Tour Triumph?

Outside of a marathon, the Tour de France is one of sports most exhausting events. It winds through 2,000-plus miles of the countryside including punishing mountainous terrain.

This year’s Tour de France should be one of the more exciting ones. Despite the fact that the field is a little weak — Alberto Contador and Andy Scheck won’t be competing due to a doping scandal and a broken collarbone respectively — and the Olympic race, a grueling 155-mile contest, is scheduled for just six days after the Tour ends — a classic contest is developing between two of the racers.

Bradley Wiggins of Great Britain and Cadel Evans of Australia, last year’s winner, are expected to contend for the title. Wiggins has been winning a lot recently and is the favorite, but you never really know what will happen.

I’m wondering why the Olympic gurus, in all their wisdom, scheduled their race for less than a week after the Tour ends. This shows a certain disrespect for the event, and if I were French, I’d be even more upset. Several racers are expected to skip the Tour in order to contend for Olympic gold instead.

Can’t our sporting officials work more collaboratively in such a basic area as scheduling?

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