Le Tour 2010 Prologue: Why am I disappointed Martin didn't get up over Cancellara? I don't know. Personality?

Cancellara has matured into someone I really don't like - and I haven't even met him. Curious, I know. I just get the impression he's a bit, umm, too confident and tends to boast about his abilities. Of course he's a brilliant athlete but - to my mind at least - he lacks the humility that riders like Boonen, Evans, McEwen and even Wiggins seem to have. Cavendish is similar but worse of course, so Fabian's in good (or bad) company. Again, I've never met any of these guys and they may be completely different in "real" life. OTOH I have met other pro riders, at least one one of which has taken a Tour de France prologue victory and "nice, humble yet confident" would be a fitting description. Mind you, he was 15 at the time I briefly met him so maybe he became arrogant later. Somehow I doubt it. OTOOH perhaps using "English as second language" distorts reality and disguises the real person. Which at least gives Cancellara an excuse, if not Cavo.

So much for the winners, what of the also-rans on day 1? Well Andy Schleck would be rueing his ride, wouldn't he? I suspect he will be following wheels desperately for the next few days and hoping not to add to his sudden handicap. Best of luck, Andy, I think you'll need it on the cobbles... just follow Fabian's wheel if you can. But I'm not sure that'll be easy, either.

Andy Schleck Furious Over Tour Prologue Ride | Cyclingnews.com

On Twitter, besides his congratulations to his winning teammate Fabian Cancellara, Andy Schleck said, "I had a real shit day!" Schleck's result of 122nd position, 1:09 down on Cancellara, doesn't match his status of number one challenger to Alberto Contador and the two general classification rivals are actually separated by exactly the same gap as one year ago: in the 15.5km long Monaco time trial, Schleck (17th on the day) also finished 42 seconds down on Contador (2nd place).