Le Tour and Other Cycling Talk

[selkie]

Paul Sherwen has died unexpectedly at his home in Uganda at the age of 62. I'm gutted

https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2018/dec/03/australian-cycling-mourns-death-of-much-loved-commentator-paul-sherwen

[Rickster]

As a long time viewer of the TdF coverage, going back to the days of Greg Lemond and Indurain, I used to wonder what the coverage would be like once Paul and Phil retired and whether the magic would be lost, but I never expected this. Really shocking and terrible news.

[Omeletsmom]

I am shocked and saddened. I am really going to miss his commentary.

[selkie]

My DVR is picking up coverage of the Santos Tour Down under now. Phil's got the lead commentary role, and Robbie McEwen is in Paul's old seat with Jensie doing some sideline work. They sound pretty good, though Robbie needs to get a feel for when to nudge Phil away from discussions on whale-watching and such and get him refocused on the race action. 

[Omeletsmom]

I'm pretty sure Robbie always does the Tour Down Under; I do not recall if Phil or Paul was the other commentator last year.  I do wish they would at least acknowledge Paul's death, but maybe they are saving that for one of the bigger Tours.

[selkie]

Since there are a lot of Tour de France-only viewers, I expect they'll do something nice then 

[selkie]

And Chris Froome is out for the rest of 2019 after a pretty horrific crash while warming up for the tine trial at the Dauphine. Le Tour is now wide open

http://www.cyclingnews.com/news/chris-froome-diagnosed-with-additional-sternum-and-vertebrae-fractures/

[Omeletsmom]

  On 6/17/2019 at 4:02 PM, selkie said:

And Chris Froome is out for the rest of 2019 after a pretty horrific crash while warming up for the tine trial at the Dauphine. Le Tour is now wide open

http://www.cyclingnews.com/news/chris-froome-diagnosed-with-additional-sternum-and-vertebrae-fractures/

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Yikes; every time I read an article about that crash, it just gets worse.  

[Sharpie66]

Definitely looking forward to this weekend!! I’ve been watching various YT expert commentaries and predictions today, and it looks like the general consensus is Thomas, Fuglsang, and Bernal. The overall route favors climbers, so I am personally thinking Bernal, although I still love Quintana. Most prominent sprinters are either out or not doing well this year, so I think Sagan has the green jersey sewn up as long as he stays on his bike. KOM is always the wildcard going into the race. 

In summary: 

Edited July 4, 2019 by Sharpie66

[Sharpie66]

  On 7/24/2014 at 9:45 PM, Sharpie66 said:

I just started watching this morning's coverage on my dvr. One thing I have been enjoying this year is the extensive face time that Chris Horner has been getting. He has a really natural style on camera, and if he wanted to, he might have a good post-racing career being a commentator.

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Heh—Five years ago, I said that. Well, guess who is sitting beside Christian this year? Looks like Bobke is moving next to Phil (RIP, Paul). 

NBC Sports has been posting lots of.vids on YT, including this preview of stories to follow: 

[Sharpie66]

The various crashes inside two miles to the finish line yesterday didn’t make anyone drop out, which is great. The cop standing inside the barriers actually caused Geraint to fall because he leaned on the barrier to get out of the way in the crash, moving the barrier right into G’s way. So foolish!!

They just showed footage of a 1980s team time trial where Bob Roll was on the yellow-jersey team and it was disastrous—they had not scouted out the route and crashed into road furniture, then Eric Heiden (an unexpected blast from the past for me—I forgot he had been a cyclist as well as speed skater!) had to change out a tire, and they ended up second to last and lost the yellow. Scariest, though, was the almost complete lack of helmets; only Eric was wearing one.

And speaking of cycling history, it’s the 100th anniversary of the yellow jersey, so they are going to be featuring stories on previous jersey wearers through the race. Today, there was a lovely interview with a man who wore the yellow back in 1949. Bob is providing the on-camera translations, and his voice is a nice match for the older gentlemen. 

Edited July 7, 2019 by Sharpie66

[Rickster]

I had known Heiden was a cyclist, but I thought only at the amateur level. No idea until today that he was in the TdF (actually, I thought I might have misheard his name in that Bob Roll piece).

Also surprised to hear yesterday that Cavendish was not in the Tour.

