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But you might also say the maillot jaune can bestow a curse on its wearer.
David Zabriskie isn’t the first rider wearing yellow to crash at the Tour and lose the jersey. In fact, he’s not even the first yellow jersey winner to crash in the team time trial.
Back in 1991, Rolf Sorenson was in yellow when he went down in the team time trial. Two days later, he abandon with a broken clavicle. In 1998, Chris Boardman was forced to retire after a crash, hauled away on a stretcher still wearing the coveted maillot jaune.
But it is a team time trial nearly 20 years ago that first comes to mind when I think of how glory can turn to sadness in the blink of an eye.
It was the 1986 Tour de France. Frenchman Bernard Hinault was riding to help American Greg LeMond win his first Tour. But on day two, the attention was not on Hinault or LeMond. It was centered squarely on the shoulders of Canadian Alex Steida.
On a day when the 210 riders in the Tour would have to complete two stages (a 50-mile road race in the morning and the team time trial in the afternoon), Steida went on a long breakaway. By (unwittingly) grabbing time bonuses along the route, he was able to climb into the overall lead, despite not winning the stage.
Steida’s team, the American 7-Eleven squad (which included current OLN commentator Bob Roll and Lance’s coach, Chris Carmichael), was estastic. And LeMond couldn’t have been all that pleased. He likely thought he would become the first North American to don the maillot jaune.
But team 7-Eleven's elation lasted only until the start of the team time trial that afternoon. Exhausted by his efforts of the morning, Steida struggled to keep pace. After he was dropped, the team sent riders back to help him, which further hindered their speed.
Two crashes and six flat tires later, what remained of a weary 7-Eleven team coasted across the line. Steida and two teammates followed several minutes later. He had come within 90 seconds of being eliminated from the Tour for finishing too far behind his team – even while wearing the yellow jersey.
In The Old Days
All the shots on TV of Sheryl Crow cheering on her boyfriend Lance remind me of days gone by at the Tour. Back in 1981, when Jonathan Boyer became the first American to ride in the Tour de France, his wife accompanied him — masquerading as a man. That’s because women were strictly not allowed anywhere near the teams or their riders. It was thought that any “energy” wasted on a woman would come back to haunt a rider later on. About Sean Weide
Sean Weide is an accomplished sports journalist who has been avidly following the Tour de France since 1981. He has been involved in the sport of cycling as a competitor, race promoter, team director and USCF official. His "real job" is public relations director for Envoy, Inc., an Omaha, Neb.-based advertising agency. He wishes he could watch the Tour live at work, but since he can't, he catches it over his lunch hour.
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