almost forgot

GO LEVI !

^^^well said Dr. Pete^^^
I was trying to think of a way of saying this without coming across as insulting.

"3. Im just tired of all these people giving disco a hard time like they were supposed to blow the field away without a blink." There was an undeserved amount of hype about this team this year, and I think this might be where the animosity comes from.

I must say userOne... I love that SIG! Nice gif!

I don't know that anyone from Luxembourg was claiming a fundamental superiority over other countries that extends beyond cycling as they cheered their man on today...
No. But I as a Frank Schleck fan and can and do claim a fundamental superiority over other fans that extends well beyond Frank Schleck.

Or I would if I had any idea what that means.

Best. Stage. Ever.

...Does Canada have ANY pro riders, that may qualify one day? Steve Bauer was a loooong time ago.

Michael Barry was listed as an alternate on the Discovery squad. Hopefully he'll get a chance to ride in it next year.

<edit> Stop by his dad's shop sometime. He's quite the friendly gentleman, and the place is a veritable cycling museum - in addition to being a store/shop. Plus, it's right in your hometown. :)

1st. its an online forum, not a spelling contest, I think you got my point. Im shure the after lunch celebration "Landis in yellow, lets go drink!" didnt help any either.

2nd. A man can have a noble profession, such as yourself, "Dr.Pete , the racing surgeon" so it seems you know how to be proud of yourself like I am of my country, as you have every right to be. (I seriously cant say enough of good doctors that save lifes everdAY- the REAL supermen imho) so I dont mean any dis-respect to you.

3. Im just tired of all these people giving disco a hard time like they were supposed to blow the field away without a blink.

4. do you have a mouse in your pocket ? "we" dont all care as much how others think all the time. I for one used to, and "we" have plenty to be embarrassed about- but even more to be proud of. Nobodys perfect, but we try the best we can to help more poeple in the world than any other country.
Our issues are wide and deep, but please tell me who does more for others than USA ?

5. I talk to much when I drink

I hear what you're saying, and I apologize if I sounded too insulting or condescending. Being in the Army as well, I often get an earful about how arrogant Americans are, and it bothers me. So I just think that it's important to draw a line somewhere. "Go Floyd" just has a very different ring than "my country is better than yours," and I just think it's something worth paying attention to.

DrPete

There's a fine line between cheering for your countrymen and calling yourself "the greatest country on Earth," don't you think? I don't know that anyone from Luxembourg was claiming a fundamental superiority over other countries that extends beyond cycling as they cheered their man on today...

DrPete
I don't know anyone from Luxembourg, period. But I know plenty of Italians, Germans and ESPECIALLY English people who, as soon as someone mentions America, will put America down while vigorously praising their own country. There's nothing wrong with that, it's the double standard that I have a problem with. These other countries seem to have an inferiority complex that they need to deal with.

Saying you're rooting for someone from the greatest nation on earth is something I've heard a lot of fans say from many countries, not just America. It's natural to take pride in one's country.

Personally, however, I don't look at sport in nationalistic colors. For me, it's about the athletes. Doesn't matter what country they come from, but again, I can certainly understand those who don't share that opinion Just look at the Aussies here cheering for Robbie McEwen and Evans -- nobody takes exception to that, do they?

This is true, and it's only America who gets pissed on for it. As if we should be ashamed to be Americans while the English, Italians, et. al. continually celebrate their nationality in the world of sport. English fans root for English teams and English fighters in events where nationality plays no part (i.e., not the World Cup). The same can be said for other European countries, and it's accepted. It's even encouraged. Those same fans then whine about arrogant Americans thinking they're so great. It's a terrible double-standard.

QFT. It's getting pretty hilarious. Whenever 1 American person does/says something that someone else doesnt like, it's always "thats why no one like america."

grow up. It's like the rest of you are trying so hard to prove your better than someone else. Same applies for the blatant hatred for Disco team. Why the Hate? What did they do to you? I do not recal any one of the riders coming out and saying they are going to dominate. They have not let anyone down. They train hard, they race hard. I like them just as much as any other team out there, doing their best, having fun, doing something I could never do. Last I heard, this was a sporting event, entertainment, not a personal attack on you, or anyones country.

