Few sports moments I have ever witnessed, live or on TV, were as heroic as the performance of American cyclist Lance Armstrong in the fifteenth stage of this year's Tour de France.
On July 23rd, in what must be the single most grueling and difficult sporting event in the history of mankind, the first-place Armstrong was riding on pace with Joseba Beloki, a Spanish rider just minutes behind the American's overall lead.
With a final burst of energy, Beloki broke away from the group, opening up what looked to the casual viewer to be an insurmountable gap, a small but certain cut into Armstrong's overall lead.
The few seconds it took Armstrong to turn on his afterburners, sidle up to Beloki and finish the stage alongside him were the ones that hooked me to the Tour and glued me to the Outdoor Life Network every morning from then until the race
was over.
Comebacks like the one that Tuesday are nothing new for Armstrong, whose story is one of a rider with a work ethic and
determination that brought him from a cancer victim to the dominant athlete in the hardest sport there is.
It's the story of a young athlete who beat the odds to not only rebuild his strength from scratch, but to become better than ever -- and than anyone else.
It's a story, unparalleled in sports, that has surely inspired millions of athletes, cancer victims and fans.
It took Armstrong to convince me just how compelling this event and sport are. But over the next week, one image for me, more than any other, defined the uber-marathon.
Not Armstrong making up a 17-second deficit in stage 19 to
end up a minute ahead of the nearest competition by the end of the time-trial.
Not Armstrong celebrating after yet another day wearing the overall leader's yellow jersey.
Rather, it was a photo of a cow, standing alongside one of the routes, draped in a large, white sheet with red polka dots.
It reminded me of the many other reasons Americans, besides their compatriot's dominance, should give this sport, and event, a chance.
The white sheet with red polka dots was a tribute to Laurent Jalabert, the Frenchman who this year completed his final Tour de France. As the King of the Mountains, or the rider recognized as the top "climber" in the field, Jalabert had the privilege of wearing the polka-dotted jersey -- and of being recognized by everyone in his country down to the lowliest livestock.
The climbing competition is just one of the many hidden gems in this race. Indeed, cycling itself has everything we prize in sports -- and more. A Tour-long points competition for the top sprinters and the right to wear the green jersey made even the final Tour's last seconds, a race down Paris' Champs-Elysees, among its most exhilarating.
Not only were the heroes who emerged from these races within races rewarding to watch, but the level, and importance, of teamwork and strategy in this sport is astounding. It may seem surprising for a sport like cycling, but the cooperation involved rivals that of the team sports Americans watch daily.
In interviews, Armstrong never hesitated to recognize the
other members of the U.S. Postal Service team. A few sessions in front of the TV watching the group members work together make it easy to see why.
Once upon a time, though, I had an even better view of this
race. Standing along the Rue de Rivoli in Paris in July of 1991, I didn't fully appreciate what I was witnessing: the final stage of the Tour de France as the cyclists, including Greg LeMond, another legendary American, finished that year's trip through France.
Unfortunately, the final stage of the Tour de France 2002 wasn't broadcasted live on the OLN. For the earliest available footage, TV viewers had to watch CBS's afternoon recap this past Sunday. The network compresses several days of high-intensity competition into a single hour devoted largely to melodramatic footage of the French countryside.
Most days, though, good coverage is out there -- and the networks' scant attention to this event shouldn't deter Americans from giving cycling a chance. Next July, turn your TV to the Tour -- and don't be surprised if you become addicted, too.
And if the farmers among us are so inclined, let's make sure their cows are given the biggest and brightest yellow sheets they can find.
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