Wheeled Victory: A Washingtonian Win at the Tour de France

So, yesterday was the Fourth of July. Americans from all over engaged in age-old independence celebration practices like grilling meat, risking loss of limb over fireworks in the driveway and dressing in combinations of red, white and blue. One American, however, opted to do something entirely original.

Yesterday morning, Tyler Farrar, a 27-year-old American from Wenatchee, became the first American to win a stage of the Tour de France on the Fourth of July. This was his first individual stage win in the Tour, but he must have gotten the taste of victory from the day before when his Garmin-Cervelo team came out on top in the team time trials. A sprint specialist, the young rider has been picking up wins in many of the major tours, so it seemed like it would only be a matter of time before he secured a coveted Tour de France stage win.