Le Tour 2021

[KevinTodd]

I'd like to have seen what the crowd did to that clueless woman who nearly took out the entire peloton due to her ridiculously narcissistic behavior. ME ME ME.......

[herr_oberst]

Originally Posted by jyl

Why don't WT riders have their names on their jerseys and helmets? I know sometimes you can identify a rider from his posture and pedaling style, but its not exactly viewer-friendly. Watching the bunch and trying to figure out which of those guys in yellow is the one who needs to be up front - would be a lot easier if the jersey back said VAN AERT or even just GVA.

It always amazes me how many of the riders analysts like Bobke can identify, but I guess time spent in the pro peloton gives an advantage over the average tv viewer.

[jyl]

Originally Posted by herr_oberst

It always amazes me how many of the riders analysts like Bobke can identify, but I guess time spent in the pro peloton gives an advantage over the average tv viewer.

In this day, each rider could probably have a emitter on his helmet, to allow signal processing to pinpoint his location.

[Baz]

Fantastic stage today - epic finish!

#TDF2021 - For Popou pic.twitter.com/wjUpsYihGf

— La Flamme Rouge (@laflammerouge16) June 27, 2021

[Scott Douglas]

Enjoyed seeing that today.

I could not believe the replay of yesterday's crash.
What an idiot!
Glad to hear they are going after her too.

[Baz]

Originally Posted by Scott Douglas

-snip-
Glad to hear they are going after her too.

I know Social Media has gone after her, but don't know anything other than that.

Is she being pursued otherwise?

[Scott Douglas]

Yes, the race director is going after her for criminal activity to show others this type of behavior isn't going to be tolerated. I hope they can find her.

[Baz]

Originally Posted by Scott Douglas

Yes, the race director is going after her for criminal activity to show others this type of behavior isn't going to be tolerated. I hope they can find her.

Wow - I didn't know. I doubt she could be in any legal trouble. I mean none of the cyclists were killed or anything.

But she really should be shamed by Social Media.

BTW - has it been confirmed it was a "she"?

[Baz]

OK here's the story:

Spectator Who Caused Tour De France’s ‘Worst-Ever Crash’ Has Disappeared

The spectator disappeared as soon as the crash took place, leading local gendarmes to begin a quest to track them down. A spokesperson for the local police force told L’Equipe that the incident was a ‘manifestly deliberate violation of an obligation of safety or prudence’.

[jyl]

The strength of MVP was a sight, but even more so his cunning.

He finished stage 1 with a time exactly 8 seconds behind Alaphillipe. Today, he burned his legs attacking on the first climb of the Mur, was caught soon after, the commentators then wrote him off, but he’d saved enough legs to attack and win on the second climb up the Mur. He had figured out that he needed both the max 8 second time bonus from the first climb AND to distance Alaphillipe on the second climb to close the time gap and take the yellow jersey. At the end of stage 2, he led Alaphillipe by 8 seconds on both the stage and the race.

Without the time bonus, MVP would not be in yellow - he couldn’t hope to distance Alaphillipe by the potentially needed 16 seconds on the stage (if Ala had taken the time bonus) just by storming up the second climb. Without burning Alaphillipe’s legs on the first climb in order to drop him on the second climb, MVP would not be in yellow - he needed Alaphillipe to not only lose, but to be gapped (rather than finish in the same group as MVP).

Amazing, to hatch such a daunting plan and to have such authority over the best bike riders in the world, all fresh just two days into the Tour.

I think that while most riders have matches to burn, MVP has a lighter.

[rwest]

I’m sure I’m not the first bloke to suggest this, but I wonder if instead of the first rider who gets to the King of the Mountain location gets the points- breakaways will get the points no matter how slow they go up the mountain, but instead, using the transponders and locators on the bikes, award the points to the riders who have the fastest time from bottom to top of climb.

I imagine the climbs would take on a new urgency even if a breakaway was already there, of course it might limit riders going on breakaways, but I don’t think so.

Tour season always makes my weekend solo rides more aggressive!

Cheers,
Rutager

[GH85Carrera]

Originally Posted by Baz

Wow - I didn't know. I doubt she could be in any legal trouble. I mean none of the cyclists were killed or anything.

But she really should be shamed by Social Media.

BTW - has it been confirmed it was a "she"?

Several riders were injured. Imagine trying to keep up with that group, and you have a giant road rash or sore leg from the fall. With all of social media looking for her she or he or whatever will be found. She need a good dose of social shaming, and some time spent picking up trash on the roads, and she should not be allowed to watch any more of the race and be banned from ever going to any race.

[Baz]

Originally Posted by GH85Carrera

Several riders were injured. Imagine trying to keep up with that group, and you have a giant road rash or sore leg from the fall. With all of social media looking for her she or he or whatever will be found. She need a good dose of social shaming, and some time spent picking up trash on the roads, and she should not be allowed to watch any more of the race and be banned from ever going to any race.

