animal
07/19/2007
Man vs. Dog at the Tour de France
In Stage 9 of the Tour de France this week, T-Mobile rider Marcus Burghardt was thwarted -- not by fatigue, conditions, or other riders, but by what appears to be a very attractive labrador retriever. Burghardt was about 50 km away from the start of the stage when the lab wandered across the road and in front of his bike, causing a crash that tacoed the front wheel and sent Burghardt tumbling.
Miraculously, neither dog nor rider were hurt; even the bike was eventually deemed fit to continue. But this is just one of series of strokes of bad luck for the T-Mobile team, not the least of which has been Patrik Sinkewitz's crash into a spectator, withdrawal from the race, and subsequent suspension from riding after a non-negative testosterone test. Ooh, drama.
Speaking of drama, take note of the dog's reunion with his owner after the crash. Neither dog nor owner looks particularly traumatized or even surprised. It's a conspiracy, man! The dog was in on it the whole time. Laugh if you will. But I know what I know.
