Portugal and the Tour de France
Posted: Wed Jul 05, 2006 10:22 am
Well it seems the grand daddy of all bike races only has one rider from Portugal in it, José Azevedo. Here is a little bio of him
Although the #1 jersey is more of a ceremonial thing, as if the previous years winner does not return to race again, that riders team gets numbers 1-10. The team, Discovery Channel, has said they have no clear leader at this point and are waiting to see how things play out after the first week of the race."José Azevedo (born 19 September 1973 in Vila do Conde) is a notable Portuguese professional cyclist. His principal career successes have been fifth at the 2001 Giro d'Italia (Tour of Italy), sixth at the 2002 Tour de France and fifth at the 2004 Tour de France.
He currently rides for the Discovery Channel Pro Cycling Team. Until the year of 2005 he was a renowned domestique, that is to say, his primary role was to serve as Lance Armstrong's lieutenant in mountain stages. Nicknamed 'the Ace', he moved to US Postal (now Discovery) from the now-defunct ONCE Team in 2004. He also raced previously for the Maia and Recer-Boavista teams. Azevedo's role for the 2006 season is still uncertain.
He already finished in 6th position in 2006 Paris-Nice race and in 4th position in Dauphiné Libéré 2006.
Currently he wears the number 1 jersey at the 2006 Tour de France, after being chosen as the leader of Discovery. That happens following the retirement of 2005's winner, his former teammate Lance Armstrong."
...and the other 5 are guys on my cycling team, haha 
