Le Tour and Other Cycling Talk

[selkie]

The Vuelta cinematography still pales in comparison to Le Tour, but it's actually significantly better than it was five years ago, when it seemed like they were running the whole operation using five old Betamax cameras they'd found in a random Basque separatist's back tool shed. 

Two stages in and it's a lot of fun since no one really knows what they heck is going on yet. 

Earlier this summer, the UCI did a global fan survey, and apparently I'm not alone in preferring my races to be less predictable

https://www.insidethegames.biz/articles/1083905/uci-road-survey-results

[Sharpie66]

Wow, Madrazo killed it!!! And that was after his own team car tried to take him out. The way he just kept coming back to the other two in the breakaway was just terrific. 

[Omeletsmom]

54 minutes ago, Sharpie66 said:

Wow, Madrazo killed it!!! And that was after his own team car tried to take him out. The way he just kept coming back to the other two in the breakaway was just terrific. 

I loved the LOOK he gave that driver!  I'm sure there were some Words after the stage!

[Sharpie66]

Something is definitely up with the team cars in this race, between yesterday’s incident with Madrazo and then the team car in the TTT that was following its team but took the corner waaaay too fast and crashed into the barriers at considerable speed, crumpling the bumper. That team ended up with a fine by UCI for going too fast for conditions.

Today’s stage was super fast and suffered from the lack of cameras and tv time. They were already up to the 30 km to go mark when they joined the race, so the race was over by the halfway point of the two-hour scheduled broadcast. Also, there was no cameras when the big crash happened more than 70 km earlier, taking out Nicholas Roche and Roberto Uran, amongst others. And there was no motorcycle crew with Teejay and the other guy in the breakaway who were trying to catch up to the two leaders, meaning they missed Teejay’s crash Into the bushes when he missed the curve in the road. 

[selkie]

I ended up ponying up for the NBC Sports Gold cycling package and the European long feed didn't have the Education First crash video either. Horrible day for that team. 

[Omeletsmom]

The motos were scaring me today.  The one that was weaving in and out of the cyclists near Mijka?  I thought they were going to hit someone!  The cars seemed to be in bad positions, too.

[Sew Sumi]

18 hours ago, selkie said:

I ended up ponying up for the NBC Sports Gold cycling package and the European long feed didn't have the Education First crash video either. Horrible day for that team. 

And Tejay withdrew today. Nightmare tour for EF.

[Sharpie66]

Fun stage today before the rest day! I always love the scenery of the Pyrenees, and Andorra is gorgeous. Movistar is confusing Phil and Bob again, but I just think that Nairo is definitely going to another team at the end of the year and doesn’t give a shit about the team anymore. If he feels good, he is off for the win, screw team tactics. Solar was really pissed when he was told to wait for Quintana, understandably so. 

If you were like me and missed the very end of the race when the DVR stopped at two hours, this recap is well written and delves into tactics for the whole day: https://www.cyclist.co.uk/news/6957/vuelta-a-espana-2019-tadej-pogacar-wins-explosive-stage-9-summit-finish-quintana-the-days

[selkie]

Because I am oddly sentimental about sports, I got a little sniffly at a domestique from an Euskadi squad on iffy financial ground winning a proper stage in the Basque Pyrenees. (Rumor mill sys they may now be close to sponsorship that would get them through 2020.)

And then had to laugh at:

https://www.bbc.com/sport/cycling/49581440

[Sharpie66]

When Phil and Bob started raving about the ideal straight road for the sprinters to finish on today, I was thinking, “There is going to be a crash.” Sure enough, but it wasn’t from the sprinters jostling for position but from the midst of the peloton. Sad to see the one guy being put in the ambulance. At least it was within the three km mark so times weren’t affected.

[Sharpie66]

It was so great seeing Sepp Kuss win today! He knew he had it and was giving the crowd on either side of that narrow road high-fives in the last 500m. Bob’s delight in his fellow Durango, CA resident’s victory was really fun to hear. 

