Tour de France

Forostar

Ancient Mariner
Any of you watch this? I am doing this since the mid eighties but this year's tour is pretty different from other years. It's unpredictable because there are several people who could win and many of them have fallen or are not that good.

It is surely a spectacular Tour, with lots of cyclists falling. This time even a motor hit a cyclist

Motor hits cyclist and drags bike along
http://youtu.be/RPgNHY5rTDk

, and if that wasn't enough:
Yesterday a car(!) of the French Television hit 2 cyclists (one of them hitting barbwire, with 33 cut wounds, he still plans to continue tomorrow)!

Check the car hit here:
http://youtu.be/j45QKl_Bsrg
 
I'd watch it, except they always show the riders from behind and show their ass in full spandex Glory. I'm open minded and all, but that just makes me uncomfortable :p
 
I watch a little. Typically I watch the last part when I come home from work around 5 PM.

The first week was cool seen from a Norwegian perspective. Edvald Boasson Hagen got his first stage win (I'm sure there will be more in the years to come ...) and Thor Hushovd spent most of the week in yellow. The fact he could keep it on Saturday's quite hilly stage shows that he's improved a lot in his climbing. Earlier he would finish almost every climb in one of the "grupettos" and try to save energy for the flat stages. This year I can absolutely see him trying to get a stage win on one of the moderately hilly stages.

As for the overall competition, the first week has definitely improved Andy Schleck's chances. Several challengers are out already, and the defending champion has fallen more than once. He seemed to be quite beaten up ...
 
Oh dear. When I still lived at home, this was always on when I came downstairs. It made a minute spent in the living room seem like a day. I still get sleepy eyes whenever I see a picture of it. Seriously, hours and hours of showing people ride their bikes... What can possibly be interesting in that? Besides, they're all doped anyway, there's nothing genuine or real about it.
 
For the flat stages, that's pretty much how I feel - except for the endings. They always go like this:

The peloton keeps together for the first 50 km or so, then a little group, typically 4-5 cyclists, break away. They increase the gap to something like 5 minutes. With 70 km left to finish, the peloton starts to close the gap, and when 10 km remain, they are all together again. Then wild racing for the last 2 km or so, with one of the same few people winning every time (the last couple of years, that would typically be Mark Cavendish).

Thus, I am quite happy with having the last hour or so on in the background when I come home from work and make dinner.
 
The endings are certainly the best moments, especially uphill.

Eddies Wingman said:
Thor Hushovd

Man, he's awesome really. Yesterday he did it again. The damned French booed, they didn't like it. I sure did.

@Per: naturally when everyone is riding with the same speed, it isn't cool. The "demarrages" are the exciting moments, and the sprints. I love the build-up towards the end of the Tour on the Champs Elysees. I always hope someone can break out and win. Everytime the peloton gets him, and it's a mass sprint. One can still hope. ;)

I love the helicopter shots of the French country and castles as well. :)

edit: For the rest, the Tour has a huge history with lots of legendary riders.
Since I have spent many holidays out there, it's a kind of nostalgic thing for me as well.
My father often watches with a map on his lap. :)
 
Forostar said:
I love the helicopter shots of the French country and castles as well. :)

Now THAT is awesome. But like I said, two seconds of spandex ass is two seconds too many :p
 
Onhell said:
Now THAT is awesome. But like I said, two seconds of spandex ass is two seconds too many :p

I'm sure you wouldn't mind too much if the Tour De France was a Women's bike race...  :innocent:
 
I love the tour. Camera shots, interesting places, last kilometer excitements and everything. Also, I watch the tour on Eurosport Turkey, the commentator is a walking sport encyclopaedia, I enjoy listening to him.
 
Forostar said:
Man, he's awesome really. Yesterday he did it again. The damned French booed, they didn't like it. I sure did.

I guess they booed because he beat two French riders in the finish  :D they are quite chauvinistic, the French. But man, what an exciting finish to that stage. I didn't watch (I was at work) but I followed a live text commentary. When I saw he had only two minutes to catch up on from the top of that mountain, I was sure he would get there. He is among the fastest in the Tour downhill. But man, how he simply parked the two of them on the last kilometers.

The overall competition is starting to get interesting as well. How long can Voeckler stay in yellow? And will it be Cadel Evans rather than Contador who will challenge the Schleck brothers? He's expected to beat them well on the individual time trial, so they need to shake him off in one of the Alp stages.
 
Unknown One said:
I'm sure you wouldn't mind too much if the Tour De France was a Women's bike race...  :innocent:

of course I wouldn't! I'd watch it for the same reason I watch Women's Softball, Tennis and Soccer ;)
 
The Flash said:
the commentator is a walking sport encyclopaedia, I enjoy listening to him.

Yeah we've had such figures too. That's what cool about it. The stories, the anecdotes, the legendary riders, the victories, the statistics. The famous and infamous moments. If you don't know anything of the history of this tournament (I dare to say that this tournament has the richest history (and biggest variation in) stories of all tournaments of any sport), big chance you only see some people cycling (or make fun of this sport by talking about asses).

Eddies Wingman said:
The overall competition is starting to get interesting as well. How long can Voeckler stay in yellow? And will it be Cadel Evans rather than Contador who will challenge the Schleck brothers? He's expected to beat them well on the individual time trial, so they need to shake him off in one of the Alp stages.

It's very hard to predict what will happen. I guess it they'll be very close together. Evans might get closest.
If Contador will do it, or one of the Schlecks, I'll be surprised.
 
Wow. Hushovd wins the 16th stage ahead of Edvald Boasson Hagen and Ryder Hesjedal. That's a little more than two Norwegians on top of the podium  :D Cycling eh? Bloody hell!

... and Evans and Contador earn seconds in the contest with the Schleck brothers. Now Evans is ahead of them both in the overall standings! That's a good thing, because it forces the Schleck brothers to attack in the Alps. We should be in for some interesting stages now ...
 
Congrats to the Master of the North!

Loved the way so many seperate groups and individuals passed the finish line.
 
Bloody hell, again. Too bad I'm working 14-hour days these days and don't have time to watch. I'll have a beer to celebrate when I get home tonight  :D

What Boasson Hagen did today was impressive. He is bound to be a great cyclist for many years to come ...

The overall competition is getting tighter. Voeckler, with a couple of minor accidents, lost 20 seconds to the other favourites, but it's status quo between Evans, Contador and the Schlecks ... the next two-three days will be massive.
 
Eddies Wingman said:
Voeckler, with a couple of minor accidents

One accident (copying the French champion a bit earlier) was him entering a backyard!
Bloody funny! I laughed my ass off.
 
Back
Top