Colgate University Libraries News and Events

This is the annual contest that I wait for every summer, the Tour de France. And what a start it has been! With the prologue and 2 stages complete (haven't seen today's stage 3 results yet - that's for tonight's re-broadcast), there has already been numerous crashes, and some big names are out of the competetion. Everyone held their breath at the end of stage 1, when crash after crash took down competitors, one crash bringing the entire peleton to a stop. In stage 2, the combination of rain and oil leaked from an officials motorcylce took down numerous favorites and took Christian Vandevelde (broken ribs) and Frank Schleck out the race!
 
What's in store: today was cobblestones (hopefully, they had a dry day), then more than 3,000 km of "flat", mountains, and an individual time trial. I wish they'd bring back the team time trials, there's nothing quite so beautiful as a well executed team stage. It all cumulates in he final triumphant (and heart stopping) finale down the Champs Elysees.
 
Follow the action on the official Tour de France website, and for those of us following on TV, Versus (Time Warner channels 50 and 803). In the libraries, you can also catch news from databases like LexisNexis Academic and Access World News International, or check out books in our catalog on cycling, bicycle racing, or the Tour itself.