Drop the anti-american superiority complex. It isnt like europe doesnt have any skeletons in it's closet.

Drop the anti-american superiority complex. It isnt like europe doesnt have any skeletons in it's closet.

Right--the fact that countries around the world hate us is a total myth. Never happens.

It's not a superiority complex, by the way, to try to gain insight into why people from other countries feel the way they do about Americans.

DrPete

What does being a Landis fan have to do with being a Disco fan? How many americans are even ON team Disco this year? 2? 3? (edit) Oh, sorry... One.

All the English people that go to watch Arsenal play, the best team in the Premiership go to watch their best player who is from France.

All the Spanish people that go to watch FC Barcelona, go to watch their best player, who is from Brazil.

It's an international world...in my neck of the woods, if I want to watch open wheel racing, I am watching Englishmen, Brazilians, and a few Americans.

Why does that bother people?

Right--the fact that countries around the world hate us is a total myth. Never happens.

It's not a superiority complex, by the way, to try to gain insight into why people from other countries feel the way they do about Americans.

DrPete

Who said it was a myth? Having been to over 15 countries, I have some insight.

Musta been all the OLN hype of Discovery then.....
The riders have certainly let down the team director, he's disappointed at their performance this year and said so the day before popo's great break. The team now rides for individual performances. I can see why many people would have wanted to see Disco fall on their faces after Lance leaves the team.

As for skeletons in the closet, yes all countries have them. Drop the American superiority nonsense, and be better sportsmen about the whole thing. No one country is the greatest on Earth, that's a giant claim nobody can back up.

My whole family's from Europe (Germany, Greece). Take it with a grain of salt. It's a love/hate thing with America. They love to hate us. And then they LOVE to watch our movies, listen to our music, eat our fast food, wear our jeans, etc. You get the picture. I'm in Europe every 3 years for a week or two (we'll be in Greece in August this year) and I never have a problem. Act with class, and most people treat you with class. Anywhere. Act like dope - and you reap what you sow.

Europeans and Americans have MUCH more in common than differences between us. Well, OK, they have more topless beaches and stronger beer. Just be happy we don't have that here, I don't think Texas or Florida would survive that combination.

NEWSFLASH TO AMERICANS: YOU ALL DESCENDED FROM EUROPEANS. Or half of you did anyway.

http://www.pezcyclingnews.com/photos/races06/tdf06/tdf06st09-cipo.jpg

Like I said before, while Pereiro is unlikely to win, a lot of people were selling him too short. He wasn't dropped big time on the Alpe d'Huez. He hung pretty well with Landis and might actually end up top 5. Not bad. I am a tad dissapointed Levi didn't pick up time and instead lost a little. I really wanted him to make top 5.

From the sounds of it Landis did not make it easy to follow, he's got that acceleration from the seat when he really wants it. Can't wait to watch the body language on TV tonight.

Like I said before, while Pereiro is unlikely to win, a lot of people were selling him too short. He wasn't dropped big time on the Alpe d'Huez. He hung pretty well with Landis and might actually end up top 5. Not bad. I am a tad dissapointed Levi didn't pick up time and instead lost a little. I really wanted him to make top 5.
The only serious GC guys that beat Levi today are Floyd, Kloden and Sastre. He moved up to 9th.


GC
1 Floyd Landis (USA) Phonak 69.00.05 (41.535 km/h)
2 Oscar Pereiro (Spa) Caisse d'Epargne-Illes Balears 0.10
3 Cyril Dessel (Fra) AG2R-Prevoyance 2.02
4 Denis Menchov (Rus) Rabobank 2.12
5 Carlos Sastre (Spa) Team CSC 2.17
6 Andreas Klöden (Ger) T-Mobile 2.29
7 Cadel Evans (Aus) Davitamon-Lotto 2.56
8 Michael Rogers (Aus) T-Mobile 5.01
9 Levi Leipheimer (USA) Gerolsteiner 6.18

To get in 5th Levi needs to not lose enough time to anyone behind such that they pass him, and gain the following time on any four of the following seven:

1:18 on Rogers (Levi got a minute on him today, very doable)
3:22 on Cadel (Also got a minute today, with two more mountain stages, maybe...)
3:50 on Klöden (not likely, based on today)
4:02 on Sastre (also not likely)
4:06 on Menchov (only got 30 seconds today, but Menchov looked cooked, so he might lose even more time tomorrow)
4:17 on Cyril Dessel (very possible; Dessel lost 1:15 to Levi today)
6:06 on Pereiro (possible, but Pereiro lost only a minute to Levi today)

The 4 he's most likely to catch are probably: Dessel, Rogers, Cadel and either Menchov or Pereiro, assuming one of them cracks in the next couple of days. I don't see him catching Klöden, or Sastre on GC.

