Tour de France - spoilers allowed

[AppleTree]

I was wondering if any of our British TE'ers have been able to be at one of the stages in England. Best start to the Tour de France I can remember seeing. What an incredibly beautiful countryside...every bit as scenic and historically interesting as anything France has to offer. Loved every minute of it so far, from the humorous opening narration to the stage going into London. It's all been WOW. The crowds were staggering, and yeah, sometimes in the way of the peloton... taking a selfie with your back turned toward a moving peloton is rather...stupid. :rolleyes:

The tour is going to miss Cavendish and Froome, but I can't help rooting for Talansky, he is looking pretty good so far and very confident. At least he's managed to avoid any major mishaps. The stage on the cobbles was hard to watch.

My favorite moment so far has been seeing Jens Voigt in the first breakaway and then later in the commentary box...so nice to see him one more year still at it!

What's been your favorite moment so far?

[emily_in_nc]

Thanks for starting the thread, AppleTree!

I agree with everything you said. Have really enjoyed the Tour so far, at least until today's stage, which was boring in comparison. The England stages were indeed beautiful and dramatic. I felt *so bad* for Froome; what a horrible thing to work so hard and have such a series of mishaps. I saw that he tweeted that it was his wrist as much as anything yesterday; he just couldn't control the bike in the wet conditions with it. I'm sure he's hurting both physically and mentally now.

I'm rooting for Talansky as well, though I'd never heard of him until this tour...I really don't keep up with the pros in between TdF time, and even less now than I used to, in the Lance years.

Love Jens too -- he is so funny! And glad Bobke is still there. We are in the Pacific time zone for the summer and do our rides in the morning, so catch the tour in the evening (Eastern time, which is 5-8pm PDT), so we always get to see/hear him. Great fun!

[Crankin]

We have the app on the I Pad to watch through our Apple TV device. Over the weekend, we saw it live, but really only watched the beginning and end. So far, this week, we've watched it at night, just the end, the highlights that the network puts on, and the interviews/commentary. I've enjoyed it, but, maybe it's me, it just seems like there's more crashes than 10 years ago.
I like Talansky, too. I read an article about him a few months ago, and basically, he started out just like my son, when he was racing as a teenager. I hope Talansky can take the mental aspect of it, although it seems like he is very level headed. This is what did Scott in (my son). He couldn't take the "mean boys," as he got higher and higher up. Things like the purposeful bumping and crashing, and being entitled and rude to others. One year, when Scott was at the National Junior Development Camp, the other riders were being so awful to the staff, he got in his car and drove home from NY! And, my exchange student, who was a pro and was the German national champion last year, spent a few years in counseling to deal with this. I guess it's like this in all sports, but it's sad that you have be like this.

[azfiddle]

My daughter is in grad school in the UK, and her boyfriend is in Cambridge. Neither could attend the race, but she got interested in watching. Even better, she had a friend visiting last week and send us a couple of items she bought for us- some cute cups and a yellow metal plaque that reads Le Tour in Cambridge Stage 3, in the same script as Tour logo.

I hate the crashes, and can't watch them. It was sad to see Froome have to abandon and I'm hoping that things settle down now.

We have the computer access and hook it up to our tv so I watch in the morning for a while before work and then after work for the end...

[ny biker]

I just got back from vacation, haven't seen much of the Tour so far. I know Cavendish and Froome are out, and Kittel has been doing well.

It would be nice to see Talansky do well. Mostly I'm rooting for Ted King and Ben King to have good tours. Most of my favorites these days are domestiques.

As for the British stages, I watched a few minutes when they were near Rippon. I wondered if any of the Crawleys were there.

[AppleTree]

Would have been fun to see them roll by Downton Abbey!

Hope Talansky is okay tomorrow, he hit the deck pretty hard today.

[Owlie]

I never watch this stuff, but I was at BF's parents' house (with the cable!) for Stage 2. And I was actually interested in watching it, since my parents went to college in Sheffield, and my dad grew up there.

