Registration Open for Levi's Gran Fondo

Would I pay $130 for what basically amounts to a century ride? Hmm...

If it took place on the most remote and challenging roads in one of the most beautiful regions of California...

If I had the chance to meet and support my man Levi Leipheimer... (I harbor no illusions I'd be able to ride with him for more than the first 100 meters, along with 3,000 other folks)...

And if someone would go the cab-fare from Western Mass and put me up when I get there...

I'd be there.

Another one for the bucket list.

(True, the video below is a puff piece. But if it doesn't make you sigh with envy, I can't imagine what would.)

The Quotable L3VI

How happy does the man in the center look?

Hot off the presses at VeloNews.com,some interesting takes from Levi Leipheimer on last week's AToC:

"I told Lance the other day that I don’t know how the hell he won seven Tours in a row. You can’t get second place because that’s losing.”

“I’ve dreamt many times when training in the winter about making a move like the one I made on Bonny Doon (in stage 2), when the conditions are horrendous and you go for it."

“I need to pay these guys back. I’ll be working for Alberto (Contador) in Paris-Nice, riding for Lance in the Giro, and we’ll have our best team in the Tour.”

Make of this last what you will with regard to the ostensible team leader for the Tour de France.

Finally, a pleasant blast from the Director Sportif himself:

His team manger Bruyneel praised Leipheimer and said the whole team enjoys riding for him. “It was a harder and more difficult victory than ever,” Bruyneel said. “But everybody knows Levi is going to be ready if he says he is going to be ready. He already had the fastest time-trial position but he went back to the wind tunnel two times this winter. Levi always delivers when he says he’s gonna be there.”

Nice! (We'll disregard the reference to Bruyneel as a baby's crib. I'm sure it was unintentional. "Team manger"?)

Levi Rides Again

If you saw Levi Leipheimer's dramatic, uphill breakaway toward the end of stage 2 of the Tour of California yesterday, you saw bike racing at its finest.

It was a happy day for me, of course.

Levi decided to take control of "his" race and grab the yellow jersey back from Rock Racing's Mancebo. Leipheimer broke away and motored up the final climb of the day, bridging a considerable three-plus minute gap on a steep grade, and then passing the leaders like they were fence posts. "“It was like a motorcycle passing you,” Jacques-Maynes said of Leipheimer in VeloNews. “A small motorcycle.”

Other notable quotes from Levi, in the same VeloNews story, regarding the proceedings:

“Turn your shower on, as cold as it gets, and stand there for four hours,” is how Leipheimer described the feeling on the bike Monday.

“When we hit the bottom of Bonny Doon there were a couple of attacks, and I felt great. I looked around, and I could see people were at their limit,” Leipheimer said. “I had Popovych next to me. I said, ‘Light it up, Popo.’”

Go here for a good video recap. On that page, you'll also find a couple of good interview with Levi, Lance and others.

He the man!

"The Guys I Know Are Racing Like It's May."

Did you read Armstrong officially handing team support for the ToC to Levi?

I'm not putting any money on him holding back if Levi shows the slightest weakness. And it's pretty obvious that by handing Leipheimer the ToC, Armstrong's leaving the door wide open to take the lead for one of the grander tours. He can rely on the media to point out how generous he was in February if he finds he's fit enough to try to ride Levi into the ground in May or July. Will he do the same with Contador, handing him the Giro or the Vuelta, and then forget all about both of them on Alpe d'Huez?

But... okay. Okay!!! I will admit that he's being something like gracious here, and even kind of fun to talk to. He really does love this stuff. He's got a good side.

There I said it.

And while I don't take back any of my reservations about him, I will also confess he's acting like a grown-up this time around. So far. It's only February.

(Just for the record: I'm all in favor of honest competition, and wish Armstrong the best. What would anger me would be him using his star power to push aside Levi and Contador, who between them were already one champion too many for one team. If he's going to do that, he should have joined -- or started -- another team. That's all. )

Levi Speaks Up

Velophoriacs already know I'm a big fan of Levi Leipheimer and what I only half-jokingly refer to as "his race," the Tour of California (about to start this Sunday! You can view it online for free here with pretty good Tour Tracker software). There was nice interview with him and Alberto Contador about being teammates with Lance Armstrong, and about LA's chances in the ToC. Leipheimer does a good job of saying "I think I can take this race" without actually offending anyone. Contador takes a similarly tactful approach.

It becomes increasingly apparent to me that Armstrong was wedged into the Astana team with a crowbar -- one jointly forged by him and director sportif Johan Bruyneel.

Flyin' My Levi Flag

I've held forth from this bully pulpit before on the merits of high-achieving athletes who also exemplify personal qualities I admire, and Levi Leipheimer is tops on my list of such cyclists. Yesterday, I read on VeloNews.com some interesting comments about the hyper-exposure of Lance Armstrong's return and the general under-selling of Levi. I was inspired to second the motion on both counts, and fired off a quick email. Lo and behold, I open the letters section today, and there is my note, second from the top (edited by the publisher, but not too much the worse for wear).

BTW, in the spirit of full confession, I have to follow up on my piece about my mixed feelings for Armstrong. I watched the final stage of the Tour Down Under on Versus.com, and I will admit that I got pretty excited when Armstrong came out of the pack to bridge the gap to the tete de la course. It was great fun -- the "old guy" (eight years my junior, but you know what I mean) still has some fuel in the boosters. I loved seeing the young bucks doing double-takes over their shoulder; it was so clear what they were thinking. "Holy ----, I'm in a break with Lance Friggin' Armstrong!!!" And also, "Oh, crap-- He really does still have the legs!!"

Alright, alright -- I said right along that he was arguably the most talented (re-)active cyclist out there, but because I returned to cycling after decades away, I missed the chance to see him ride during his peak. So I failed to mention one other very important thing about him: He's electrifying to watch. I've often compared him (in many ways) to Michael Jordan, and, after watching him do his stuff, I have to say, I'm sticking with that comparison. You couldn't take your eyes off Jordan, and you'd better not take 'em off Armstrong.

But I'll still be rooting for Levi.