Everyone I know - from my Garmin colleagues to my 92-year-old grandmother - is hooked on the happenings over in France, with all eyes glued to Versus' cycling coverage on TV and the Tour Tracker from morning (live race footage) to night (recap and highlights). Paul, Phil, Robbie, Frankie and Craig provide the lifeline for American cycling fans to follow their sport's biggest event, but when I get home from the race I'm always asked if I was able to meet Bobke. This year, I was able to cross that off my bucket list.
Bob Roll, the former pro turned commentator, balances humor and insight while breaking down each day's stage. So it seemed only natural that when I met him in Rotterdam in the days before the Grand Depart, he was grinning and cracking jokes with Team Garmin founder and fellow ex-pro Jonathan Vaughters. And he was exactly the same person minutes later when the cameras were ready to tape a chat with American sprinting star Tyler Farrar. Bob and Tyler talked shop for a few minutes while the crew set up, and then things got rolling ... literally. Saddled up on a pair of Felt bikes with an Edge 500 on each, Bob and Tyler headed out on the streets for a candid interview on the go. Granted, there was no way anyone could have known then that Tyler would have suffered a broken wrist, endured 10 stages and the Alps and still pulled off some impressive sprints before heading home to heal properly. Of course, we also couldn't have guessed that teammate Ryder Hesjedal would be in the Top 10 of the overall classification with less than a week left of racing. Here are some pics from the day with Bob Roll, and the footage that aired a couple days later on Versus. And be sure to follow @JakesJournal on Twitter and stay tuned at the Team Garmin
minisite for rider diaries, race
recaps and Garmin Connect data straight from Edge 500.
