Tour de France 2011 talk

[pll]

It's hard to tell much from the video, so we'll have to wait maybe until tomorrow to find out... I just saw some Twitter comments and it appears Riis suggested that Contador's brake hood got caught in Karpets' saddle (Karpets is ~5.5 inches taller).

The car was apparently one with VIPs from France TV. Should have hit the brakes instead of veering into the riders. Almost took Voeckler out, too.

Update: VeloNews quotes both Karpets and Contador -- it was an accident.

[KnottedYet]

There was an interesting comment to the Guardian story, where someone (associated with the Tour, but I don't remember who) said there have been more crashes lately, and thinks it's due to the riders being less careful now that they all wear helmets.

Reminded me of a statistic I read on automobile-related fatalities in the US. It's been holding steady around 40,000+ per year for decades, regardless of all the amazingly effective new safety additions to modern cars. People drive more aggressively the safer they feel, and only modify behaviour as the fatality rate begins to exceed the "acceptable" level.

(meanwhile I think the bike-related fatality rate in the US is something like 700+ per year... but everyone thinks biking is far more dangerous)

[pll]

Well, today Bobke had a great one. According to him, it turns out that Contador is to blame for the nervousness of the peloton. He looks vulnerable and has crashed. Therefore, there is a sense of urgency and everybody wants to get up front... I guess Contador should swap costumes with Didi Senft for the rest of this tour.

[Dr.Doo]

Poor Vinokourov...they were talking about it being a career ending injury. I hope, for him, that it's not.

Great to see someone else take the maillot jaune today.

[tulip]

What a terrible bunch of crashes. I ache for Vinikourov; he was so fabulous yesterday. The media car that hit Flecha/Hoogerland (and almost Tommy) was just plain wrong. I've watched the tour since 1984 and I don't recall a car hitting a rider before (although I could have repressed it in all these years).

Tommy Voeckler is just delightful to watch, though, and I'm so glad he's in yellow. Remember in 2004 when he just couldn't believe himself. He was all smiles, just like today when he hopped with joy on the podium. He's one of my favorite riders.

[blue_angel]

What a terrible bunch of crashes. I ache for Vinikourov; he was so fabulous yesterday. The media car that hit Flecha/Hoogerland (and almost Tommy) was just plain wrong. I've watched the tour since 1984 and I don't recall a car hitting a rider before (although I could have repressed it in all these years).

Tommy Voeckler is just delightful to watch, though, and I'm so glad he's in yellow. Remember in 2004 when he just couldn't believe himself. He was all smiles, just like today when he hopped with joy on the podium. He's one of my favorite riders.

Voeckler has totally won my heart. He's just an amazing cyclist--his strategy looks so well executed, he works so hard, and he just pours everything into it.

As for the car clipping those riders today, it makes me sick how cavalier those people are being with not only the outcome of the stage, but also with those riders' lives! TV France should have its filming privileges revoked for this.

[Possegal]

TV France should have its filming privileges revoked for this.

The problem with that is that then none of us get to see the Tour. They are the only ones that are filming it.

I'm sure the driver of that car is not only gone from the tour, but likely gone from their job too.

I remember watching the bike race in Philly and marveling at how the drivers were maneuvering the roads through Manayunk. It was some amazing car handling. Which makes this driver's move all the more baffling to me.

[pll]

Terrible accident for Vino.

Re Chris Horner, read today that he still does not remember the entire first week of the TdF, but otherwise feels great. He twitted a picture of him having dessert... looks like a fast food place. In France, in a fast food place?

[KnottedYet]

I suppose if I'd got my brains rattled and the snot wolloped out of me, I'd be craving some McDonald's comfort food, too.

http://twitpic.com/5o76et

Mmm, french fries in France...

[pll]

I suppose if I'd got my brains rattled and the snot wolloped out of me, I'd be craving some McDonald's comfort food, too.

http://twitpic.com/5o76et

Mmm, french fries in France...

Hmm. I'd go for steak and frites, with a nice pichet of red wine. Small bistro with a view.

[Eden]

There was an interesting comment to the Guardian story, where someone (associated with the Tour, but I don't remember who) said there have been more crashes lately, and thinks it's due to the riders being less careful now that they all wear helmets.

Baloney.... no bike racer *wants* to crash... it hurts - it hurts all over, in lots of places that your helmet doesn't cover and it puts you out of the race, which no one wants. My husband and I have discussed why we think there have been so many crashes. Some of it is just bad luck, but we also think a lot of it is lack of a strong "patrone" and super dominant team in the race. Hate LA if you like, but I think his super strong personality (and before him guys like Eddie Mercxy and Bernard Hinault) and strong team were able to enforce a little more order in the peleton....

[Realgone]

There was an interesting comment to the Guardian story, where someone (associated with the Tour, but I don't remember who) said there have been more crashes lately, and thinks it's due to the riders being less careful now that they all wear helmets.

Reminded me of a statistic I read on automobile-related fatalities in the US. It's been holding steady around 40,000+ per year for decades, regardless of all the amazingly effective new safety additions to modern cars. People drive more aggressively the safer they feel, and only modify behaviour as the fatality rate begins to exceed the "acceptable" level.

(meanwhile I think the bike-related fatality rate in the US is something like 700+ per year... but everyone thinks biking is far more dangerous)

Your 40,000 and 700 are not comaprible. Percentage is what you need to conclude that auto accidents are more prelivent or "less safe". There are 254.4 million car owners in America, bicycle owners are a fraction of that and the amount of those that ride regularly would be a fraction of the owners of bicycles.

[KnottedYet]

Your 40,000 and 700 are not comaprible. Percentage is what you need to conclude that auto accidents are more prelivent or "less safe". There are 254.4 million car owners in America, bicycle owners are a fraction of that and the amount of those that ride regularly would be a fraction of the owners of bicycles.

I wasn't making any comparisons of safe and "less safe" between bikes and cars!!!!! My goodness!!!!

I was talking about the sociological phenomenon of the steady annual level of automobile-related fatalities regardless of advancing safety features of modern automobiles.

As an aside, I tossed in the bike statistic which often surprises people because they assume many more cyclists die annually than car passengers, from a purely quantitative standpoint. (i.e., they expect the numbers to be 40,000+ cyclists and 700+ car passengers)

Heavens to Betsy! Ease up!

[bluebug32]

Oy. All these crashes are bad for my fantasy tour team

[malkin]

Angels and ministers of grace defend us!