Le Tour de France a commencé!

I know I'm a couple days late, but I have a wife and a kid and good friends and had a really busy weekend, so I didn't get around to posting this on Saturday.

Independence Day marked the start of the 96th Tour de France with a 9.6-mile time trial through Monaco. Naturally, when most people think of cycling and/or the Tour de France, they think of Lance Armstrong. While he has made some questionable personal choices over the past few years, his highly publicized battle against cancer and subsequent founding of the Lance Armstrong Foundation is nothing short of amazing and inspiring.

Since I'm deeply embedded in my cycling training for the Malibu Triathlon and the Tour is now underway, it seemed only fitting that I share one of my favorite commercials of all time. Check it:



I'd like to wish Armstrong, Leipheimer, Zabriskie, Farrar and every other competitor (American and non-American) bonne chance in this year's event.

Fun Fact: While the visuals in this ad are awesome, I've also found the music to be what really helps push this commercial into the rare air of all-time greats, and I found out about a year ago that an acquaintance of mine actually co-wrote the music. I try to play it cool every time I see him, but every conversation he and I have usually comes back around to this commercial. At this point I'm sure he wishes we'd never met.

Fun Trivia: In 2005, David Zabriskie's victory in the opening stage (Fromentine - Noirmoutier-en-l'Ile) set the record for the highest speed in a time trial at 33.97 mph.