iCusp

So I have become much of a sports buff these days watching each and every type of sport the idiot box has to offer. May it be F1 , Tennis , Badminton , Football ,Moto GP,Tour de France . I even watched Something Lu beat something Le in a Ping Pong match. It is not a deliberate attempt from my end but Cricket seems to have slipped from my Radar these days and am loosing interest in watching that sport.
Watched a valiant effort from Andy Roddick at the Wimbledon in a marathon 5 setter , seriously man my heart goes out for him. That day I really wanted him to win. Then again on another day I was supporting Lance Armstrong the come back man at the Tour de France.
Believe me Tour De France is one of the most Amazing sport I have ever seen. In fact it takes you a lot of time to actually believe that it is a sport.

• For starters it is a race based on podium position for individual cyclist , so as such the glory goes to the individual. but still they compete as a team.
• Cycle race has a concept of Domestique's , there are the cyclist who have no job apart from acting as a shield to the wind for the rider in the team whom they think has a chance of winning the Tour , and burning themselves out so this lone rider can conserve his energy and win. I mean thats one heck of a commitment to give considering that at the end of 23 days the winner is separated only by a few minutes from the others .
  
• Then there are lead out men , men who will lead there rider within 300 meter's of the finishing line and then let him go ahead and win the race. Again one heck of a commitment to let go in the last 300 mts considering some stages are as long as 300 km.
  

But there is a reason to all this , the one and only reason , it is the toughest sporting event on earth. The sport is very demanding. Its the true testament to the theory of "Survival of the Fittest" . 350o km , 23 days straight on the road , temperature ranging from 35 degree Celsius to less than 0 degrees. Average speed of 40 km/hr for the entire race with highest speed reaching around 80 km/hr and that too with a tyre which is as slim as a scale. It is a true test and only the fittest can survive. No wonder the cyclist have a camaraderie and often help each other out.
This years tour was another special one. It marked the return of Lance Armstrong the 7 time champion . He returned after 4 years of retirement. His story is one of the most amazing story I have ever seen. Diagnosed of cancer at the age of 25 , he came back from a near death experience. And while most people would have been happy to be alive he came back , and boy it was a comeback winning 7 straight tours on the trot. This year he raced again and at 37 he might have been one of the oldest riders , but he left many of them behind to get third position.
Its a good watch this sport. My recommendation read the books by Lance Armstrong "Its not about bikes" and "Every second counts" they are really worth it.