As if the Tour de France isn’t grueling enough with its natural hazards, competing riders have to worry about manmade ones too, namely vehicles carrying the media. On Sunday, a French news car clipped some top riders, sending a cyclist into the pavement and another into a barbed wire fence. But it wasn’t the only incident. Read more »
For the third time in four years, Alberto Contador of Spain won the Tour de France. Meanwhile, American hero Lance Armstrong finished 23rd, which isn’t great, but not nearly as bad as Italy’s Adriano Malori who placed last at 170th, winning the dubious lantern rouge that is still better than the 20+ riders that dropped out, so…props.
Lance Armstong said he’s retiring (again) after this year’s Tour de France, but this time he means it! The grueling race begins in a few days and in the meantime, Snoop Dogg made this rather surprisingly bizarre send off video for the cycling great.
The French Anti-Doping Agency announced that two new drugs were used by cyclists during this year’s Tour de France: Hematide and Aicar. Additionally, officials claim there were illegal blood transfusions and use of “hardcore medicines.” Although they’re not naming names, yet, the Guardian reports that “up to 40 riders were identified as suspicious” and the agency is re-testing “riders who finished in the top 20.” |Guardian|
With the Tour de France underway, Trek offers an overview of Lance Armstrong’s sextuplet of artist customized bicycles. Along with more detailed views of the rolling canvases by KAWS, Shepard Fairey, Kenny Scharf, Marc Newson, comes a closer look at the most recent bikes stylized by Japanese artist Yoshitomo Nara and shark cutter Damien Hirst. Read more »
While we hoped Damien Hirst was crafting Lance Armstrong a racing bicycle adorned with actual dead sharks and lambs, the animal cutting artist took a slightly more animal-sensitive approach, styling the bike with a butterfly wing motif reminiscent of the stained glass window designs he once crafted from the insects’ wings. Here’s a sneak peek at the Trek Madone that Armstrong will race later this month in the Tour de France, after which it goes to auction for the pro cyclist’s anti-cancer charity, along with rides customized by KAWS, Shepard Fairey, Kenny Scharf, Marc Newson, and NARA.
Images via Limited Hype
Adding to his stable of artist customized bicycles by the likes of Shepard Fairey and Kenny Scharf, Lance Armstrong rode a new Trek time trial bike designed by Marc Newson for Saturday’s start to the Tour de France. Later in the stage race, the pro twittering cyclist will also be riding bikes customized by Yoshitomo Nara and Damien Hirst to help draw more attention to STAGES, the anti-cancer art show opening in the midst of the Tour at the Galerie Emmanuel Perrotin in Paris on July 16th.
With 124 guards watching them, nearly 200 prisoners will race the premier penal version of the Tour de France next month. Although the ride is intended to instill positive values, one convicted rider notably points out that “it’s a kind of escape for us, a chance to break away from the daily reality of prison.” |Guardian|
So the grueling annual Tour de France just wrapped up and there was an interesting article about a rider winning the Lanterne Rouge for a third time in a row. Think of it as the polar opposite of getting the honorable yellow jersey:
“Wim Vansevenant, a Belgian riding for Silence Lotto (ninth on the nine-man squad) is the favorite to win his third Lanterne Rouge, a feat that hasn’t been accomplished since the first official race in 1903. The French phrase, which translates to “red lantern,” is used to describe the racer who finishes dead last in the overall standings when the peloton reaches Paris.”
According to the WSJ, “the designation falls somewhere between insult and accolade,” although we’d have to argue wholeheartedly against it being the latter. |WSJ via Kottke|
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