Even my parents, who have no clue about bikes, watched it.

[canadiankate]

Watched the second stage live from Bradfield just outside of sheffield. We cycled up and most of the sheffield outdoors community decided to join us. The beer festival just down the hill may have been a reason too!

It was amazing to watch and I was so very pleased to see jensie on his last tour. Saw the sky team flash past and Kittel in yellow.

As for Froome, It's sad that he had to retire, but it has left the tour wide open. My mate who's a serious cycling geek didnt think it was Froome's year. His money is on Contador and it'll be interesting to see if his call is right. He's predicted the last few TdFs correctly. I also think that many brits would have preferred to see Wiggins in team sky as well as Froome. And have questioned Brailsford's decision even more now! Looks like Porte has some big cranks to turn!

I'm so enjoying the Nibali/Contador face off thus far.

[ny biker]

Nice win today by Blel Kadri. I love it when a breakaway succeeds. I did feel bad that Chavenel got caught so close to the end.

Tough break for Talansky, losing so much time after that crash. On top of all the preparation, you do need a fair amount of luck to do well in bike racing.

P.s. re: Chris Horner's NBC interview -- 7 Cokes and 5 Snickers... love it.

[ny biker]

Ok I messed up with the dvr (I blame the jetlag) and did not record today's stage. I realized my mistake in time to watch part of it live. So I turn it on and find Tony Martin in a solo breakaway and taking over the KOM lead. What the hell? I don't think I've ever seen a time trial master do anything like this.


====

Well now that I've watched to the end of the stage -- it turns out that Martin did the same thing during the Tour of the Basque Country. Good for him!! And good for Tony Gallopin, riding hard to the end when he realized he could get the yellow jersey today. This is one of those days when I really like to watch bike racing.

And BTW I am really enjoying Christian VandeVelde's commentary. He's a great addition to NBCSN's cycling team.

[BikeDutchess]

Another dramatic stage today. Contador abandoning after riding for half an hour on a fractured tibia - incredible! I guess that is what adrenaline will do for you. And rumors still flying about whether it was really the bike that he was riding that had the frame broken in half (some are reporting the cracked frame caused his crash, others are saying he was riding another bike and the broken frame was that of a bike that fell off the car).

Wow. A tour of attrition this year.

[BikeDutchess]

And BTW I am really enjoying Christian VandeVelde's commentary. He's a great addition to NBCSN's cycling team.

I agree - great improvement over the 3rd guy they had last year (who probably was knowledgeable about cycling but whose monotonous voice just about put me to sleep).

[pll]

What a stage. Cycling Tips has the most detailed account of why one of the bikes was snapped... according to that blog, a bike on the roof of the Tinkoff Sax car got tangled with a bike from a Belkin car. The bike snapped while on the roof -- they included a picture where indeed it appears two bikes are tangled:

http://cyclingtips.com.au/2014/07/tinkoff-saxo-tangle-with-belkin-bikes-identified-as-cause-of-snapped-contador-frame/

[ny biker]

I'm bummed that Ted King is out.

An article in Velonews said that Contador's bike may have broken when he hit a pothole at 40 mph, because carbon race bikes are not expected to be able to survive that kind of impact. If this is true, I want a new bike. Jeez.

P.s. Tony Martin is the man. I'm still watching today's stage -- he just cracked. Amazing ride.

[malkin]

My TdF Fantasy:

Everyone crashes out except for one rider and finally in Paris: JENS VOIGT WINS ALL THE PRIZES!

[emily_in_nc]

Even though I'm no big fan of Alberto, I was so sorry to see what happened to him today. Amazing to find out that he rode on a fractured tibia, even for 30 minutes. That had to have hurt!

I always hate when top contenders have to abandon, although it does provide great opportunity for others. This TdF has been nothing if not unpredictable!

