And where are all the gods?
Where's the street-wise Hercules
To fight the rising odds?
Isn't there a white knight upon a fiery steed?
Late at night I toss and turn and dream
of what I need
I need a hero
I'm holding out for a hero 'til the end of the night
He's gotta be strong
And he's gotta be fast
And he's gotta be fresh from the fight
I need a hero
I'm holding out for a hero 'til the morning light
He's gotta be sure
And it's gotta be soon
And he's gotta be larger than life"
Last year's Tour de France was disappointing. A hero would emerge, then BAM! doping charges and he was out. A new hope would break away and BAM! doping. Vinokourov, BAM! gone. His team, Team Asanta, BAM! gone. Three riders and two teams gone for doping.
Lance Armstrong, Jan Ullrich, Miguel Indurain, Greg LeMond and Eddy Merckx. All are larger than life. They provided drama, excitement, controversy, and feats of superhuman performance. They made you stand up and cheer. They made you want to get out and ride. They were heroes. They are the stuff of legends.
As this year's tour begins, who will be the new heroes? It's easy to be skeptical. Is he doping or is he really that good? We don't want to be disappointed again. We want to cheer. We want to believe. We want to emulate. WE WANT A HERO.
Along the way of the 2,212-mile trek many heroes will emerge. New names will become familiar. A rider who has put in the work, who has been blessed with the talent and who rides from the heart will break away from the peloton and become our white knight on a fiery steed. Drug-free and pure talent.
In reality though, each of the 180 riders are all talented, excellent cyclists and deserve to be given the benefit of the doubt. No blood doping, no cheating, just racing.
So here's to the 21 stages of racing. Here's to our next hero. May it be close. May it be clean. Bring on the drama, the excitement. The sweat, the tears, the joy and heartbreak that is the Tour de France. My DVR is set, my bike's on the indoor trainer so I can ride along with the peloton and maybe even join in on the breakaway. Let's race! Allez!
4 comments:
Perfecto! Yep, you guess it...this is the day the Lord has made...I will rejoice and be glad in it!
But I dont understand what karen wrote.
By any chance, do you know Jonathan Smuda?
I guess we all want to see a superhero emerge in sports such as triathlon, like Chrissie or Macca. And they certainly help promote the sport. However, it is all the relative nobodies that make up the event, and no doubt a lot of them train as hard as the best. Only, not all are equally gifted, and only a few shine.
I love the tour...
I'm anxious for that "new hero" to emerge as well!!!
The Tour De France is really fun to watch. I'll view it diffently this year since having Yours and Karens and Rebeccas perspective on what actually goes into the entire proccess. I have a lot of respect for athletes. Here's to Heros!!!!!!
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