(This article originally appeared in the Sacramento Bee on July 23, 2005, the eve of Lance Armstrong’s concluding ride into Paris and the final day of his Tour de France career.) ST. ETIENNE, France — With his retirement Sunday in Paris and all the celebration that will envelope him as a seven-time Tour de France [...]
Cycling Features
An Open Letter To 2006 Tour de France Winner Floyd Landis
(The letter was originally written Aug. 21, 2006.) Dear Floyd: You likely don’t remember me. But since you were a late Tour de France pick for U.S. Postal Service team in 2002, I’ve been among the media corps following you around the globe. We’ve had our moments. Early in your first Tour, I was staying [...]
Jeannie Longo: The Greatest Cyclist In History?
Jeannie Longo of France may be the best athlete in the world who gets the least recognition. Now age 48, the reigning national road and time trial champion, recently signed a one-year, 2007 contract to race international events with the Austrian-based Uniqa Team. Longo has more than 900 career victories, the most of any cyclist [...]
Measured Redemption: The Life & Times Of Cyclist Jonathan Boyer
(This article originally appeared in the Monterey County Herald on June 11, 2006 the day before the solo divisions of the 2006 Race Across America began.) Next month will mark 25 years since Jonathan Swift Boyer became the first American to compete in the Tour de France. Four years later, with a national television network [...]
The History Of Mountain Bikes: It Was Called The Stumpjumper
(This article originally appeared in the Sacramento Bee in April 2006.) During the mid-1970s, Mike Sinyard, his friends and other carefree cyclists from California to Colorado began to negotiate winding dirt trails and careen down rocky hills. They rode modified, fat-tired machines called clunkers and hoped for the best. They crashed their modified and renovated [...]
Floyd Landis Claims Improbable 2006 Tour de France Title
(This article originally appeared in the Santa Rosa Press-Democrat on July 25, 2006.) PARIS — With his cycling future unknown, Floyd Landis secured his improbable Tour de France victory Sunday with a casual, celebratory four-hour ride to the French capital. Landis, 30, of Murrieta, Calif., leader of the Phonak team, finished the 154.5-kilometer (95.9-mile) 20th [...]
Lance Armstrong’s Final Tour de France Ride Into Paris
(This article was originally published in the Sacramento Bee on July 25, 2005.) PARIS — Amid unsettled skies, historic monuments and a final burst of late afternoon sun, Lance Armstrong ended his improbable and remarkable career Sunday. Riding among 154 other cyclists, Armstrong, 33, captured his unparalleled seventh straight Tour de France title on the [...]