So, I'd say his odds of getting in the top 5 are about 50/50 at this point.

Of course, there is the wild card of the final TT. If he loses 5 minutes again all bets are off. On the other hand, if whatever slowed him down so much in the prologue and first TT is resolved, and he has the TT of his life, we can't even rule out the podium for him yet.

Michael Barry was listed as an alternate on the Discovery squad. Hopefully he'll get a chance to ride in it next year.

<edit> Stop by his dad's shop sometime. He's quite the friendly gentleman, and the place is a veritable cycling museum - in addition to being a store/shop. Plus, it's right in your hometown. :)

What shop? I will definitely stop by.

I just want to say that today was some great racing. I was out of my seat jumping around during the whole climb up the Alpe.

It was hilarious when Landis caught up to Merckx and Merckx kind of jumped at how fast he had caught up to him.

With the gaps as small (relatively to past years) as they are, we hopefully will see lots of attacking and excitement tomorrow as well.

I'd love to see Cunego win this stage.
Me too. Too bad, but he came close. He is pretty much back on form now.

Who was that masked man laboring on turn 6 ... ;)

Hasn't Discovery won a stage and had the yellow jersey? They're certainly not strong this year, but most teams would be extremely happy with those results. Crap? Right.

Sure, but...

Based upon the standard that they set for the last seven years, I'd say they're crappy this year. They've had a year to prepare for life without Lance. Can you really say that anybody on their team is a threat this year? Sure they've won a stage. But how do they look overall? Heck, a wild card invitee team won a stage.

CSC and T-Mobile had their leaders pulled unannounced right before the race. And they're showing up pretty strong just about every stage. And they've won stages. Would you say that Discovery is as strong as them?

By Discovery standards, dominating the Tour for the past seven years, they're crappy this year. If the Lakers or Yankees don't play for the championship, its a crappy year. These are the raised expectations you get with winning. Player changes aren't acceptable excuses. Great teams adapt and overcome. To say otherwise about Discovery, is to say that the only reason they were great is because Lance was there.

I'll also add, that I'm not a Discovery or Lance hater. I'm a big fan of them. But I'm also realistic. They have a nice team. One good enough to pull out a stage win or so. But they don't have anyone to seriously challenge for the yellow jersey in Paris. Not just in the prologue. Based upon their history over the past 7 Tours, I'd say that's crappy for them.

can i just say that i love all the drama here in the forums...it's really fun!!! I don't contribute very much as i feel most things that need to be said, are. i just have to throw in one thing here.

i've always marveled at how passionate sports fans get about their favorite team/player...but i always have the sense that they/we lose sight...forget about...ignore???.... the respect of the ability it takes for these guys to make it look so damn easy...it's like watching Baryshnikov dance or hearing Horowitz play a Liszt sonata...and while it's fun and exciting to bash some teams and athletes i worry that perhaps the bashing goes too far and people take things too personally...and countries despise other countries for things that have very little to do with the individual...or very little to do with respect of fellow man...and athlete...and bike gods. and thus i state;

by show of hands, how many people can beat any of these guys up those mountains..............no................ I didn't think so........and for those of you emphatically raising you're hands in your den or office or wherever, and getting strange looks from your husband/wife, neighboring cubicle...cat...i salute you and raise my pudgy hand up with yours. :)

I almost forgot

GO LEVI !

+1

A Huge GO LEVI! From up north! Althought we have Michael Barry he hasn't ever done Le Tour in my recollection however he routinely does the Vuelta doesn't he? Anyways Levi is the greatest (I don't mean THE greatest I mean the expression, ie great guy etc) I know his brother who runs a shop in Levi's home town of Butte, MT (The Outdoorsman) and when we go down there for the fourth of July I'm always forced into buying stuff there because I feel guilty for sitting there for 3 hours a day watching the Tour on the big screen they have in the shop and talking their ears off:p . GO LEVI!