Edited July 7, 2019 by Rickster

[Sharpie66]

I looked up Eric Heiden (btw, still very good-looking! He was my second Olympics crush, after Franz Klammer four years earlier, whose insanely reckless downhill and gorgeous looks impressed 10 year old me). Turns out that 1986 was his only TdF, and he crashed out with a concussion about two weeks in. He did finish the Giro in ‘85, when he was the US road-racing champ.

Speaking of people not racing this year, I was bummed to realize that Taylor Phinney wasn’t here. 

[xaxat]

The primary reason I watch is for the competition. But the scenery is a close second. The organizer's route selection and the network's production value make this a great watch even if you are like me and don't know a lot about cycling.

Edited July 8, 2019 by xaxat

[Sharpie66]

I didn’t start watching the race until about eight years ago. I first started because of the scenery, just so gorgeous! Then, just from exposure to the voices as well as the visuals, I got involved in individual riders and their stories. It took a year or so before I finally got interested in teams and team strategies. Now, I am searching out what limited coverage there is for the Giro and Dauphine on NBCSports. 

Edited July 8, 2019 by Sharpie66

[selkie]

Cavendish hasn't really seemed to have his old spark in 2019 and results so far didn't really make a case for his inclusion this year. 

[Sharpie66]

Today’s fourth stage was pretty straightforward—no major crashes, no crosswinds to blow the peloton apart, an excellent sprint finish with, again, no crashes in Nancy.

For me, the biggest thrill was recognizing the name of the start for tomorrow’s stage—St-Die-De-Vosges. I am actually reading a history book right now that takes as its central starting point the first world map to name America, a map printed in that town in 1507.

(The book is The Fourth Part of the World, which Is about cartography, ancient and medieval knowledge of world geography, the Age of Exploration, as well as the fortuitous discovery of the only surviving copy of that map in a German castle at the turn of the last century, which was sold not too long ago to the Smithsonian Institute for the most money ever paid for a map. It’s a really good history book—highly recommended!)

Tomorrow's stage should be good, but the one everyone is waiting for is Stage Six, on Thursday. Looking forward to it!

Edited July 10, 2019 by Sharpie66

[Sharpie66]

Just finished watching this morning’s stage on my DVR. As I expected, nothing too exciting race-wise, but it was fun seeing Peter Sagan smoke all the other sprinters, at least, the ones that weren’t dropped on the two climbs heading into Colmar.  Best of the stage was the absolutely gorgeous little towns they went through. I want to go to Alsace and Lorraine now!!

A few years ago, I learned my lesson—I always add 30 minutes to every live TdF recording, which I needed today.

Edited July 11, 2019 by Sharpie66

[Sharpie66]

A really interesting article on the helicopters and their crews who do the aerial filming for the race: https://arstechnica.com/cars/2019/07/how-helicopters-bring-us-amazing-views-of-the-tour-de-france/

[selkie]

And the last 10K of today's stage was really really entertaining in all the right ways and many dug into their suitcases of courage. Was De Gendt going to pull off the extended breakaway? Could Aliphillipe sneak back into the yellow? Was that Didi the Devil I saw towards the end? 

[Sharpie66]

The last few stages have definitely been fun to watch. Even the more boring one yesterday had its non-racing moments, from The Little Prince theme park to a kid asking Teejay why they don’t use training wheels in the race. Speaking of Teejay, sad to see him leave, but a broken hand is nothing to mess with. 

Today was very exciting! And that was absolutely Didi—I yelled, “Didi!” right before Bob had a line about the devil take the hindmost. I always seem to miss him, especially in the non-Pyrenees or Alps stages, mostly because I am not looking for him other than in the high mountains. 

[Sharpie66]

Super exciting in the last 20 miles today!! Jumbo-Visma is having a terrific TdF, with their fourth win out of ten stages. A perfect demonstration of what crosswinds can do to the peloton, splitting them into three distinct groups and putting the second and third groups over a minute and a half back. 

The guys in the booth were right to call out whoever on George Bennett’s team told him to go get water for the team even knowing that crosswinds were possible,  moving him right out of the #4 spot in the GC standings. Five out of the top ten in those standings were caught out by the driving group in the front.

Quintana was with the lead group and is only 52 seconds behind #2 Geraint. 

Edited July 16, 2019 by Sharpie66

[Sharpie66]

Wow, what a time trial!! Alaphillippe was amazing. Geraint had a terrific ride himself, but he just couldn’t beat Julian. 

