Today's Two Cents: Bonnie D. Ford

July 15, 2009
Jul
15
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Hey. look at that; they're still riding those bikes in France. After an initial wave of Lance-mania on this side of the Atlantic, when Lance Armstrong seemed to prove he's a viable contender in his Tour de France comeback, hubbub has settled into something closer to polite attention. But with Armstrong vs. Alberto Contador having all the makings of Brendan Haywood and Etan Thomas, this could get good.

Bonnie D. Ford is on the road with the riders in France (we assume the media gets to use cars, although it would make for more entertaining television coverage if they didn't). She took time away from the peloton Wednesday morning to answer questions, including a pair from Dave in Memphis, who we can only hope was in full "Breaking Away" gear while typing.

Dave (Memphis)

Aside from the Lance-Alberto tension, one cheeky move by Alberto to gain 20 seconds, and the green jersey competition, this Tour seems really, really bland. It also seems that the way the stages are designed, only one short ITT and one mild mountaintop finish so far, this is lulling everyone to sleep before we even get to the Alps...is that the intention?

Bonnie D. Ford
Bonnie D. Ford

Hi Dave -- I wouldn't say I'm sleepy, but it has been a bit of a treadmill. The first few days were interesting with the TT and TTT, the split in the peloton on a "sprint" stage, and general nerves in the peloton. Contador's mini-attack basically brought things back to square one and everything is backloaded onto those days in the Alps. This snoozer of a middle section is partly due to the fact that Ventoux is on the second-to-last day, which disrupts the normal rhythm of the race. All I can tell you is, enjoy the scenery and set your alarm for the Verbier stage.

Dave (Memphis)

Do you ever think a US-based tour (expanding the Tour of Cali or creating some other event in Colorado or the Appalachians) could ever rival the larger European tours?

Bonnie D. Ford
Bonnie D. Ford

Dave, you may know that the Tour of Calif. is moving to a different calendar slot next year (May) and I do think the long-term plans are to make it America's Grand Tour. Whether it'll ever be three weeks long is unknown, but running it in late spring will permit much more challenging mountain stages. The big factor affecting races in the US and elsewhere, frankly, is the global economy. Lots of events just barely making it sponsor-wise. Full transcript.

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