Edited September 8, 2019 by Sharpie66

[Omeletsmom]

6 hours ago, Sharpie66 said:

It was so great seeing Sepp Kuss win today! He knew he had it and was giving the crowd on either side of that narrow road high-fives in the last 500m. Bob’s delight in his fellow Durango, CA resident’s victory was really fun to hear. 

Was that where he was from?  I don't think I heard him mention it 😂

[Sharpie66]

Oh, he might have mentioned it once...twice...a million times. But let’s face it, how many times can a commentator hail the victory of someone he's watched grow up? Sepp’s huge grin as he was high-fiving everyone he could reach made me grin along with him. And Lawson Craddock’s top ten finish made it a great day for the US racers.

That last climb was a really interesting one to watch, up there with the best of the TdF mountain climbs IMO. The narrowness of the road at the end made it even more visually striking.

[selkie]

So if I'm reading this right, you can stream the Giro d'Italia for free in the USA next year?

https://awfulannouncing.com/streaming/fubotv-launches-ad-supported-fubo-sports-network-will-feature-original-programming-and-julie-stewart-binks.html

[Omeletsmom]

So...who is the leader on Moviestar again?

[Sew Sumi]

5 hours ago, Omeletsmom said:

So...who is the leader on Moviestar again?

Nairo certainly thinks it's him.

[Sharpie66]

I remember a few years ago, in the TdF, when Nairo got caught out in the crosswinds in a very early stage, and he never got that time back. He learned his lesson, as today showed. 

I felt for Sam Bennett, but half a km was way too soon to go for the win. 

[selkie]

11 hours ago, Omeletsmom said:

So...who is the leader on Moviestar again?

Marc Soler? It would make as much sense as anything at this point.

[Sharpie66]

Nice to see Higuita win today! Especially after I just watched the GCN recap on YT where I found out he had been in the lead group since the second climb. I always like it when a young rider sticks it out in a breakaway and gets the win.

[Sharpie66]

Lots of race tactics intrigue, a big crash, crosswinds, gorgeous scenery, cobbles, first win for France, topped off with a building fire at the finish line!! The coverage timing was perfect for once, tuning in just as the crash happened that temporarily took out Roglic and Lopez. Apparently, the order to take advantage of the crash came from the guys in the Movistar team car, but after nine miles, Valverde said it wasn’t cool and told them to hold up until the two rejoined the peloton. 

I do love the beer toasts at the podium! And they brought out the 90-year-old Toledo native who won the TdF in ‘59 to congratulate Roglic.

Edited September 13, 2019 by Sharpie66

[Sharpie66]

Wow!!! What a finish to the GC race! Pogocar is definitely a name to remember—he nearly took out Valverde’s 2nd place on the podium in Madrid tomorrow, forcing Alejandro to sprint as well as he could for the line to keep it by just twelve seconds. I am looking forward to next year’s Grand Tour races to see how Pogocar does. And Roglic fulfills the pre-race predictions to win La Vuelta. 

And while waiting for the awards ceremony, the camera crew on the helicopter found an amazing path up a rocky crag that Phil and Bob traced up to where they figured out was a probable launching point for rock climbers to finish ascending the slope. 

Edited September 14, 2019 by Sharpie66

[Omeletsmom]

Man, the water situation in the Men's U23 TT was insane! IDK what they could have done that was fair to everyone -- keep it going and you are penalizing the later riders; cancel it and you are unfair to the earlier ones.  SMDH.

[galaxygirl76]

For those of you that were around for the Rio women's road race, I was crying in my living room when Annemiek van Vleuten crossed the finish line today as the new world champion. She deserved the win, was riding by herself for over 100k, and as mentioned I still remember her lying on the ground fearing for her life in Rio after falling in winning position. So, you go Annemiek, well deserved!

[khyber]

Just watched the first of the 30 for 30 on Lance. Its interesting to hear all of the cyclists be honest about the doping. 

[wanderingstar]

On 5/28/2020 at 5:12 PM, khyber said:

Just watched the first of the 30 for 30 on Lance. Its interesting to hear all of the cyclists be honest about the doping. 

