Amid pandemic, Tour de France reels off

By Jesus A. Garcia Jr.

ALL of the world’s prestigious and biggest sports events like the NBA, Tour de France, England’s Wimbledon, U.S. Open, and especially the esteemed 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games suddenly came to a halt temporarily due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Yes, we cannot blame the organizers of these world’s rich annual sports events as the life of every athlete as well as  spectators  will be put to risk as they will be  exposing themselves to the deadly disease that already killed almost 700,000 inhabitants on earth.

Luckily, after six months of suspension of competitions, the big guns of these sporting events led by the NBA  slowly but surely resumed games.  It’s biggest attraction was the kick-off  game between defending champion Toronto Raptors and Boston Celtics who blanked  their opponents in the best-of-seven playoffs series.

As I’m writing this piece (August 27), the delayed staging of the world’s oldest and most prestigious  21-day bicycle road race, the “Tour de France”, finally reeled  off on August 29 in Nice City and  will end on September 20 in Paris at Champs Elysses, as usual, with a total distance of 3,470 kilometers.

Last year’s winner, the 5’9” Egan Bernal of Colombia, my new idol, is heavily favored this time to win anew from the field of 176 contestants spread out in 22 squads, (Last year, the race analysts did not consider him as a threat to the coveted tiara and stunned everybody, including myself) He’s the first Colombian and first Latino American to win the TdF since its birth in 1903, and the youngest at the age of 22 years. Unfortunately, or not, he will be racing this time sans some notable riders like four-time TdF winner Chris Froome and his countrymates, the sprinters Mark Cavendish and Geraint Thomas of Great Britain. Latest reports from my former fellow cyclist Alex Lopez formerly from brgy. Guesang, Mangaldan now stays in Geneva, Switzerland, say  the three Britons are reserving their strengths this year for the Giro d’ Italia and Vuelta a España, two of the three world Grand Tours also to be run in 21 days. Bernal will meet the three in Giro and the Vuelta.

TdF history says there are four riders who shared the record of five wins namely Jacques Anquetil of France making it in 1957, 1961, 1962, 1963 and 1964, Eddy Merckx of Belgium in 1969, 1970, 1971, 1972 and 1974, Bernard Hinault of France in 1978, 1979, 1981, 1982 and 1985 and Miguel Indurain in 1991, 1992, 1993, 1994 and 1995, the only cyclist in the world (so far) to win it consecutively. Yes, “Records are made to be broken,” as the adage says, but I believe the guy who might break Indurain’s record may not have  been born yet.  Forget the American Lance who won the TdF seven incredible times, but his titles were all stripped in 2012 after a U.S. Anti-Doping Agency confirmed that he used a performance enhancing drugs called “EPO.”  Yes, he stained and ruined the image of competitive sports, particularly, cycling.

NBA and Tdf had resumed their games and hopefully soon the PBA. I do wish and hope too, that the 4th Governor’s Cup Inter-Town/City Basketball Tournament will resume its games in the next few weeks.

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My heartfelt condolences to the relatives of Archbishop Oscar V. Cruz who passed away last August 26 due to lingering illness. Cruz is an avid supporter of my cumpadre, my town mate and three-time Tour  first runner-up Cesar Catambay during his younger heydays.

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QUOTE OF THE WEEK: “When they fast, I will not hear their cry; and when they offer burnt offering and grain offering, I will not accept them. But I will consume them by the sword, by the famine, and by the pestilence.” JEREMIAH 14: 12

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