le Tour commercial
nothing important July 1st, 2008You may have already seen this, it is making the rounds. The Chicken is skewered and parodied in a commercial.
John K. and I have not forgotten about the podcast. We have just been extremely busy with racing, moving, etc… I am heading to Masters Nationals in L-ville tomorrow evening to prepare for my road race Thursday morning. Talk about grown (older) men fighting for the ultimate prize. My Criterium is on Sunday. It’s on the infield of the famed horse racing track, Churchill Downs. Hmmm… I’ve heard all sorts of things about the course. Mainly its lack of distance. My 125 rider field could be lapping itself after just a few time around.
So, back to the podcast. Our plan is to knock one out Thursday evening, sans email, then try to do another Sunday night avec les emails. As always, stay tuned…
July 2nd, 2008 at 7:25 am
Hi Two Johns,
That’s hilarious… but I’m also writing you guys to say I agree with your comment on my “Take Back The Tour” post with the Versus ad campaign… Millar should not be grouped with the others… he admiited to his use… served his time and has come back to race clean. Now, there’s another ad with all the cyclists who were under the cloud of suspicion or who have been suspended and still deny. It’s called “Brand New Start.” Have you guys seen this one?
Cheers,
DJ
July 2nd, 2008 at 8:51 am
Good luck at nationals, jg.
Donald, I thought the same about Millar in the commercial, but noticed that his placement in the commercial is timed with a more positive line in the music’s lyrics as he is re-positioned for the start of a time-trial, i.e, starting over. The other riders are depicted moving backwards or having their accolades of victory removed without any indication that they are starting over. The lyrics are also a bit more somber during the shots of Basso, Landis, and Vino. A subtle difference, but I imagine the ad agency made that distinction on purpose. But I definitely had the same reaction as you when I first saw the spot.
July 2nd, 2008 at 12:03 pm
Donald thanks for your blog input. I don’t think I have seen the ‘Brand New Start’ ad, but am looking very forward to the Tour. The race is just awesome, scandals or not. Even after all the questions of integrity of the sport, it is hard to not get excited about it. It is not a contrived 1k circuit, but riders racing across a beautiful country through awesome terrain for a month.
jg in pdx- I caught the nuance difference, but the point is, intended subtle nuance or not, I believe it is a bit unfair to Millar. He handled himself differently than the others shown.
I hope new Italian champ Simeoni wins a stage in the tricolor.
JK in NC
July 2nd, 2008 at 2:46 pm
Can anyone ID the rider in the “take back the tour” spot? #129, climbing through the massive crowd??
July 2nd, 2008 at 3:14 pm
Thomas Voeckler (in 2004 I think).
And I agree with you JK; just pointing out what I think the ad team was probably trying to say.
July 2nd, 2008 at 6:36 pm
Masters Nationals development: On the drive down to L-ville I received a phone call from a teammate who knows a guy who’s tandem partner backed out at the last minute and is looking for a replacement stoker for the tandem road race. Carpe diem. Tomorrow’s schedule is now as follows — 10:00 a.m. My road race (I think it’s a metric century!!!) ending around 12′ish, 1:30 p.m. tandem and el’capitain arrive for saddle adjustment, pedal swap, etc… His name is Jamie something. He used to run Airborne bicycles near Dayton. 3:30 p.m. tandem road race. Should be an interesting day of bike racing.
July 3rd, 2008 at 1:03 am
I too have enjoyed Millar’s racing, especially this year: He is a classy rider. No doubt he served his time and deserves another go. But, I’m not going to give him credit for confessing. Before we anoint him King David, let’s remember he confessed in a jail cell after the police raided his home and found used syringes of EPO. They had all the evidence they needed to ban him. Note that he used his confession when he appealed his suspension to CAS: He asked that the starting date coincide with his confession. Has anyone confessed out of the blue? That would be hard given how easily the accusation of doping is tossed around, but there have been confessions without such damning evidence. Hey, the tour is here. Enjoy the racing!
July 3rd, 2008 at 9:41 am
Good point, Kent. Not too easy to deny when the evidence shows undeniable quilt, huh? Is that really an admission? I can’t remember - did Zabel come forward without specific allegations or evidence? A bit different as his doping was in the past (beyond the statute of limitations for doping violations), but I can’t remember the facts surrounding his admission. Other than the T-Mobile train crashing all around him, that is . . . .
July 3rd, 2008 at 9:43 am
Did I say quilt?
July 3rd, 2008 at 9:53 am
I’m confessing to doping right here and now….I have had way too much caffeine this morning.
July 3rd, 2008 at 1:07 pm
Here’s the results for the Master’s Road Race:
http://www.usacycling.org/results/index.php?permit=2008-1887
July 3rd, 2008 at 5:18 pm
JG had a good week! Interested to hear his thoughts on his performance. I’ve been laughing along with his humorous promotion of Kevin Livingston’s coaching service. The proof is in his performance!– Don’t think Zabel was named in particular.