Sure, but...

Based upon the standard that they set for the last seven years, I'd say they're crappy this year. They've had a year to prepare for life without Lance. Can you really say that anybody on their team is a threat this year? Sure they've won a stage. But how do they look overall? Heck, a wild card invitee team won a stage.

CSC and T-Mobile had their leaders pulled unannounced right before the race. And they're showing up pretty strong just about every stage. And they've won stages. Would you say that Discovery is as strong as them?

By Discovery standards, dominating the Tour for the past seven years, they're crappy this year. If the Lakers or Yankees don't play for the championship, its a crappy year. These are the raised expectations you get with winning. Player changes aren't acceptable excuses. Great teams adapt and overcome. To say otherwise about Discovery, is to say that the only reason they were great is because Lance was there.

I'll also add, that I'm not a Discovery or Lance hater. I'm a big fan of them. But I'm also realistic. They have a nice team. One good enough to pull out a stage win or so. But they don't have anyone to seriously challenge for the yellow jersey in Paris. Not just in the prologue. Based upon their history over the past 7 Tours, I'd say that's crappy for them.

I didn't say anyone was a threat this year. I said they won a stage and wore the jersey, not a bad year for most teams. I also said they are not strong. And I'll say it: Postal/Disco would not have won 7 Tours without Armstrong. Big revelation, I know. They lost one of the best TdF riders of all time and they are not as good. That's no surprise and to say they should just go on rolling is just folly.

For the record, I was going to be pulling for Ulle this year, so I've been a bit disappointed. But I've hardly missed any of the race, and it's as exciting as ever. As by "ever" I mean beyond the past 7 years as I've been following for a lot longer than that.

I didn't say anyone was a threat this year. I said they won a stage and wore the jersey, not a bad year for most teams. I also said they are not strong. And I'll say it: Postal/Disco would not have won 7 Tours without Armstrong. Big revelation, I know. They lost one of the best TdF riders of all time and they are not as good. That's no surprise and to say they should just go on rolling is just folly.

For the record, I was going to be pulling for Ulle this year, so I've been a bit disappointed. But I've hardly missed any of the race, and it's as exciting as ever. As by "ever" I mean beyond the past 7 years as I've been following for a lot longer than that.

Hollow, sorry for sounding antagonistic in my post. I was more directing it towards the legions of Disco fans and hype machine media that are running around thinking that Discovery is a great team this year. And they don't realize that this is an off year. I think they're having a crappy year in comparison to the past. And I mean that even considering that Lance is gone.

You are correct that most teams would be ecstatic to have a stage win and worn the yellow for even one day. It would be a shame for Discovery to slip into the realm of just another team after the great run they had. I think Discovery still has the core to be a great team. They just need that great lead man. One thing that they were great at is rallying around one man. Popovych is a nice rider, but he's probably a couple of Tours away from being a real GC contender. I've got to think that there are some GC contenders out there that are wondering what it would be like to have the supporting team that Lance had.

For the record, I'm a sprinter by nature. Robbie McEwen is my favorite. The man in Green but waaayyyy down in GC. I was disappointed to see Boonen abandon today though...

Five years ago, while doing the family tree, I found family in Luxembourg and we have been e-mailing each other ever since. Later I found out that three lines of my family came over on the boat from Luxembourg. So I'm feeling a little "old country" pride with Frank's outstanding win.

So I'll put my two cents in.

--- Hats off of Cyril Dessel. The guy has a mechanical at the bottom (read: steepest) part of the Alpe and he still battles back to somewhere approaching contention on a stage that blew apart. Keep in mind this guy was a relative grand tour unknown coming into this. He won't win or podium, but he showed some guts out there today.

--- Maybe after the Tour we'll learn what happened to Levi on the TT. No one drops that kind of time without something like a virus or godly curse weighing him down.

--- And what do you expect? Disco is an American team and OLN is the only American channel carrying this weird and sometimes boring sporting event. Well boring to the NASCAR set anyway. Of course they're gonna hype Disco. Get over it. I just like the crappy Cervelo commercials that try to mitigate OLN's 3-hour long Trek commercial. Disco doesn't suck...they just don't dominate. A stage win and yellow ain't bad for a team in transition.

