"We"? Um, no.Quote:
Originally Posted by AppleTree
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"We"? Um, no.Quote:
Originally Posted by AppleTree
Okay, maybe just me. I do love Phil, I admit.
In our household, we heart Phil too. :)Quote:
Originally Posted by AppleTree
Froome is starting to make this year's Tour a bit boring.... At least the scenery is gorgeous.
Bike racing, particularly stage racing, is long periods of "at least the scenery is nice" punctuated with a few attacks and sprints to liven things up. Luckily we now have HDTV which gives us some really amazing footage from the helicopter.Quote:
Originally Posted by Norse
One of my nephews wants to become a baseball play-by-play announcer. He practices at home by watching a game on TV with the sound off and recording his own commentary for the game. He was a bit surprised by how hard it is to find things to say for an entire game. And a typical baseball game is ~2 hours long, less than half the length of a stage in a bike race. I suggested that he watch some of the cycling coverage on NBCSN to see how hard it is to cover some other sports that he's not familiar with. One of the things I like about Phil and Paul is that they research the region the race goes through each day so they can talk about the history and the different buildings and landmarks that we see. Other announcers will just say something vague like "that's a nice castle."
I’d like to think Phil has to know France well enough that the literary overtones to a lot of his comments on the scenery must already be in his mind. In any case I'd love to have Phil at a dinner table.....or as an extra grandfather :)
Scenery and mountain stages with summit finishes ftw!
Emma Pooley, a rebirth of the Tour de France Feminin.
Finally watched the end of today's stage. Wow!! Kittel came from behind Cavendish to beat him!! Looks like there might be a new sheriff in town...
I love Phil and Paul, but they're so blinded by Cav-love that they're analyzing the sprint in terms of what Cavendish did wrong, rather than what Kittel and his team did right.
And not only is he fast, but Kittel rivals Tyler Farrar in the competition for best hairstyle. He's got quite a 'do under that helmet. Though I still prefer Fabian, who somehow never has helmet hair...
It is a real skill to keep up that pitter pat of commentary hours on end for nearly a month.Quote:
Originally Posted by ny biker
I consider it a luxury to spend a day "watching" an entire long boring stage and dozing off through long stretches. I've had the experience of snoozing off rather deeply, and waking up at about the same point in the race in a later rebroadcast.
DVRs are our friend. We can fast forward the races on the flats to the last 10 miles or so, and FF all the ads.
Interesting that they mentioned lawyer lips in today's commentary, and how they make a wheel change take so much longer. My husband hates them and has filed them off most of our bikes. Now pro cyclists and their mechanics have to put up with them? If anyone should know how to use a quick release skewer correctly, it should be a pro cycling mechanic!
Speaking of Phil, I haven't heard any really good Liggitisms this year. Nothing like "He needs to pick himself up by the scruff of his racing shorts..." has left his mouth yet. :)
Well. For a flat stage, today's was very eventful! It's not over yet. The Alps will be very interesting.
Truth.Quote:
Originally Posted by jobob
I'm glad yesterday made it a closer race. Also glad Cavendish won his 25th!
I must have missed the actual Cavendish interview but they sure gave a long TV time to his GF, I had never heard of her and imagine my surprise that she is an ex page 3 girl (tits out for the papers in the UK). I assumed she must have some pearls of wisdom based on a sports background. It was odd, I have never watched the TDF long coverage before though. Is it common to have bimbos on telly adding their pennys worth? Or was it quiet day (before the crash). Do wives and GFs often get to wax poetic about race politics?
In a word, no. But they don't usually have such large, famous breasts, either.Quote:
Originally Posted by Skippyak
OMFG. I just now watched the end of today's stage. Trentin was barely over the line and Phil points out how nice it was that he won since his teammate Cavendish wasn't able to.
This really has to stop. Trentin won. Just talk about Trentin. He deserves to be known for winning instead of being someone else's teammate.
I liked her and thought she sounded fairly intelligent. She seems to know more about cycling than that numpty host who sits with Bob Roll anyway.Quote:
Originally Posted by Skippyak
I think they should have an award for "Most Charming" rider.
For the day, I'd give it to Sagan for his mid race wheelie, wave, and smile.
I am glad I got to see that happen this morning. It made me laugh out loud. And on Mont Ventoux of all things.Quote:
Originally Posted by malkin
It almost made me forget what a stupid little twerp he is (re: podium girl pinch)...ha.
So it turns out the secret to recovering from cycling injuries is...lobster...
http://www.iamtedking.com/2013/07/th...tive-power-of/
I wonder if it is also the fountain of youth?
http://bicycling.com/blogs/hardlyser...g-any-younger/
I missed Sagan's wheelie, since I had to work this morning, and I had the tour on in the background since I was working from home, and I wasn't really paying much attention until near the end. Early in the tour they showed a video of Sagan riding up onto the roof of a car. He does have skillz.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bM9Eh2uQ7Ek
I find the media speculation about the possibility of Froome doping to be oppressive.
Bike changes in the TT were pretty interesting.
I'm hoping for good weather and a safe ride for the riders tomorrow.
Malkin: I totally agree. Froome's attacks on mountains are stunning and one can only hope they are clean. I think a good portion of the media is trying to make amends for extolling so many dopers throughout the years. Yet, what we need are honest riders and better and timely tests, not speculation.
