Ah, the calm before the storm. I'm plum out of Tour preview thoughts for the moment. Hopefully the race will start soon. This is a good time to welcome all new members and lurkers, as well as Tour-only Cycling fans. It's a great month, no matter how you look at it. Meanwhilst...
First, a special Podium Cafe welcome (back) to ProCycleGear.com, a returning sponsor from last year. I know it's MSM behavior to talk up a sponsor, but I checked back in with them during the Giro and was astounded at some of the kits they had in stock. Doesn't hurt that their prices easily beat my local shop. Check them out...
Today is closing time for the Tour de France Virtual Directeur Sportif competition... new entries must be received by NOON TODAY. If you've entered, check your email inbox sometime before Friday, in case I need corrections from you. If you're wondering, we've had a lot of entries. UPDATE: and we're out!
Some 36 people signed up for the first-ever Podium Cafe Tour de France Quick Challenge. Check out the list.
Speaking of contests, Versus emailed me about some of the goodies you'll be hearing about non-stop for the next month:
- They'll be running a sweepstakes all month where you can win a SAAB, or if you're even luckier a Cervelo SLC-SL.
- They're also running a fantasy Tour contest called the Kenda Challenge. The link isn't working yet; I think the launch has been delayed while their lawyers look into how badly they ripped off the Virtual DS.
- Finally, there's the SAAB Widget, the coolest idea of the three, where you can predict -- and then check -- the HR, wattage, and other real-time stats of several riders.
Meanwhile, in other big media news, Cycling.TV has gone BETA. I haven't had time to check it out, and there was some chatter here about potential login issues, though there have been some pleasant surprises as well. Send in your comments here.
Finally, I've taken to posting nonsense in the Cafe Happy Hour section without notice. Some things are demeaning to our Front Page... and yet somehow still worth posting.
Oh, and a poll...