Well, The Tour de France ended today with a jubilant Carlos Sastre, in the Yellow Jersey, sipping a glass of real Champagne -- the kind the comes from the Champagne region of France, not a winery in New York.  Carlos is the seventh Spaniard to win the Tour and there’s an interesting note to go with that.  

    Carlos rides for Team CSC this year.  The owner and manager of CSC is a Dane named, Bjarne Riis.  Bjarne upset another Spaniard’s hope of winning six Tours in a row by cheating.  That Spaniard was the affable Miguel Indurain, who hoped to make it six in a row.  Bjarne was injecting the blood enhancer EPO when he stole the race in 1996.  Since Bjarne didn’t admit to his deceit for more than ten years, he was able to keep the Tour winner title, but with an asterisk next to his name.  

    Anyway, the crumb bum Dane helped put a Spaniard on the top step of the podium once again.  Poetic justice?  Penance?  Maybe he’s just trying maintain a lucrative position in a sport that has treated him better than he treated it.

    I’m guessing Miguel is very happy to see Carlos win.  I don’t know how he feels about Bjarne.

    An American, Christian Vandevelde, finished fifth.  He seems like a good guy and races for the American team, Garmin-Chipolte.  After the race began, and because Christian rode so well, I think there was a lot of hope that he might win the whole shebang and bring the title back to the U.S. after what is now, three Spanish wins in a row since Lance retired.  All in all, though, fifth place is very good and more than the team had hoped for going into the race.

    Another American, one of our favorite racers and fellow Carolina transplant -- South, not North, though -- George Hincapie finished an hour and some change behind the winner at 35th.  35th doesn’t sound very good, but George has ridden in 13 Tours de France and that’s pretty impressive.  He began yesterday’s time trial with a bandaged left arm and leg and his water bottle bounced out of its cage before he even sat down after coming out of the starting gate.  That is not good.  

    George is still a very cool guy and I’ve ridden a bit around Greenville, SC where he lives.  I can see how that part of the state might keep a rider  in shape.  It’s pretty up and downy.

    Bernhard Kohl won the King of the Mountains Polka Dot Jersey.  King of the Mountains is a title I have long been impressed by.  You win it by being first to the top of more mountains along the course than anyone else.  The winner gets to wear a white jersey with red polka dots on it.  Bernhard is from Austria; not exactly flat land.

    And Óscar Freire, another Spaniard, won the Green Jersey by winning the most points for sprinting.  A lot of stages end in a sprint -- which impresses me after 200 kilometers at a much faster pace than I will ever ride a bicycle -- and there are intermediate sprints at predetermined spots along the course.  Óscar is a very strong bicycle racer with a long career behind him; and obviously something to look forward to as well.

    One more thing before I finish.  Do you know how to say my name in Spanish?  Carlos.  Hey, how about that?  I was even within a mile or two of the Spanish frontier when a ship I sailed in stopped at Gibralta on the way into or out of the Mediterranean one fine spring day.  Oh, and Carlos, if you’re reading this, I’ll build you a Coho gratis if you will ride it.