Well, Well – didn’t the US have a great Wachovia Cycling Series Sunday? Out of the top ten finishers, five were American racers – including the top guy, Chris Wherry. Was he ever stoked about his win! He was jumping around and hollering – it was good to see somebody who was genuinely showing his elation about his victory. Chris is a great guy and just a totally good person. I remember hanging out and chatting with him at the top of the Redlands Bicycle Classic Oak Glen Road Race stage a couple of years ago. Chris waited for all his teammates to arrive before he rode back down the hill to the motel.

And how about George in the Dauphine – way cool to see him win the Prologue TT! Lance was so pleased about George’s win… Did you read the funny article by William Fotheringham in the Guardian about Lance and Jan running into each other while doing reconnaissance of the Pla d’Adet? Jan and three teammates were already riding it, so Johan and Lance drove on up the road and started in front of the T-Mobile guys. Psychological strategy, anyone? Then Lance said he kept looking back to make sure that Jan and his guys weren’t catching up with him. Lance admitted that he climbed it faster than he usually would on training ride. And... Lance said that Jan’s form looked terrible. (Even if he says that Jan is his main rival for the Tour).

I’m heading home early afternoon. This week has been a mixture of exhaustion and elation – doing two jobs here has been both a challenge and a reward. The 21st running of the Wachovia Cycling Series was a huge, huge success, and I hope we see Wachovia on the banners for years to come. I took some shots from the podium, looking out at the crowd for the final ceremonies, and there were hundreds of people in the street – it was a jam-packed, elbow-to-elbow crowd. Plus, there were over two hundred media people this year, and they were all cramming into a small media area right in front of the podium. One of the waitpersons here in the hotel told me this morning that every restaurant in town was full last night. Philly does love the Wachovia Cycling Series, yes, they do!

Thanks to Mark for this link...