Boris Bajic
Guest
I am terribly excited that there might be a British winner of the TdF.
But...
There is a part of me that thinks this is not right. It is not our race. We should only peep into France and watch it through their letterbox or while hiding unseen behind the trees in their beautiful, straight RN avenues.
In my heart I know that just having a French, Italian, Spanish, Belgian or Basque name makes you a faster, better rider and more deserving of success and accolades.
I recall my uncomfortable feeling when Lemond won with his tricksy TT bike. A yank? not even a proper Yank... A Texican! Winning a European race!! It was wrong.
I thought of him as I'd thought of King Kenny, Steady Eddie and Fast Freddy when they came over with their brilliant, winning style.
I'm even quite uncomfortable with north Europeans like Riiiiis or Ullrich doing well. I allow the Dutch their successes, but only if the rider has a comedy name, like Joop Zoetemelk (however he spells it).
I now realise that Lemond was always a legend, as were Roberts et al... Riiiiis and Ullrich too.
But there is something in me that always wants this TdF thing to be unattainable to English-speaking cultures. I don't mind the odd maverick jersey-winner who can spend a day or two in yellow or win a plucky stage... I even quite like that.
But win the Tour? Win the Tour? Win the Tour?
I love this cycling thing, but they need to have a new rule:
To win, you need to have too many letters X in your name, like some Belgians and most Basques.
Or you need to look like one of Garibaldi's conquering heroes.... and sound like one. Or you need to be aloof and Gallic and weird.
Or you need to be a bizarrely named Kazakh goombah who feels no pain and sees no rivals - or a sprinter who looks like a raiding Tartar and rides like one.
I am overjoyed that 'we' have so many top riders... and that joy is somehow leaving me feeling emptier than all those decades of hopeless wishing for a British success.
Am I alone in this? Am I suffering from some sort of inverse xenophobia?
Do I need help?
But...
There is a part of me that thinks this is not right. It is not our race. We should only peep into France and watch it through their letterbox or while hiding unseen behind the trees in their beautiful, straight RN avenues.
In my heart I know that just having a French, Italian, Spanish, Belgian or Basque name makes you a faster, better rider and more deserving of success and accolades.
I recall my uncomfortable feeling when Lemond won with his tricksy TT bike. A yank? not even a proper Yank... A Texican! Winning a European race!! It was wrong.
I thought of him as I'd thought of King Kenny, Steady Eddie and Fast Freddy when they came over with their brilliant, winning style.
I'm even quite uncomfortable with north Europeans like Riiiiis or Ullrich doing well. I allow the Dutch their successes, but only if the rider has a comedy name, like Joop Zoetemelk (however he spells it).
I now realise that Lemond was always a legend, as were Roberts et al... Riiiiis and Ullrich too.
But there is something in me that always wants this TdF thing to be unattainable to English-speaking cultures. I don't mind the odd maverick jersey-winner who can spend a day or two in yellow or win a plucky stage... I even quite like that.
But win the Tour? Win the Tour? Win the Tour?
I love this cycling thing, but they need to have a new rule:
To win, you need to have too many letters X in your name, like some Belgians and most Basques.
Or you need to look like one of Garibaldi's conquering heroes.... and sound like one. Or you need to be aloof and Gallic and weird.
Or you need to be a bizarrely named Kazakh goombah who feels no pain and sees no rivals - or a sprinter who looks like a raiding Tartar and rides like one.
I am overjoyed that 'we' have so many top riders... and that joy is somehow leaving me feeling emptier than all those decades of hopeless wishing for a British success.
Am I alone in this? Am I suffering from some sort of inverse xenophobia?
Do I need help?
