A GAP IN NINE = HOPE

EVERY SINGLE TEAM IN THE TOUR DE FRANCE IS AT LEAST 11.2% WEAKER THAN PREVIOUS YEARS, and I'm digging it!  Some even more.  When it was announced there would be 8-man teams vs 9-man teams I figured it would open up the racing, and WOW! this the most fun I've had watching the Tour de France in decades.

30 years ago American Greg LeMond electrified the world with his stunning come from behind victory on the last day of the Tour.  It was a short time trial, and he trailed Fignon by 50 seconds.  There was little hope, yet he won by the narrowest victory every: 8 seconds.

Sometimes all we need as competitors is a little hope.

It's weird, isn't it?

We've seen it in ourselves, the tiny bit of hope flourishes into a towering tree of confidence. 
It happens one pedal stroke at a time. 
And they build. 
And we change. 
We become new again. 
Fresh. 
Ready to take on much more than we'd thought possible.

We're seeing it in this tour with the super stylish racing of Julian Alaphillipe, with the attacking climbing of Thibaut Pinot, with the metronome pace of Steven Krusijswijk... and I believe it's building in the slow starting defending champion Geraint Thomas.

A mere 2 minutes separate the top 6 racers after 2 weeks of climbing.  The evenness of their talents is unreal, hard to comprehend.  On a typical group ride or race, I can lose that much time on one climb.  

Who will win?
The man who's hope continues to grow.

Who is that?
Thomas or Pinot, I don't know...
but my heart goes with Julian.

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