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When you join the daily
conversation on Facebook, like or comment to be entered to win the Leather
Jersey Prize package presented by Pearl Izumi and awarded randomly at the end
of the tour which includes a GU Sample Pack and a pair of RoadIDs.
Let’s take a look back at the first 9 stages and who you
thought was cool from Facebook.
Darryn Thomas
Voeckler. I'll send you my mailing address now.
Stage 1 Cool Gorilla Patience
On stage 1, in German National Championship stripes, Andre
Greipel stoically waited for a wheel change.
Some look like a big fat tub of guts in horizontal stripes (cough Cavendish),
not Andre the Giant. Greipel could’ve been
the gorilla, bent over, arms flailing with the rear skewer. No. Like
he flatted at the edge of the Grand Canyon, he stood tall and proud in his
stripes, an eagle eye on the horizon, as the mechanic slipped a new wheel in
the drops. That’s how you rock the stripes,
ya big monkey.
Stage 2 Cool Raw Emotion
After a gutsy move to push clear off the front, young Radio
Shack Belgian Jan Bakelants held on to a razor thin margin and rode to a sweet
stage 2 win. Wait a minute. Who?
Yeah you Wiki’d him too. Don’t
lie. With 3rds at Belgian Nats and the
Tour of Luxembourg, the win was a milestone in his career. However, what made this moment so cool were
his raw emotions running clear as he crossed the finish line first at the
Tour. There was no pre-planned Saganesque
hulk flexing, no finger guns to the sky, no tired pointing at sponsor
logos. It was as if it were Christmas
morning and dad rolled out the bike from the front closet with a bow on it. Honest expressions, that’s Leather Jersey
worthy.
Stage 3 Polka Dot Panache
The French guy in Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky
Bobby, what was his name? Oh yeah! It was Jean Girard,
played by Sacha Baron Cohen. That’s what
I think about when I see Pierre Rolland in Polka Dots. You almost want to tongue kiss him. Pierre’s polka dot panache was the most stylish
case of the chicken pox we’ve seen.
After winning the Polka Dot Jersey, Pierre Rolland kitted up head to
ankles in the dots: helmet, skin suit, gloves and bike. Seeing him on the podium, my wife pointed out
two strategically placed, (What’s the word?
Oh yeah.) nut dots. Shake and Bake Pierre!
Stage 4 iamcool
He favorited my tweet.
How cool is that? Ted King gets
the nod on Stage 4. Nursing injuries
from earlier crashes, like three broken testicles and with his spleen duct
taped to the outside of his jersey, Ted took to the Team Time Trial on a road
bike, got dropped by his Cannondale teammates in the first kilometer, and stuck
it out solo in hopes of making the time cut.
Even though the race jury gave him the hook because he finished 7
seconds out of the time cut and despite a small social media campaign to keep
him in the race, his courage, determination and grit won him the Leather Jersey
du jour.
Stage 5 Sagan’s Goatee
Ahoy! He’s not a baby
face no more. He’s Friggin’ Captain Jack
Sagan. Even though Cavendish took the
sprint in a shaggy 5 o’clock sasquatch, Peter Sagan makes a move to become Il
Pirate part deux by the scruff of his chin. And for that, you get the swashbuckling Leather
Jersey on Stage 5. Sagaaarrrrn!
Sam Sagan for fighting
to stay on the stage podium despite no leadout men as usual and no aero helmet!Stage 6 Brakool
With the media focused on South African Daryl Impey wearing
the yellow jersey, many of you took note of Janez Brajkovic’s Ted King type
toughness. Brako of Astana went down
with 11k to go. Obviously seeing dancing
figures of Borat dancing around his helmet, it took forever for him to get back
up. Still he threw a leg over and
finished the stage. We like to think he
went to the tour’s mobile hospital unit wearing the Leather Jersey.
Stage 7 Jens “Kiss” Voigt
Suck it Gene Simmons.
Jensie, while off the front in an early breakaway on Stage 7, yucked it
up for the moto camera while improvising a prosthetic tongue out of an energy
bar. A photo remains elusive, but it looked
something like this. Jens Voigt, thanks
for keeping the tour fun and for that you get the Leather Jersey on Stage
7.
Kimberly I nearly did a coffee spit-take when I saw that today.
Stage 8 Movistar
Kimberly I nearly did a coffee spit-take when I saw that today. 
Stage 8 Movistar
On Stage 8, the Sky meat grinder was in full effect, Froomator
with Porte as his henchmen made Spanish sausage out of Contator, going 1-2 on
the stage. Still, Movistar’s Valverde
and Quintana kept the tour’s drama alive.
Quintana launched out of the pack into virtual yellow with a minute lead
over the summit of the Pailheres. He
would hold it through the descent and up the final climb at Ax 3 Domaines until
Froome joined him with about 5k to go.
No one expected Valverde to be the closest competition to Froome at the
finale (only 1:25 back) and for that we give the one-two punch of underdogs
Valverde and Quintana the State 8 Leather Jersey. They could wear it together.
Roderick I have to tip
my cap to Valverde. He's the only one who managed to give even the slightest
hope that the Tour isn't already over.
Stage 9 Ryder’s
Sunglasses
The Sky started falling on Stage 9 leaving Froome
isolated. But, like on Stage 7, it wasn’t
the big move or win that caught your eye as cool. Perhaps a poke at Froome’s white specs, reader Ginger was keen to point out Ryder Hesjedal’s big cool hipster glasses. With teammate Dan Martin taking the stage 9
win, we’ll give Ryder the Leather Jersey to match his sunglasses.
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