[BikeDutchess]

My TdF Fantasy:

Everyone crashes out except for one rider and finally in Paris: JENS VOIGT WINS ALL THE PRIZES!

:) :D :p

[AppleTree]

My TdF Fantasy:

Everyone crashes out except for one rider and finally in Paris: JENS VOIGT WINS ALL THE PRIZES!

Yes!!!!!!! Love that fantasy!

[nuliajuk]

The spectators seem a bit better behaved this year so far, with fewer exhibitionists trying to get on camera. (Yes, I'm talking about YOU, Monokini Man) Perhaps it's the cooler rainier weather that's doing it.
I'd love to see Thomas Voeckler win. He tries so hard and just never gives up.

[pll]

My TdF Fantasy:

Everyone crashes out except for one rider and finally in Paris: JENS VOIGT WINS ALL THE PRIZES!

Eeek. It would be gruesome -- I hate when riders crash. Jensie got some jersey for his six kids yesterday: https://twitter.com/TrekFactory/status/488638183652216833

Anyway, Tony Martin was spectacular in the last two stages.

[Helene2013]

We watch it every night. Very interesting TDF this year. I'm "happy" that all the big names are going down. It will give a chance to those who rarely get on the podium to do so. :p At least my "fantasy" too. hihi

I don't like crashes though. It must be terrible falling at some speed they are riding. ouch.

[BikeDutchess]

Now Cancellara is pulling out too. http://www.trekfactoryracing.com/news/cancellara-withdraws-tour-de-france

[BikeDutchess]

I'm bummed that Ted King is out.

Great blog post he wrote: http://www.iamtedking.com/2014/07/6337/

[emily_in_nc]

My TdF Fantasy:

Everyone crashes out except for one rider and finally in Paris: JENS VOIGT WINS ALL THE PRIZES!

That totally works for me, malkin! :D

Shut up legs!

[BikeDutchess]

Andrew Talansky - wow! What grit he has! Chapeau! I wonder if he's going to start tomorrow.

[AppleTree]

Andrew Talansky - wow! What grit he has! Chapeau! I wonder if he's going to start tomorrow.

That was harder to watch than a crash in slow motion, Talansky sitting on the side of the road with his team director and obviously in physical and emotional distress. My heart was just breaking for him. I went riding before the stage finished, and I didn't think he'd still be in it when I got back home. I am gobsmacked that he finished the stage, how amazing is that? He is a hero in my book.

[Helene2013]

It must be so hard to abandon at their level so they just push it.

I can feel some of his pain when last June we had to quit after riding 60km in horrible weather conditions. I could not stop crying on/off. You train, set goals and now that you are there you have to quit. Not easy! Hopefully he will be able to get some back relief to keep going. But normally, those pains cannot be ignored for too long. :(

[BikeDutchess]

Now I'm reading on Twitter that he was penalized 10 seconds for assistance from his team car? If that is true it's ridiculous.

[ny biker]

Pain is temporary, quitting lasts forever. Some guy named Lance used to say that. I'm glad Talansky was able to finish the race, and that he made the time cut. I know what it's like to pull over to the side of the road and want to just quit because you're just that miserable. Sometimes you need to stop for a few minutes and take a few deep breaths.

Speaking of Lance, it occurred to me the other day when Contador had to drop out of the race -- whatever else he may have done, he certainly had a lot of luck in his seven tours, with no serious crashes. Some of that luck was because of good preparation. I remember one stage where he suddenly rode ahead of the pack for no apparent reason, and shortly afterwards the peloton crossed a railroad track. One guy hit the track at the wrong angle and went down, causing everyone around him to crash. Lance knew the tracks were coming up and got out of the crowd so he could cross them safely, because someone on his team made a point of knowing all the possible hazards on the route. They may have set new standards in cheating, but they also showed that there were plenty of legal things you could do to gain an edge and reduce your risks. Of course that preparation only goes so far, and you still need a healthy dose of good luck to keep you upright for so many miles.

