Lisa's Mum contemplates Cadel's legacy

To celebrate Cadel's momentous Tour de France victory- the first ever by an Australian and certainly the biggest cycling achievement Australia has seen- Barwon Heads is thinking of naming a bridge after Cadel. Bravo, Barwon Heads! (Lisa's Mum did hear a rumour that DSE were thinking of renaming the river below The Omega Pharma-Lotto Tributary to celebrate Cadel getting over it, but this has not yet been verified.) This has got Lisa's Mum thinking; surely there are some other appropriate tributes we can make to celebrate such an historic achievement? Here are her suggestions... Ted Bailieu please take note:

1. The keys to Melbourne. I guess if we are being honest, Cadel should really get the keys to Geelong (his local), but somebody put them in a safe place in shoe next to the front door and now we can't find them.
2. The ravine at Werribee Gorge to be renamed the Cadel Cleft. It takes a great chin to make a great rider.
3. The Cadel Expressway: a freeway that goes for miles and miles and has 14 lanes so drivers can get some privacy.
4. The Cadel Cappuccino: signature drink of the champion. Made without froth, chocolate sprinkles or other frivolity. Actually, it's a short black. Best served with a Schleck sandwich.

Any other suggestions? Send them in to Lisa's Mum here.

Highlights of Le Tour

 WHAT A TOUR! In no particular order, here are my highlights of the 2011 TdF:

• The excitement. I wish every year could come down to the wire, preferably with an Aussie in the box seat.
• Miles Prosser's Le Tipping TDF tipping comp - if you aren't already on board, get in.
• 'Evans is back in the Schleck sandwich' - Phil Liggett, stage 19 (Alp d'Huez)
• Contador giving a sandwich of a different kind - punching a spectator dressed as a scientist who was chasing him with a steak during the race (see pic)
• The Skoda ad. Reminds me that no matter how gentle and genial your team manager might be, put them in a race convoy and they will turn into the devil himself.
• Twitter updates - getting up and personal with the riders never got so up or personal.
• The TE Alp d'Huez party - thanks Matt and Kerrie!

  

Hope you all enjoyed the Tour as much as I did.

Lisa's Mum does Cadel's PR

The words on everyone's lips today: Cadel Evans. Well, actually, the words on Lisa's Mum's lips were 'bin night', but she was distracted. But WHAT A TOUR, and what an achievement. One of the highlights of Le Tour was seeing the huge number of Aussies getting behind Cadel with the 'Yell for Cadel' and 'Crikey Cadel' campaigns. Not many people realise, but there were also some other, lesser-known and less succcessful Cadel PR campaigns... Lisa's Mum investigates: - Spell For Cadel: An ultimately unsuccessful campaign launched by the NT Dept of Education, where children were encouraged to spell words like 'Go' and 'Cadel'. It was abandoned after the spelling challenges posed by Voeckler taking the yellow jersey proved too great.

- Sell For Cadel: An Ebay initiative, this campaign folded after it became apparent that Cadel prides himself on philanthropy rather than salesmanship. Apparently, 'I just want the best price I can get out of myself, that is enough' is not a valid minimum bid.

- Libel For Cadel: The Victorian legal community got behind Cadel as only lawyers can: by suing people. Popular targets included parallel imports from Luxembourg, Spanish butchers, and the driver of the media car on Stage 3 (Jonny Hoogerland's favourite). The campaign was halted by the LIV, citing incompatibility issues between clocking up billable hours and following SBS live coverage.

- Smell Like Cadel: Doomed from the start, this campaign failed to think through the implications of supporters smelling like a Tour de France rider after 6 hours in the saddle. On the positive side, it did free up some space on the mountain side during some of the more popular stagess

If you know of any other campaigns, please send them through to Lisa's Mum via the Contact Form.

Biggest surprises of Le Tour

Video of stage 9 breakaway crash It's been a big start to the Tour de France. Favourites getting caught out, crashes and maverick moto drivers. In no particular order, here are my top surprises (so far) from the Tour:

- Contador getting caught out on stage 1 with poor bunch positioning. Rookie error. - Hushovd climbing so well and holding onto yellow. - Cadel's aggression so early in the Tour. - BMC's great TTT. - The number of crashes and GC contendors taken out. A mix of bad luck, reckless conduct by spectators/media cars... and perhaps some responsiblity needs to be taken by the race director (for stage 5, at least).

What are your surprises?