I was being charmed by Wolt Van Aart this Tour, so seeing him crash out and be forced to abandon was just heartbreaking. I hope he isn’t hurt too bad. 

Not surprised by Nairo’s weak time, but disappointed. He lost almost two more minutes to Thomas. I still love the guy, but the YT video I saw before the Tour started with Steve Schlanger and Christian talking about Nairo losing his Tour mojo is bearing out. 

[Sharpie66]

A sample of what the people on Le Tour, both racers and the press covering it, have to deal with: 

[Sharpie66]

Just finished watching today’s stage.

First, a follow-up on cows—good job by the spectators on the first big climb of the day who stopped a cow that was determined to walk into the road just as the race leaders were approaching. 

Second, a follow-up on Nairo—yeah, that happened. Three more minutes down to the yellow jersey. Movistar has to rethink their whole race strategy. And Nairo is not doing his contract negotiations at the end of the season any favors.

Third—damn, Julian!! He absolutely proved his right to the yellow, and Christian is going to have to eat his doubting words tomorrow (Paul Burmeister will be thrilled). 

Fourth—nice to see Thiboilt Pinot win the stage! The French have got to be over the moon (unintended Apollo reference ftw!) with a stage win and keeping the yellow jersey. 

Finally, oh, the Pyrenees are just soooo gorgeous!! As a Chicago flatlander born and bred, even low hills impress me, and scenery like today just takes my breath away.

[Sharpie66]

Just got started watching this morning’s stage on my lunch break. Fun video from the pre-show of Sagan going up the Col de Tourmalet a few days ago when he was asked by a fan running alongside if he would sign a copy of his memoir, and he did!! 

And the camera guy on the motorcycle was filming Uran and a teammate when Uran handed the cameraman a water bottle—very sweet on a day over 100 degrees.

Edited July 23, 2019 by Sharpie66

[Sharpie66]

Just finished watching the stage. Good for Caleb Ewan! He powered himself to the front very impressively. Sad about Fuglsang crashing out—he was a pre-race contender for the win in Paris. 

[Sharpie66]

Interesting stage today. Nice to see the breakaway get such a huge lead so they didn’t have to go flat out in that heat. 

Paul, Chris, and Christian had a really fascinating discussion about the racers’ union, something I hadn’t even thought about existing. I love it when they start talking about racing details that aren’t about that day’s race; they had one a few years ago about doping that I wish they had spent more time on. 

I did discover a town I would use as a home base if I ever get to Provence—Vaison-la-Romaine looks so charming! Roman ruins and bridge below, then across the bridge, the medieval town goes up to the castle on top of the hill. Add in the market on Tuesdays and I want to spend a week there! 

[Sharpie66]

Wow, Nairo!!! I don’t understand Movistar’s actions, just like the commentators, but he was amazing. I had written him off, even though the Alps are just his type of playground, but he was spot on today. Now let’s see how he handles Days 2 and 3. 

I googled George Bennett to see what happened with the crash that Steve Pirino mentioned, and he is still in the race, even with two bad crashes in one stage. He tweeted that it was “an absolute arsehole of a day,” though.

ETA: Just caught the brief interview with Landa about Movistar’s plans for the rest of the Tour. Boy, are they throwing Nairo under the bus!! When asked what are the team’s intentions—“To get on the podium in Paris.” Who will that be? Huge shoulder shrug and long pause, then “We’ll see.” No mention of Quintana at.all. That dinner tonight had to have been ice-cold in the seats, even if the food was hot.

Edited July 25, 2019 by Sharpie66

[Sew Sumi]

Landa looked pissed during that interview. I don't get it either. Nairo should have been doing tempo for Landa, not racing off to personal glory. He's too far off the lead and has two teammates in the top 10. 

WTF Movistar? 

Also of note, Alaphillippe's mad descending skills. That was crazy!

[xaxat]

Does anyone know if there is an interactive Google maps map of the individual stages? I've tried to keep up on my own so I can see the route/elevations/street view, but I was wondering if anyone has done that work for me.

[Sharpie66]

I haven’t seen anything set up on Google Maps. I have used a detailed stage map from one of the cycling sites (can’t remember which one, unfortunately) to then open Google Maps and follow along while watching, so I could figure out what villages they were speeding through.