[canadiankate]

Talansky is my hero. I want his courage and sheer bloody mindedness with Jens' legs. Both will be at the forefront of my mind when things get hard!

[BikeDutchess]

Meanwhile, on the lighter side:

Video: Tour de France on hold (http://www.theonion.com/video/breaking-tour-de-france-on-hold-as-cyclists-ride-o,36474/)

[AppleTree]

Thanks for that BikeDutchess, that was cute!

[pll]

OK, I think Crankin and a couple more people had mentioned the TDF app and Apple TV last year. I have to say that I love the TDF app and today I bought and Apple TV and I am sitting with the TDF on my TV screen. That is life changing! :D

[ny biker]

Over the weekend I set my DVR to record the prime time coverage on NBCSN rather than the live morning coverage, because I don't have enough room on my DVR for the longer live coverage in addition to the Formula 1 qualifying session and race that I wanted to record. Last night I started to watch the prime time coverage at about 9 pm, which was an hour after the schedule said it would start, and I found that I had been recording golf instead. So I stopped the recording and watched something else on my DVR instead. NBC owns more than enough channels; they really need to do a better job of dealing with conflicts between all the sports that they are contracted to cover.

Later I turned on NBCSN and saw that they had lost the TV feed due to bad weather. I suppose I didn't miss much. I generally have less interest in sprinter's stages, anyway.

(On the other hand, the German Grand Prix (which was shown live on CNBC due to the TdF conflict) was a really good race. Though I kinda freaked out when Felipe Massa's car flipped over and skidded upside-down across the track before flipping upright again. I would like a car that can allow me to walk away uninjured from a crash like Felipe did.)

[BikeDutchess]

Is it just me, or does the live morning coverage have much more fluff in it than previous years? In my memory, live morning coverage used to be just Paul and Phil, but now it's interspersed with the threesome from the studio. And they, in turn have these stupid filler pieces. I really don't want to see a piece on Kittel's hair gel when there's live racing going on!

[Veronica]

I thought the hair gel piece was funny and it fit in with yesterday's stage as it was a sprint stage. I think they record these pieces and only use them when they need filler. Yesterday because of the rain they kept losing the live feed and needed filler.

Veronica

[malkin]

Is it just me, or does the live morning coverage have much more fluff in it than previous years? In my memory, live morning coverage used to be just Paul and Phil, but now it's interspersed with the threesome from the studio. And they, in turn have these stupid filler pieces. I really don't want to see a piece on Kittel's hair gel when there's live racing going on!

Yah--I've been noticing that too.

(Love the Onion report. Thanks for that!)

[azfiddle]

The computer version doesn't have any commercials - although we don't get Bob Roll and any of that other stuff.

I thought Sunday's finish was kind of a heart-breaker ....

[ny biker]

They are definitely spending more time during the live coverage with Bob, Christian and the generic sports guy (Todd?). They didn't used to do that. But I think the current combination of Bob, Christian and (Todd?) is actually pretty good.

[Crankin]

We see Bob Roll on the I Pad app... just no commercials. I actually miss them. One year, 4 of us got up at a restaurant in Lenox, MA and did the "mojito dance," that was featured in a TdF ad.

[pll]

@azfiddle: Yes, I thought it was a sad end for the break, with Jack Bauer caught just meters before the finish line.

On a silly subject... Kristoff and his crooked helmets make those Giro helmets look bad:

http://static.guim.co.uk/sys-images/Sport/Pix/pictures/2014/7/20/1405869762258/Alexander-Kristoff-011.jpg

That's from yesterday. But here is an older one (http://media.zenfs.com/en_us/News/ap_webfeeds/c2dc61758fb3490b4f0f6a706700a818.jpg).

