heywood on 14/7/2016 at 17:37
Any other fans here?
This year's tour has been an interesting one so far. Yesterday's wind blown stage was a classic. It was quite a sight watching the yellow and green jerseys break away on the flat from a peloton going 60 kmh and hold them off to the finish.
I got my first real road bike when I was 15 or 16 and I've been a fan of cycling ever since. I raced for a few years as well, but don't get to ride so much anymore. But I love the fact that I can still get daily TV coverage of the tour, live in the morning and a 3 hour recap every night.
nickie on 14/7/2016 at 17:50
We're avid watchers as well. A (
http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/cycling/36797558) complete shambles today though.
Edit. Don't look at the link though if you're behind UK time and intending to watch today's highlights.
Renault on 14/7/2016 at 18:48
Huh, I didn't know you could just run if your bike was scrapped. Pretty funny to watch. I'm sure some heads will roll over the course conditions there.
nickie on 14/7/2016 at 20:05
Short answer is you can't or you're not supposed to but considering the circumstances, there's no official complaint. However, you definitely can't cross the finishing line without a bike in some condition..
Renault on 14/7/2016 at 20:32
So, can you finish with your bike in hand and not riding it? I know, sounds ridiculous, but given the circumstances...
nickie on 15/7/2016 at 06:50
I'm going to assume the events have been seen now. One of the tv presenters on the highlights programme looked it up so the information came from him - I haven't found it myself although I have seen some pretty funny rules. I can't remember exactly what was said but pretty much yes, also dragging across the line was mentioned as being OK. So I'm guessing the rule allows for a situation where the leader is near the finish, is crashed into by a spectator (or similar), has his bike trashed, but can still win the stage if he gets himself and his bike across the line. Some spectator activity is very unsportspersonlike (:) ) and sometimes downright dangerous, as seen yesterday.
heywood on 15/7/2016 at 12:08
Thanks for the spoiler tags. I had to be in work yesterday morning so I didn't watch the stage until the 8-11PM showing.
Over here, when shit happens of no fault of the riders which impedes the leaders or fractures the peloton or otherwise affects a fair sporting outcome, race direction neutralizes the race. But what happened on Ventoux was too close to the finish, they would have had to make an immediate snap decision to neutralize and things were definitely too chaotic for that.
I figured the jury would just take the time splits as of the moment of the crash. I'm not sure why they didn't do that. But the solution they came up with is still reasonably fair.
The best thing about this year's tour is no accusations of doping, at least that I have heard of.
nickie on 15/7/2016 at 19:25
I read yesterday that a few riders were being tested before each stage. There's some stuff about it (
http://uk.businessinsider.com/tour-de-france-drug-testing-2016-7) here. It seems it's been pretty clean for the last couple of years - last year there was 1 positive for cocaine. Spectators still being arses today but I don't know which nationality of arse was responsible and France has had such a terrible day that a flare or two hasn't wound me up.
It's playing havoc with work though. Heaven forbid we should miss any of it.
heywood on 22/7/2024 at 14:30
/necro
The 2024 Tour was memorable. Anybody watch it? Mark Cavendish broke Eddy Merckx's old record for most TdF stage wins with 35. The old vet even finished the race. I didn't like him much when he was younger, but now that he's grown up I'm happy for him. Eddy got his 34 in 7 years though, he's still the GOAT.
For the first time, the Tour didn't finish in Paris this year due to the Olympics. It ended with a time trial in Nice. We were all hoping it would stay close through the mountains and be decided on the final stage ala Lemond vs. Fignon in 1989. But it wasn't to be. Tadej Pogačar blew the wheels off of this year's tour. Barring a crash or illness, it was over after the Pyrenees. In the last week he was mopping up stage wins with ease.
If his victory holds up, it will be legendary, perhaps the most dominant Tour performance since Merckx or at least Hinault. Even at the peak of Lance Armstrong's dominance, his victories were more team efforts. Pogačar rode like he didn't need a team.
I said 'if' because it was too good, wasn't it? His Strava numbers were raising doubts back in the Giro. In the Tour, he smashed Pantani's record to Plateau de Beille with the best climbing performance in cycling ever, on a hot day, with a little headwind, at the end of the hardest stage, after putting in a once-in-a-lifetime climbing effort to win the previous day. Jonas Vingegaard's climb of Plateau de Beille was suspiciously good too, but he finished the Tour 6 minutes down and looking ready for death's door. Pogačar finished the Tour looking fresh as a daisy, even though this was his second grand tour of the season. If he's clean and can stay at this level, he could be the greatest since Merckx.
I felt bad for Primož Roglič. He has the worst Tour luck.
nickie on 23/7/2024 at 10:20
I didn't watch it myself this year except for Cavendish winning. Very pleased for him and I agree he's improved with age. We're still hoping to make it there one day, maybe next year.
