I ain't as good as I once was...

Watching coverage of the last week's Tour de France stages I was both disappointed and saddened by the flagging efforts of Lance Armstrong coupled with the surging power of Alberto Contador.
Although Lance may very well still end up in second or third and get a podium spot, and although there is an outside chance that Lance has been saving himself for an insane surge up the Ventoux tomorrow for a shocking win, it is evident that Lance Armstrong is no longer "Lance Armstrong." Like watching Tiger Woods during 2006-2007, it suddenly became clear that either the competition got better, or Tiger had slipped. Perhaps Tiger Woods is the greatest golfer out there, perhaps the greatest golfer of all time, but he and Lance are both facing stiffer competition and notably less domination than is expected from them. Where is Tiger Woods that won the U.S. Open by 12 strokes, utterly humiliating every other player out there? Where is the Lance Armstrong that passed the greatest time trialist of the day, Jan Ullrich...during a time trial?

The point of all this, of course, is that people age. Both physically and emotionally, Lance Armstrong doesn't seem the utterly brilliant bicyclist of old. Maybe it's age...38 is pretty old for biking competitively. Maybe it's the un-retirement. Maybe it's the broken collarbone this spring. Whatever the reason, watching the leaders head up the mountain on Tuesday, with Lance The Unbeatable falling far behind, unable to pace them, I had to ask myself "is this what becomes of us all?"
Are we all meant to age, and ungracefully deny it, up until the bitter end when we watch the next generation pull ahead of us and fade into the distance? Is that simply what life is?

Deep down, a big part of my dislike for Alberto Contador is that he is not an American. The Tour is just so much more interesting when an American interloper is stealing it.


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