Going back to Quintana today, I figure he hadn’t really been a team player since last year when Movistar made him co-leader with both Landa and Valverde. He’s just been marking time until his contract is up, and probably figured today was the day to make his mark and up his contract potential with another team at the end of the year.

I think I will always like him, just because he was the very first racer I ever started to follow while watching—I had been there just for the pretty pictures, but hearing the raves from the commentators on his first Tour got my attention, which was the first time I started thinking about race tactics, etc. So, even when he disappoints me and screws up, or is dismissive of his teammates, I will still have a lingering affection for the guy.

[Sew Sumi]

I think it's clear by now that Nairo is a top notch domestique, maybe a threat at the Giro or Vuelta sans top notch GC guys from other teams. I don't know what other teams are doing it whose contracts are up this year. But it will be interesting to see where Nairo lands, because after today, I imagine Movistar has had enough.

[xaxat]

Over a hundred degrees in Paris and they had to stop a stage in the Alps because of hail/snow.

[Cobb Salad]

It was a very localized storm.  The next town over, nothing, the roads are dry.  What the snow plows are clearing away looks like a big sloppy mess.  It’s most likely above freezing (I’ve seen no one in heavy coats) but very cold higher up in the atmosphere for the hail to occur.  

[selkie]

Nairo's been announced as going to the French continental Arkea-Samsic team next year. There's a points system for riders at the big events, and Arkea-Samsic is pretty much buying Nairo's points for 2019 in order to help the team get invited to some of the bigger races where only the world teams get automatic assignments. 

Seems like the problem wasn't just the snow, but that the course was having active mudslides

https://www.thesun.co.uk/sport/cycling/9592677/snow-havoc-tour-de-france-yellow-jersey-geraint-thomas/

If the local geologists had been able to tell race control that the hillside was stable and they'd had a chance to clear some of the mud so it was kind of like a Paris-Roubaix cobblestone segment, they probably would have continued. 

If it had only been snow, then they probably would have kept on. Here's Steven Kruijswijk losing the Giro a few years back. 

[Rickster]

I guess they had to take times at the top of a summit because that’s where they have timing equipment set up for King of the Mountains, but it seems unfair to stop the stage at a point the riders had passed already. It would have been better if they had stopped it in the town they ended up in (Val d’Isere?) to give riders a chance to race to the finish.

[Sharpie66]

Only  37 miles today due to the mudslides, and the footage they were showing this morning was really something! One big long climb means it’ll be a mountain time trial, essentially.

I have never seen weather like this on the race, but with climate change, it might soon become the new normal. 

ETA: Just saw this on YouTube—two riders from Global Cycling News decided to recreate the first stage of the first race back in 1903 with period bikes straight out of a museum. It went 467 km from Paris to Lyon, and even on today’s top-notch roads, it was the hardest thing these riders ever did: 

Edited July 27, 2019 by Sharpie66

[Cobb Salad]

  On 7/27/2019 at 12:17 PM, Sharpie66 said:

Only  37 miles today due to the mudslides, and the footage they were showing this morning was really something! One big long climb means it’ll be a mountain time trial, essentially.

I have never seen weather like this on the race, but with climate change, it might soon become the new normal. 

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Regarding the mudslides and factoring in climate change, I wonder if this affects how the tour planners decide the routes for future tours or are they just going to leave it up to chance with contingencies in place like what they did yesterday.  Alaphilippe’s chances for winning were gone once the road was closed which was beyond his control and not because someone else had a better day than him.  I guess there’s always next year.  

[Brookside]

Does anyone know why they started the final stage today so late?  It seems that the light conditions at the end add unnecessary danger because of a very low sun.

(This may have happened before this year, I don't always watch, but I remember many finishes in broad daylight.)

[xaxat]

  On 7/27/2019 at 12:17 PM, Sharpie66 said:

Only  37 miles today due to the mudslides, and the footage they were showing this morning was really something! One big long climb means it’ll be a mountain time trial, essentially.

I have never seen weather like this on the race, but with climate change, it might soon become the new normal. 

ETA: Just saw this on YouTube—two riders from Global Cycling News decided to recreate the first stage of the first race back in 1903 with period bikes straight out of a museum. It went 467 km from Paris to Lyon, and even on today’s top-notch roads, it was the hardest thing these riders ever did: 

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That was fascinating, thank you.

