I watched Friday's mountain stage of the Tour de France with the anticipation and eagerness of knowing Team Astana was going to do something aggressive.
I knew it because Lance Armstrong told me that was the plan. Yep, myself and the other 1,360,619 who follow his posts on Twitter got the hint something special might happen in Friday's stage, the first real test in the mountains, when he tweeted early Friday morning "First mtn stage today. It's for real now. Long day (224 kms) and summit finish. Pedaling for keeps."
That message was great news for cycling fans but can you imagine the thoughts of those in the peloton who received it? Nothing like waking up in the morning knowing you not only have the longest stage of the race ahead, but also that Armstrong, 2007 winner Alberto Contador and Levi Leipheimer intended to tempo you into the ground.
They did just that too, and I followed it all on TV and on Twitter. A week ago I couldn't imagine logging onto Twitter, much less following a live event on it. But now I have a confession to make: I'm addicted to it.
I never knew how much fun it would be for me and I can see why it's fun for you. Twitter, whose posts are limited to 140 words, is bringing us all closer to the action, particularly in a long event like the Tour de France where daily efforts last for hours.
First Armstrong sends out his alert, which is the modern-day equivalent of pointing where his home run is going, then team director Johan Bruyneel sends a cryptic twitter to "Remember, happiness doesn't depend on who you are or what you have, it depends solely on what you think." Someone from the team sends out a note while the team's riders are working their way up the mountain to check out the new helmets they are wearing, which weigh just 175 grams.
It's trivial information, but because it's coming in real time, it seems oh-so interesting.
Things got even better when the race leaders finished so close to one another that TV commentators Paul and Phil admitted they had no idea who is in the yellow jersey.
Evidently they weren't checking their Twitter pages, because if they had been, they would have gotten the message from Team Astana that Contador, Armstrong and Lehipheimer were second, third and fourth, respectively, behind AG2R rider Rinaldo Nocentini.
Getting completely trivial messages from Leipheimer that he got his first tire burn on his calf thanks to his crash, learning that Armstrong listens to Iron Maiden a ton in the mornings, or getting the day's assessment from Bruyneel that "Still all of our cards 2 play. Which is what we want. Long way 2 go to Paris," has me coming back for more.
I thought I could avoid getting tied to my computer during my own time since I'm on it enough for work. I was wrong, I've decided I've got twitphilia like much of the nation.
If you don't know what that is, look it up. I'm too busy tweeting to explain it.
