Tour de France 2011 talk

[pll]

@MuddyTrails: It seems it was Samuel Dumoulin from Cofidis (I infer based on the red uniform and the fact that Phil said "Samuel something" in the recap).

I liked that Hushovd led and celebrated the win. Here's a blurry shot of Thor smiling and raising his fist as Tyler wins:

[pll]

Confirmation... it was Dumoulin. He says so in Twitter: "Fall into the last corner. I am very disappointed because the team had done a great job. Fortunately no wounds but an opportunity missed."

[Jo-n-NY]

Read on twitter about Cav & Thor being DQ'd in a sprint today. Anyone know why.

Also Johan was fined because of an unprofessional comment. USI just decided for this tour to change the seat position. A brand new rule. Didn't apply to other races and all the wind tunnel testing and training with the original seat position is thrown out the window. What gives with the UCI. Are they trying to be disliked?

~ JoAnn

[Catrin]

I can't get any of the free video feeds to work...sniff. I did, however, get the audio daily podcast working so that is better than nothing. NEXT year I am going to get cable, even if it is only for the month of July so I can watch the TDF!

[pll]

I can't get any of the free video feeds to work...sniff. I did, however, get the audio daily podcast working so that is better than nothing. NEXT year I am going to get cable, even if it is only for the month of July so I can watch the TDF!

Bummer. Have you tried the Belgian "Sporza" one (the one in bold characters)? That works, too, and then you can pair it with some English audio feed. They start around 7am CST and the race is usually over by ~10:30am. The SPorza broadcast continues after the race with interviews (usually some in English) and the jersey presentations, so it can be fun if you have the time. The feed usually does not start right away... it takes a few seconds, maybe a minute to start. I usually click it, move on to a different browser tab, until I hear the Dutch chatter...

Correction: That would be flemish chatter! And the feed I mean is the following one from http://www.steephill.tv/tour-de-france/#live

[TrekTheKaty]

Can I switch? Go Garmin

[Trek420]

What gives with the UCI. Are they trying to be disliked?

~ JoAnn

They were "liked" before?

[pll]

Thor and Cav lost all the sprint points from the intermediate sprint. Cav was tucked behind Gilbert and Thor tried to get into Gilbert's wheel. Cav responded with a slight headbutt and pushed him away (a-la-Renshaw... maybe HTC practices this). Thor offered to take the full blame and punishment.

[KnottedYet]

Thor offered to take the full blame and punishment.

Thor. What a gentleman.

(wonder how much he juices?)

Thor SMASH! Literally?

[pll]

Read on twitter about Cav & Thor being DQ'd in a sprint today. Anyone know why.

Also Johan was fined because of an unprofessional comment. USI just decided for this tour to change the seat position. A brand new rule. Didn't apply to other races and all the wind tunnel testing and training with the original seat position is thrown out the window. What gives with the UCI. Are they trying to be disliked?

~ JoAnn

I'd be surprised if Johan was the only one fined. It seems many of the teams were very upset and rightly so. The rule about the seats appears to be a bit vague, it had not been interpreted in that fashion the entire season... and then you force last minute adjustments that cold even injure a cyclist. Not logical.

[ny biker]

I'd be surprised if Johan was the only one fined. It seems many of the teams were very upset and rightly so. The rule about the seats appears to be a bit vague, it had not been interpreted in that fashion the entire season... and then you force last minute adjustments that cold even injure a cyclist. Not logical.

Riis was also fined.

http://johanbruyneel.com/blog/2011tdfblog3.html

[KnottedYet]

[beccaB]

I love the commercials.

[blue_angel]

This is completely awesome!

I've never watched the Tour before, and have always wondered what people liked about watching others ride bikes. But after skimming through the enthusiastic comments on this thread yesterday, I decided to watch the 8 pm Stage 5 broadcast. GRIPPING! Seriously, I am now obsessed. I'm preparing to turn the TV on in a few minutes to catch the live morning broadcast. You all have created a monster!