I think Bob Ross mentioned that they didn't have derailleurs back then and I was wondering how they changed gears.

They only had one gear.

[Mittengirl]

Bob Roll, isn’t it?  Bob Ross is the “happy trees” painting guy, yes? 

[Sew Sumi]

I blame that one on autocorrect. Bobke and Bob Ross are polar opposite personalities. 😁

[Cobb Salad]

  On 7/28/2019 at 7:34 PM, Brookside said:

Does anyone know why they started the final stage today so late?  It seems that the light conditions at the end add unnecessary danger because of a very low sun.

(This may have happened before this year, I don't always watch, but I remember many finishes in broad daylight.)

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I never heard what the reason was for Sunday’s late start.  They have done it before - for the 100th anniversary of the Tour a few years back. 

I agree regarding the concern about the low sun but I loved seeing the Arc de Triomphe in the golden light.  If I ever make it to Paris I have to remember to get that picture!

[Brookside]

  On 7/31/2019 at 10:59 PM, Cobb Salad said:

I never heard what the reason was for Sunday’s late start.  They have done it before - for the 100th anniversary of the Tour a few years back. 

I agree regarding the concern about the low sun but I loved seeing the Arc de Triomphe in the golden light.  If I ever make it to Paris I have to remember to get that picture!

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Don't say "if", say "when"!

[Omeletsmom]

  On 7/31/2019 at 10:59 PM, Cobb Salad said:

I never heard what the reason was for Sunday’s late start.  They have done it before - for the 100th anniversary of the Tour a few years back. 

I agree regarding the concern about the low sun but I loved seeing the Arc de Triomphe in the golden light.  If I ever make it to Paris I have to remember to get that picture!

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I think it was because of the 100th anniversary of the yellow jersey.  They like those dramatic twilight finishes on special occasions.

Edited August 2, 2019 by Omeletsmom
grammar

[Rickster]

A little late, but I did want to say how much I enjoyed this year’s coverage on NBC Sports. I was very concerned about the absence of Paul, and for me, it took a stage or two to get used to the Phil and Bob pairing, but I thought they were clicking very well by the end. I also thought the rest of the coverage from the guys at the finish line booth more insightful and more interesting than it has been in the past.  Hope they all come back next year.

[Cobb Salad]

Yes, I liked the Phil/Bob pairing as well - I’m glad they did it that way (pairing Phil with someone we already knew as part of the team) and added the new guy Chris Horner at the finish line booth. 

If history is any indication I’d expect this team to return next year.  

[Sharpie66]

FYI, the Vuelta starts this Saturday, and NBCSN is going to have a two-hour delayed and edited broadcast at midnight (central time) on Sunday morning. My DVR listings don’t go past that right now, but I am hoping that they will continue to  show all of the stages throughout the race. Either way, I have discovered various YouTube channels providing excellent recaps of the day’s riding for the earlier races this year, so I am covered.

[Sharpie66]

Second stage of La Vuelta today. Very exciting to watch! 

Yesterday’s opener was a snooze for me in the beginning since it was a really short team time trial, so I didn’t continue watching. Turns out two different teams slipped on a patch of water leaked from a kiddie pool behind the barriers, both crashing out. One of the teams was Jumbo Visma, who has Roglic, considered the pre-race favorite. 

Today’s stage was a gorgeous run along the Mediterranean coastline. The Olympics channel broadcast I watched tuned in live with about 75 km to go. By around 35 km remaining, the peloton was all bunched together, but there was a relatively short but brutal climb that broke a lot of good racers. That left a lead group of six strong GC contenders, including Uran, Roglic, Nieve, Nicholas Roche, and Quintana. They kept a 20 second lead over the chase all the way to the end. Nieve had a scary bobble when he skidded on a roundabout, but he saved himself from a spill. Then at the 3 km mark, Nairo turned on the gas that caught everyone out and gave him the stage win. He is only 2 seconds back from the current race leader Roche. 

This is the first non-TdF I watched live on tv, and I have to say that the broadcast quality suffers in comparison to the TdF crew. The camera work is just not as good, either the helicopter shots or the motorcycle crews. The scenery is gorgeous, though. Nice to listen to Phil and Bob again, and Bob provided the translation for the all-Spanish post race interview with Nairo.

Edited August 25, 2019 by Sharpie66