Yeah, watching this documentary reminded me of the years when I devoured all the books on doping in cycling. Lance remains...a trip (and that's the nicest thing I can bring myself to say about him).

[Omeletsmom]

Anyone watching the Dauphine?  Did you know Sepp Kuss is from Durango, Colorado?

[Sew Sumi]

Yes and yes. Sepp has been doing an excellent job setting up Primoz.

[selkie]

I'm watching what I think is the Eurosport feed on NBC Sports Gold. Will have to check out the alternate commentary. 

And yes, pro cyclists are some of the toughest athletes out there:

https://www.cyclingnews.com/news/dauphine-hailstones-were-so-big-they-left-indentation-marks-on-helmets/

I do not really believe Declercq when he says that the welts mostly went away overnight. 

 

[Omeletsmom]

On 8/14/2020 at 4:43 PM, Sew Sumi said:

Yes and yes. Sepp has been doing an excellent job setting up Primoz.

It was sarcasm.  If I took a shot ever time Bob mentioned it, I'd be dead by now.

And yes, Sepp is doing a fantastic job; he deserves to be on the Tour de France team.

Edited August 20, 2020 by Omeletsmom
correcting a tense.

[selkie]

Ineos has announced its TdF squad, and neither Chris Froome nor Geraint Thomas made the cut. 

https://www.velonews.com/events/tour-de-france/froome-thomas-out-of-ineos-tour-de-france-team-carapaz-drafted-in/

On paper, it's going to be an interesting showdown between Ineos and Jumbo-Visma, who seems to be on such good form since the season restarted. 

[Sew Sumi]

I'm not surprised. Froome and Thomas, but especially Froome, were major disappointments at the Dauphine. 

[selkie]

Froomie could probably still check the ego and take on a domestique role but his form just isn't good enough to offer much help to Bernal at this point. I'm sadly not surprised to see the crash causing such long term effects. 

[Sew Sumi]

Yeah, that was a brutal crash. I'm not a fan, but even I had to admit how horrific it was. 

[Sharpie66]

We’re baaaaack!!!

i cannot tell you how much I needed this race at this time (I am getting the COVID heave-ho at my company after nearly 28 years—ugh). A nearly daily distraction is sooo welcome.

Nice to see a name from the past on the podium—I almost forgot about Kristoff. A great finale to such a treacherous day on the road.

As for the NBC crew, too bad they couldn’t be in France. And no crew on site, other than the substitute guy on the motorcycle (who also did the post-race interviews), means no Jensy—I miss him! The lack of comraderie that comes from all being on the road together is already being felt by me. 
 

Bt at least they are racing, for now. Keeping my fingers crossed that no teams will be DQ’d from two positive test results.

[khyber]

Jens is my favorite part. Shut up legs!

[Sharpie66]

Caleb Evan slips and slides his way through the sprinters to take the win! Very exciting. Sad to hear about Anthony Perez breaking his collarbone right after he had sealed the polka dot jersey for the stage.

Today’s scenery was stunning. Soooo gorgeous. Cannot wait for the first big day in the mountains tomorrow.

[Sharpie66]

Yesterday, Romain Bardet suffered a small hemorrhage after getting a concussion during a crash, but he hopped back on his bike and finished the stage. Apparently, his team missed the severity of his injury until the day was done. This led to a really fascinating discussion by Phil, Bob, Christian, and Chris about concussion protocol and stories of Brain Injuries I Have Suffered While Racing. I love it when they can take the time for these deep dives into stuff about the sport as a whole. A few years ago, Christian spoke frankly about the fact that he doped when he first started racing, just because everybody else was doing it. 

[khyber]

Wow, I'll look for that discussion, it sounds interesting.

[Sharpie66]

I was visiting my dad today, so I didn’t get a chance to watch this morning’s stage until tonight. Sad to see Quintana get dropped (he’s still my favorite racer since he was the first one I noticed when I first got hooked on the race), and shocked to see Bernal get dropped even more—seven plus minutes behind!
 

