Le Tour

That big bike race in France starts tomorrow and after the brutal appetizer that was this year's Giro, it should be quite a show. Seems unlikely anyone can even get close to Contador this year. He was a monster in the Giro. Two years ago I was a huge fan having watched him as a junior rider, but after close call of Puerto and the Clenbuterol train-wreck, he seem to be just another pro doper now.

There is one rider I have followed for years, since his spectacular performance on Stage 15 of the 2004 tour, and look forward to his antics this year especially. He'll never challenge for the Yellow, but he's always there to drive the break and steal the odd win. My man is Jens Voigt. With 15 seasons in the saddle, he's nearly my age yet he yet he races with the abandon of a junior and the power of a machine.

Reflecting on the twilight of his career, he recently wrote: "Every time I race, I will race so fiercely my legs cry, and when I can’t do that anymore, that’s when I will know it’s time for myself to shut up and leave."

There is a word used in climbing, cycling, even in the military to describe that rare individual who never even thinks to quit, never shirks, never even thinks about the pain. That word is "Hardman". I only personally know a few guys who I would call "Hardman" - most were Marines -- but Jens defines the word. When I'm climbing on the bike or run out on a steep pitch and feel that first flicker of doubt, I think of Jens and and say "Shut-up legs" and push on knowing that whatever I'm doing, Jens is doing more.