Lance, with kids Isabella, Grace and Luke

So it’s over. The most incredible run in cycling history and the 2005 Tour De France. Despite my envy, I’m thankful for Lance’s triumphant return to cycling and an unimaginable seven consecutive Tour De France victories. I remember when Miguel Indurain of Spain won his fifth consecutive and I thought how impossible that must have been for him. Seven. Seven Tours. Jesus.

Lance brought validation and mainstream acceptance to my passion and I’ll be forever thankful even if it fades after the 2006 Tour. Having each stage of the tour televised live was a dream come true, no wait, I couldn’t have ever dreamed such a thing! I remember the days when I felt so lucky when ESPN would show 30 minutes every other day and even then the coverage was often pre-empted by a Mark McGuire or Sammy Sosa home run notification. It took a couple of years for the mainstream press to catch on but by 2001, the Tour was in every major newspaper, TV and radio show from June to August and I just ate it up. Too bad it can’t last. Even if an upcoming American take Lance’s place in the Grand Boucle, nobody could match his cancer survival story.

Now comes the big letdown that comes with the end of every Tour. I’m sad that I wasn’t able to watch most of coverage and give my take here on RCS but I take comfort in knowing that there’s only 49 more weeks until next year’s race.