[TigerMom]

I heard that La Course will start tomorrow. This is supposed to be the first Female version of Tour de France

[Koronin]

Over the weekend I set my DVR to record the prime time coverage on NBCSN rather than the live morning coverage, because I don't have enough room on my DVR for the longer live coverage in addition to the Formula 1 qualifying session and race that I wanted to record. Last night I started to watch the prime time coverage at about 9 pm, which was an hour after the schedule said it would start, and I found that I had been recording golf instead. So I stopped the recording and watched something else on my DVR instead. NBC owns more than enough channels; they really need to do a better job of dealing with conflicts between all the sports that they are contracted to cover.

Later I turned on NBCSN and saw that they had lost the TV feed due to bad weather. I suppose I didn't miss much. I generally have less interest in sprinter's stages, anyway.

(On the other hand, the German Grand Prix (which was shown live on CNBC due to the TdF conflict) was a really good race. Though I kinda freaked out when Felipe Massa's car flipped over and skidded upside-down across the track before flipping upright again. I would like a car that can allow me to walk away uninjured from a crash like Felipe did.)

It wasn't just the Tour that NBCSports messed up, they also never did bother to show the GP2 race. They were golf instead. Very annoying as we enjoy watching the GP 2 races.

[emily_in_nc]

I'm sorry, but as a "24" fan, every time they talked about Jack Bauer, all I could think of was Keifer Sutherland! Anyone else? :D

I did feel bad for the racer Jack Bauer, though... :(

[azfiddle]

My understanding is that La Course is only on the final Sunday in Paris.

[malkin]

They are definitely spending more time during the live coverage with Bob, Christian and the generic sports guy (Todd?). They didn't used to do that. But I think the current combination of Bob, Christian and (Todd?) is actually pretty good.

Better than what has been in the past, although Bob Roll and Todd? have a funny way of rocking around in their seats. And Bob sometimes seems to be scoping Todd? out in a way that is more often seen in a bar rather than behind a tv sports desk.

[BikeDutchess]

Tour-related side note, I found this wonderful Kickstarter project combining art and the TdF: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1335072134/book-de-tour
He need quite a few more pledges to reach his goal and I sure hope he does.

[ny biker]

Better than what has been in the past, although Bob Roll and Todd? have a funny way of rocking around in their seats. And Bob sometimes seems to be scoping Todd? out in a way that is more often seen in a bar rather than behind a tv sports desk.

Interesting, I had not noticed either of these things. Bob has always been a very animated talker -- I think they once tied his hands as a joke, possibly in old commercial for tour coverage.

The other guy is Todd Harris. He definitely understands the sport. He and Liam (who sat in that chair for the past couple of years) have both done a good job.

[pll]

I am hoping Pinot and Peraud are successful dropping Valverde from the podium in the next couple of stages. It would be great to see them on the podium. Besides, Valverde is a rider I can't stand for some reason (along with Voeckler and Rolland).

[pll]

And I am happy after today's stage!

[AppleTree]

Did you see the rider who nudged the water bottle off the road with his front wheel...as he's riding down the road at maybe 20 mikes an hour???? THAT was some incredible bike handling skill. Not to mention a really thoughtful thing to do after the crash a few days ago that was caused by a water bottle on the road.

[tulip]

Tour-related side note, I found this wonderful Kickstarter project combining art and the TdF: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1335072134/book-de-tour
He need quite a few more pledges to reach his goal and I sure hope he does.

The artist is from my city and is very good. He gives daily updates to the cycling club via Facebook. Or at least he did before the kickstarter kicked in. Anyways, I really like his paintings.

[BikeDutchess]

He provides daily Tour updates on his blog: http://www.theartofcycling.blogspot.com. I just love his paintings, I sure hope his project gets funded but he only has 10 days left to raise $14K.

[Irulan]

My understanding is that La Course is only on the final Sunday in Paris.


http://forums.teamestrogen.com/showthread.php?t=54095&p=695925#post695925

[AppleTree]

I was so hoping Sagan would win the final sprint... ah well...

[pll]

Let the TdF withdrawal commence... I liked the final podium and I enjoyed this year's race. Already looking forward to La Vuelta!