Van Aart was amazing on the climb, especially considering he is such a good sprinter. He led that Jumbo Visma team for kilometers before dropping back. But Pogacar was able to beat out Roglic to the line—when he took off, .i yelled, “Go kid, go!” even though I like both of them. 

[Sharpie66]

I just saw that NBC thought the concussion discussion from yesterday needed to be posted on their YouTube channel, which, yes! Yes, it was. 

 

[xaxat]

On 9/1/2020 at 12:07 AM, Sharpie66 said:

Today’s scenery was stunning. Soooo gorgeous. Cannot wait for the first big day in the mountains tomorrow.

This year, the Tour is my virtual vacation. So nice to see something outside of my local covid bubble.

I watched that crash live. Didn't think anything of it. Like the commentators noted, it happened so quickly, there is so much going on and there probably weren't any medical professionals on site at the moment. Add in the geographical length of the field and it's a hard problem. 

[Sharpie66]

Finally got caught up on yesterday’s individual time trial that ended the GC competition. I have never seen a final day like that! Pogacar had the perfect ride and Roglic just could not keep up. All of the commentators were blown away by how amazing it was that the entire Tour came down to that final hill climb. Pogacar tales home the white, polka dot, and yellow jerseys—today’s podium will be the stage winner, Sam Bennett in green, I think Movistar as the winning team, and then just Pogacar.

[Sharpie66]

Just finished today’s finale. One fewer persons on the podium—Sam Bennett is both the green jersey winner and the stage winner! Everything else was as I previewed.

At least NBCSN has finally realized that we want to see the awards ceremony. A few years ago, they just briefly showed the three top GC people on the podium. Roglic’s son was freakin’ adorable in his daddy’s arms on that podium.

[Cobb Salad]

2 hours ago, Sharpie66 said:

At least NBCSN has finally realized that we want to see the awards ceremony. A few years ago, they just briefly showed the three top GC people on the podium. Roglic’s son was freakin’ adorable in his daddy’s arms on that podium.

I watched live today as well - as far as NBCSN coverage is concerned I think it’s been spotty through the years depending on whatever else they were committed to later that day.  Then I might be confused with the coverage Versus (pre NBCSN) used to have (nightly coverage, reruns during the day). 
This was a great tour.  Always great seeing someone new win.  I’m sad though that tomorrow there will be no tour to watch but I have to remind myself that it’s roughly 10 months (I hope) until the next Tour de France!

[selkie]

The Giro d'Italia is set to roll on October 3, and Fubo TV is finally offering a standalone cycling pass instead of only offering the cycling coverage as an add on to their other $50/month streaming packages. 

https://www.fubo.tv/lp/cycling-pass/

[selkie]

I managed to get Fubo.TV's cycling pass for $40 for the rest of the year and am currently watching a rebroadcast of today's Giro d'Italia stage. The announcers just had an extended discussion of fines issued for a rider in the race taking a nature break in someone's yard and the resident getting pissed about the piss. 

 

[Rickster]

Future broadcast ( I guess post 2021) of TdF in doubt. I suppose it will be around, but possibly on a premium network.

 

NBC Sports Network Shutting Down

[Cobb Salad]

On 1/24/2021 at 7:20 PM, Rickster said:

Future broadcast ( I guess post 2021) of TdF in doubt. I suppose it will be around, but possibly on a premium network.

 

NBC Sports Network Shutting Down

Yeah, NBC has the US rights for a number of years so I guess they’ll broadcast it somewhere.  The article I read speculated it might be on Peacock.  With all of these streaming services around it’s getting ridiculous however depending on the setup and fee I might consider ponying up for this one especially if it gets me viewing access to the other Grand Tours.  

[xaxat]

That was unfortunate timing. Day 1 2021, Bob Roll is talking about how great it is to have spectators on the roadside. 

Literally seconds later a spectator crowds the road with a sign, takes out a rider and causes a massive crash.

(ETA And moments after I typed that, another massive crash.)

Edited June 26, 2021 by xaxat

[Crankybroad]

That was a painful start.