Gentlemen, Start Your Engines
Fourth of July was yesterday. Local parades. Hot dogs and barbecue. Flags and lots of red, white, and blue. We spent time swimming in the Pacific Ocean in Santa Cruz and then watched fireworks at Shoreline Amphitheatre in Mountain View, accompanied by the San Francisco Symphony. Sun, beach, flags, and fireworks. Americana.
What’s also Americana are the most famous words in motorsports:
God bless our troops; God bless America; And Gentlemen, start your engines
Across the pond, the French today had their own version of those famous words:
Trois, deux, un, c’est parti!
Three, two, one, and they’re off! This is how the Tour de France commences. No engines to start. Just clip in and start pedaling.
It will be a glorious July with plenty of interesting races and evening show commentaries. I am ready:
- Vive le Velo show (Dutch) of Karl Van niewkerke, the premier cycling evening show with amazing guests, interviews, and
- Sporza Koers podcast (Dutch) Christophe Vandegoor and guests. Week 1, the co-commentator is Sven Nijs.
- The Move podcast (English) with Lance Armstrong, George Hincapie, and this year Bradley Wiggins.
- Vlammen podcast (Dutch) with Marijn de Vries and Linde Merckpoel.
This is perfect to watch or listen to, also while I am training for my own endurance races.
Who am I rooting for? Tadej, Remco, Wout, Philipsen, and most of all, lots of gutsy riding by all teams.
See you in Paris!