FALSE STARTS

suppose that the novelty couldn’t last forever. What began with a riot of surprise and delight as racing restarted at the beginning of August has gradually slipped into a curiously dysfunctional feeling as we slide towards the end. Though I will always enjoy almost any racing (and a few days at the Giro were magnificent), I have watched the increasingly wintry-looking races with the same degree of reluctance and trepidation contestant, praying for the release of the buzzer to mark the end of the round, has to stay in the spotlight and listen to the well-worn phrase, “I’ve started so I’ll finish.”