I can't disagree.

[Baz]

Interesting story:

Lachlan Morton sets out to ride entire Tour de France route solo, including transfers

[jyl]

Can we stop with the crashes already. I’d like the GC to be decided on the road, not in the ditch.

As of the end of stage 3, the main GC contenders are covered by about a minute (from Carapaz at 0:31 to Roglic at 1:35). Thomas dislocated his shoulder, Roglic lost a lot of skin and seemed hurt, chasing back on in that state will have taken a lot from them and Roglic lost an important mountain domestique (Gesink). Pogacar is unscathed, as is Carapaz. The latter is the clear leader on his team now, so he should have more guys working for him.

Very sad crash by Ewan. The replays hinted that his front wheel got touched by the rear wheel of the rider ahead of him, and that seems to be what the post race articles say. His fault, and he’s out of the Tour. Hmm, Cav probably not too sad. I’m not really current on the newest riders, but my feeling is that the level of the sprinters’ field is a bit off. It’s not like Tours past when there was Kittel, Griepel, Cav, and a bunch more top notch pure sprinters. There’s punchy classics-type sprinters like Colbrelli, Van Aert and Sagan, erratic ones like Bouhanni, and a couple more who aren’t top fast men. And old dog Cavendish who wasn’t even planning to ride the Tour. I think he needs to win early (today would have been nice) because he hasn’t been training to survive the mountains.

[herr_oberst]

Originally Posted by jyl

I think he needs to win early (today would have been nice) because he hasn’t been training to survive the mountains.

Cav was using a 55t chainring today for the downhill sprint finish.

I don't think I could spin a 55 - 11 (or 10!) on the steepest, straightest downhill that I could find. If the legs couldn't make it happen, the fear-factor would surely kick in.

[jyl]

Originally Posted by herr_oberst

Cav was using a 55t chainring today for the downhill sprint finish.

I don't think I could spin a 55 - 11 (or 10!) on the steepest, straightest downhill that I could find. If the legs couldn't make it happen, the fear-factor would surely kick in.

Wow!

I wonder how fast the sprint was.

I think the speeds of a pro sprint are similar to the highest speed I’ve ever hit on a steep downhill for like a second before getting scared and pulling on the stoppers.

Tommorrow’s sprint finish has a 6% grade, so no 55T. Today would have been a better chance for him I think.

Edit: heard Cav didn’t contest the sprint today because he got tangled up in one of the crashes and had a bunch of his spokes broken.

[jyl]

Talk of the riders possibly neutralizing the first 50 k of tomorrow’s stage as a protest against what some consider dangerous conditions.

Not entirely clear what ASO are thought to be doing wrong. There’s apparently riders speaking out on social media, but I don’t follow any riders. Some grumbling that sending the always dangerous and nervous first stages of the TdF down narrow Breton roads isn’t perfect. The counterpoint is that the riders are the ones making it dangerous and they should back off (?). Anyway, I’ve no views but will be interesting if there is a rider protest tomorrow.

There have been an awful lot of riders injured and out of the Tour in just three stages. Broken collarbones, arms, concussions. In general I like seeing the peloton becoming more activist and assertive. While ASO may or may not have done anything wrong here, there have been so many genuinely dangerous race courses with unmarked obstacles, unsafe barriers, poor crowd control, motos crashing riders, etc. And the peloton has historically been pretty powerless.

[look 171]

I have not seen any of the stages of this year's tour and no longer follow who's who anymore. Part of traditional road bike racing has to deal with bad road conditions and road obstacles but some of those new European road dividers and signs that are up in the middle of the road are jsut horrible for bike races. I know there are someone waving a flag in front of some but if any one had done some racing should know that the rider may or may not call them out but weave immediately on purpose causing the wheel suckers to smack right into the curb or sign. I have seen it happen more them a few times on video. I don't remember who, but it was a three men break and the third rider ran right into the motor bike. Sometimes they do this on purpose to eliminate the stronger rider. Its every man for himself.

With selfies, so many spectators face the other way making dangerous for the riders because they will use every inch of the gutter.

[look 171]

Thurlow Rogers told us once in a training ride when he come back from Europe. Out here, the racing is clean and gentle. In Europe, if a rider tries to screw up the pace, they will throw you into the ditch or if you screw around and mess around and take their wheel. Its like hockey, they send the goon after your ass. He told me that they will pull your jersey and push you off their riders if you , as a new guy don't get the message. Chris Horner is a tough cookie and known to not take any siht from anyone and ready to drop the gloves at a moment's notice. The European boys knew that and had some run in with him when he first got there. Its just part of the racing that's not talked about or shown in TV.

I love the Koopenburg during Flanders because its a real mess. Riders fall on purpose to hold up the chasing peloton so their man can get away. Many think its dangerous and should be eliminated but I think that's what make European road racing great just like rain that turn the mud holes like a swimming pools in Roubaix.