My random comments:
- I like Froome's personality much better then Wiggo's. I had liked Wiggo until he started opening his mouth in public. The last straw for me was his sexist remark about descending "like a girl" during the Giro. And then he followed with some nasty comments about his team mate, Rigoberto Urán, discussing his weaknesses with the media. How petty and self absorbed can a guy get?
- I still like Contador. I love that he won't quit attacking. He makes the race fun to watch.
- Teams work so hard on aero position, aero helmet, clothing, etc. You don't say facial hair does not add drag? ;)
I heard Phil talk about "Ritchie Froome" the other day. Pretty funny, but apt.
The interest in cycling via doping is all publicity and there is no such thing as bad publicity. This is one expensive rolling picnic and I am sure that the riders get it. I wonder how soon it will all become boring to the public now there will be a different winner every year.
I always wondered about Jan Ulrich's earrings. Don't they add weight???Quote:
Originally Posted by pll
I've never been a fan of Contador but I do appreciate his unwillingness to give up.
As for the doping, I read an interview with Jonathan Vaughters where he said that we really won't know for 10 years or so if a given rider is doping or not. But fwiw, he thinks Froome is clean. David Millar also thinks he's clean. Obviously they could be wrong, but I think their ability to spot signs that someone is doping is probably pretty good.
Being as it's been happening and wildly popular for around 100 years now (100 races over 110 years), and over that time only a handful of riders have won more than twice, I doubt the public will be abandoning it anytime soon.... Americans may lose interest now that there isn't a dominant American rider or team, but much of the rest of the world still enjoys the TDF quite a bit....Quote:
Originally Posted by Skippyak
And I'm sure the riders would describe it as anything but a picnic.... it can't be denied that no matter what a person is or is not doing that it's still a very difficult physical challenge.
I think a major reason for the doping is that it is such a difficult physical challenge.
I personally find it more boring when the same person wins every year.
What the???! They penalized Ritchie Porte for bringing back food and water for Froome?? Are you kidding me? Can some explain what that reasoning was, I did not understand at all. Crazy.
Those guys absolutely suffer on that climb, how could you possibly do it without food and water?
I haven't watched todays stage yet but I assume it was towards the end of the stage during the time when you aren't allowed to pass food/gels etc. to your team riders.Quote:
Originally Posted by AppleTree
edit...Just watched it and it was a pretty blatant breaking of the rule that was caught on camera and commented on by Phil.
I hadn't heard that rule before. Yes, it was the last few kilometers. Still...
The crowds of loonies jumping in front of the cyclists were pretty scary. I'd think if I were at the end of one of those long climbs and faced with people jumping out directly in front of me and flags in my face, I'd be pissed if I weren't so exhausted. Of course, I'm exhausted just doing bridge repeats, but I was frightened for the riders just watching on tv. Poor Teejay had to actually push someone away:
http://assets.sbnation.com/assets/29...yimonabike.gif
That's messed up.
And they've done it before, on other stages.Quote:
Originally Posted by rebeccaC
I do not have time to watch 5.5 hours of bike racing on a weeknight. I had to fast forward through most of it. Still watching it now.
Happens all the time and it makes me so nervous. A fan got what he deserved (tripped while running behind van Garderen): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ls3NxXSb1K0Quote:
Originally Posted by murielalex
"My body tells me no. But I won't quit, 'cause I want mo."
I despise these commercials. Hated them the first time I saw them, hate them more now. Would not drink Michelob if you paid me a million dollars.
If only Dos Equis ran ads during bike races. His mother has a tatoo that reads... "Son."
That would drive me nuts!Quote:
Originally Posted by murielalex
Good video PLLQuote:
Originally Posted by pll
And I found a picture of the moment - not so cool (I did not get the reason of the altercation in the video, but after this pic, I see clearly why). Still, why do people run after the riders, yelling at them? I don't get that.Quote:
Originally Posted by Bike Writer
Attachment 16492
I don't understand it either. I think most of the riders appreciate verbal support from the spectators, but the crazy outfits and the running alongside them just seems like a desperate cry for attention to me. Of course many of the spectators are drunk, so that might explain a lot.Quote:
Originally Posted by pll
I'd love to see a sort of running of the bulls style cycling event where moronic fans can run with cyclists who carry some kind of little weapon (like darts or a tazer) to zap the annoying runners.
Seriously, I am puzzled by the fans who run, but the ones who touch the riders or throw water on them or light smoke flares really bother me. If they stay out of the way, running is harmless, but the rest really could be a serious problem for everyone.
Me too. I have horrible fantasies about going there and whacking those crazed, interfering fans with something that doesn't hurt them badly but does irritate the hell out of them. I can't understand why they allow this. It drives me nuts to see it.
Quote:
Originally Posted by malkin
One assumes that this is just part of the spectacle, overpolice the enthusiasm and maybe there won't be any. It fills me with anxiety just watching, but the fans are what really supports the cost of the event. I really wonder what other country would allow such disruption of infrastructure. I went to watch a little of the Tour of Utah and even for a short well publicized semi rural road closure the driving public was apoplectic. Two cars actually just drove through the closure of an intersection past the police who could not do a thing about it. I was more entertained by the car drivers and police that I was really distracted from the speedy descent I had come to watch.
Is the USA pro challenge really only in Colorado? Is that as national as it gets?