Tour Down Under: Bruises, beauty and 400 journalists,

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ADELAIDE, Australia -- Covering a cycling race is just so darn cool. The riders don’t hide. You might meet one in the elevator of the Hilton, his shirt stripped off, dirt caked on his ankle, angry bruises and welts across his torso, and he stands there shrugging away his dislocated shoulder and the elbow that seems to be missing pieces.

Andre Greipel, defending champion of the Tour Down Under, is standing in a Hilton elevator bruised and bloody and headed out of the race to go home to Germany and be operated on, and he is happy to pull up his shirt and show you his bumps and bruises and scars until dinner doesn’t seem so appealing.

In another corner of the lobby, a Spanish journalist is huddled with Spanish Tour de France winner Oscar Pereiro (pictured at left), who is perhaps the most handsome man in sports. So it’s not unusual to see fans stop and peer around the corner and then loudly gasp. Pereiro is modest and lowers his head at the unexpected worship.

This tournament is a way to see the cyclists relaxed and at a normal weight. When next we pay big attention, they will be gaunt and hungry, starving away the fat so they have less mass to carry up the mountains in the Giro d’Italia and Tour de France. But for now, German cyclist Jens Voigt will stop and have a beer with you, and Amercan George Hincapie will give you his room number and tell you to call. This is one of the few times that even Lance Armstrong is relaxed, chatty and making an honest assessment of his fitness. It’s a unique situation that will disappear as the racers get closer to the biggest races.

So, later today, I will go to the start village at Snapper Point, hope to grab a coffee and some breakfast and chat with Armstrong, who will be relaxed for maybe the final time of his comeback. He’s really nice when he’s relaxed, remembers 400 journalists’ names and makes all his points. Worthwhile just to listen to him talk every day.

-- Diane Pucin

Top photo: German cyclist Andre Greipel of Team Columbia celebrates after winning the first stage of the Tour Down Under. Credit: Dave Hunt / EPA

Inset: Spanish cyclist Oscar Pereiro, 2006 Tour de France winner, during a news conference in Adelaide, Australia. Credit: Dave Hunt / EPA