---And for the record, NASCAR is far more boring than any bike race.

So I'll put my two cents in.

--- Maybe after the Tour we'll learn what happened to Levi on the TT. No one drops that kind of time without something like a virus or godly curse weighing him down.

--- And what do you expect? Disco is an American team and OLN is the only American channel carrying this weird and sometimes boring sporting event. Well boring to the NASCAR set anyway. Of course they're gonna hype Disco. Get over it. I just like the crappy Cervelo commercials that try to mitigate OLN's 3-hour long Trek commercial. Disco doesn't suck...they just don't dominate. A stage win and yellow ain't bad for a team in transition.

---And for the record, NASCAR is far more boring than any bike race.

Actually, there's nothing to get over. I never said that Discovery sucked. I said that they're having a crappy Tour compared to what they've done in recent years. Even if you consider that they lost their top rider. Heck, a wild card team has stage victory this year. Discovery effort hasn't been inspiring. Their a team rounding out the field. They don't have anybody contending for any of the jerseys. Sure they're in transition, but they've had over a year to get ready for the post-Lance era. They're not showing much. Can you seriously say that they've put out a great effort this Tour?

The problem with all of this Discovery hype, is that the casual fan tunes in to see Discovery dominate. Then that fan sees that Disco isn't a contender and they tune out. That's not good for the overall growth of the sport.

Disco isn't the only American company sponsored team. CSC is and American company. And they've got a couple of wins, including Alpe d'Huez, plus a rider in the top ten. That's with them losing their top rider days before the Tour started.

You are correct, NASCAR is boring.

And think you've got a good point on Levi. I think something was up with him on all of the early stages to lose all of that time. He seems more than okay now though. He's gotta be kicking himself. He should be right there with Landis.

My favorite moment of the day... the fan who shot a snot rocket out of his nose onto a rider. What class, what dignity. I can't believe these buffoons do this year in and year out to the riders without repercussions. I seriously can't wait for a rider to go ape**** on a beligerant fan some day.

For fans so dedicated to cycling, I don't get it. I know "it's always been that way," but that doesn't make it any more right than it is. The one moron almost took out the yellow jersey because he was out in the road not paying attention. THen there was the dope who went down on the pavement with the Norwegian flag, inches from a rider's wheel.

And we wonder why the world has a problem with us.... :Sigh:

DrPete

C'mon Doc.....I was just over at the "Jihad R Us" forum...they seem to like you guys! :D

My favorite moment of the day... the fan who shot a snot rocket out of his nose onto a rider. What class, what dignity. I can't believe these buffoons do this year in and year out to the riders without repercussions. I seriously can't wait for a rider to go ape**** on a beligerant fan some day.

For fans so dedicated to cycling, I don't get it. I know "it's always been that way," but that doesn't make it any more right than it is. The one moron almost took out the yellow jersey because he was out in the road not paying attention. THen there was the dope who went down on the pavement with the Norwegian flag, inches from a rider's wheel.

Did you ever see that fan who ran out and tackled a T-mobil rider? Everytime the riders are climbing through the hords of fans, before they get to the fencing, I'm cringing that some fanatical monkey is going to foul up one of the riders.

Isn't the tour great?!?

dp

What shop? I will definitely stop by.

You've heard of Mariposa frames? That's him. Here's a link to his shop: http://www.bikespecialties.com/ I've met him a couple of times riding the Donut. Really nice guy.

I've been lookin all morning... nice lugs....sexy 2k for a frame and fork...ouch

It was hilarious when Landis caught up to Merckx and Merckx kind of jumped at how fast he had caught up to him.

I actually laughed out loud when I saw that. Great stuff!

I wonder how much jump they would have had if Axel had been upto speed because Landis had created a little gap.

No he didn't. Hincapie did. I clearly remember this as -- I was all decked out in my Discovery jersey, LIVESTRONG hat, and a freshley tattoed LIVESTRONG armband still stinging on my wrist -- I was jumping for joy when George easily won the sprint by about five bike lengths, jumping so hard in fact that I slammed my head into the ceiling.

In what year? Not 2006, I suppose???