Levi en Oro

Unnoticed by the American press, Bay Area cyclist Levi Leipheimer pulled on his first Grand Tour leader's jersey yesterday after winning a time trial stage in the Tour of Spain, a.k.a. La Vuelta a España.

Poor Levi! Neither the New York Times nor his hometown rag, The Santa Rosa Press-Democrat, took any notice of the victory, which entitles him to wear the coveted maillot oro of the race leader. No American has ever won the overall title, although Levi came closest with a third place in 2001.

Even we here at SFist have been guilty of neglecting local Levi, shown here in his U.S. national champion's jersey in April at the Tour of Georgia. Inexplicably, he was omitted from the list of Hot Bay Area Olympians! Even though he won a bronze medal in the road race! SFist Joe, how could this happen?

Read more at Cyclingnews.com. Versus, the bloodsports channel, might show some coverage on Sunday, September 21, at 2 p.m. our time -- expect lots of aerial shots of castles and then a glimpse of some guy crossing a finish line, while commentators explain to new viewers that a bicycle has two wheels.

Flash! In today's stage, Levi lost el maillot oro to Sylvain Chavanel, and now sits in second place, ten seconds back.

Correction! We unfairly implied that the Press-Democrat has been inattentive to Levi's exploits. In fact, a search of pressdemocrat.com for articles mentioning Levi turns up 280 hits.

Photo Levi Leipheimer by Frank Steele. Some Rights Reserved.