Orchies – Boulogne-sur-Mer ( 197 kilometers)
We are going to blame these late Tour de France posts on the 4th of July and the fact that many Heroes have been moving about this week. We knew were going to be doubly late yesterday because we rode for 4 hours ride in 100 degrees Fahrenheit! After chills, hot flashes and more chills we knew posting was a lost cause. For those of you that ride in Chicago let it be known that the folks at JJ Peppers convenience store will let you cool down in the beer and soda cooler. While standing between cases of Snapple and the High-Life we thought about all those moments when you doubt your love of riding a bike. This moment is usually realized when you have been dropped by your club-mates on an overpass, but standing in a mini-mart cooler gave this feeling a new dimension. Of course after a 30 minute cold shower, liquids, we proclaimed it amongst the most epic of rides. How could we not!
On to Sagan-if the early stages of this tour are about one thing it is about Peter Sagan and his celebrations across the line. The blogs, the cycling news sites and Paul and Phil have been tossing and turning his moves and asking questions of what will come next because surely they shout, Sagan will win again! After his first move of conjuring up the ballet of Bolero and a Olympic weight lifter Sagan offered his “Forest Gump” on stage three.
“Run Forest Run!”
If you remember the scene from the movie, Sagan er Forest, is to be found running away from three bullies on bicycles when the his paramour shouts those famous words, “Run Forest Run!” At Hero headquarters we note Sagan as the protagonist channels himself as the runner crossing the finish line, being chased by bike riding bullies no less. Though we often think of cyclists around here as the innocent suffering wrath by motorists etc, we do remember a few days in our youth being chased down by an unknown gang of older BMX hellions. Their specialty was rubbing their front tire alongside our rear tire in order to knock us down; sometimes it worked and sometimes it did not.
After watching the bumping, pushing and crashes at the front of the peloton it maybe suitable to think of your fellow cyclists as bullies. Though in Sagan’s own interpretation of this act he stated, “It’s a thing I’d discussed with my teammates about what kind of gesture I’d do on the line. “Everybody said, `Do a Forrest Gump’ because when he was told to run, he ran. And when I’m told to win, I win.” Sagan may recall this image of Forest Gump but we believe it is a miscast metaphor as Forest was an aimless and innocent drifter across historical American moments, and to the Heroes, Mr. Sagan appears to be in the driver’s seat of his exploits across France and his contributions to the history of the Tour.
No matter the rational behind the role Mr. Sagan chooses we add this last illustration to our gallery of Tour winners!