Tour de France update and discussion thread: Because it involves bikes. (long post)

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  • July 17, 2011 at 2:25 pm #928157
    eminva
    Participant

    Excellent Summary, thanks!

    I haven’t been able to watch because I don’t have Versus and it looked like there were a lot of technical problems with the online subscription you could buy from NBC Sports (.com), so I passed rather than paying $30 for the privilege of subjecting myself to that kind of frustration. I’ve been reading about it in the newspaper and online and of course I saw the coverage of THE crash. That was horrible, but what a fighter one has to be to continue after that.

    I agree, it’s hard to tell who’s the favorite at this point. Will be a very interesting week!

    Thanks.

    Liz

    July 17, 2011 at 4:21 pm #928161
    acc
    Participant

    I watch when I can wrestle the remote away from my children.
    I noticed this morning they were booking along around 32 mph with a tailwind. I thought to myself I’d need hurricane force winds to achieve that speed on a flat.

    I don’t have words to describe the admiration I feel for the riders. Day after day they subject themselves to pure punishment. Watching them climb makes my chest hurt, watching them descend makes me bite my lips hoping they don’t fly off the mountain. And in general I want to feed them. Really skinny dudes. Remarkable human beings though, I’ve enjoyed watching them.

    ann

    July 17, 2011 at 5:01 pm #928162
    DaveK
    Participant

    There’s a great website you lot without Versus should check out – steephill.tv.

    My Cliffs Notes on this year’s Tour – neither Schleck is going to win.

    July 17, 2011 at 6:47 pm #928164
    Greenbelt
    Participant

    We’ve had good luck with the $30 NBC feed — pretty reliable. Worth it to not have commercials, the British (I presume) commentator seems OK, and the scenery from the helicoptor camera is fantastic.

    July 18, 2011 at 1:12 am #928166
    elcee
    Participant

    @eminva 5890 wrote:

    I haven’t been able to watch because I don’t have Versus and it looked like there were a lot of technical problems with the online subscription you could buy from NBC Sports (.com), so I passed rather than paying $30 for the privilege of subjecting myself to that kind of frustration. I’ve been reading about it in the newspaper and online and of course I saw the coverage of THE crash.

    I’ve been following the Tour through Charles Pelkey’s live blogging on velonews.competitor.com. It has the advantage of allowing you to walk away for a few minutes yet not miss any of the action, since you can just scroll backwards in time.

    July 18, 2011 at 1:30 am #928167
    PotomacCyclist
    Participant

    For Facebook users, you can browse through the daily photo galleries on the Tour de France page:

    http://www.facebook.com/media/albums/?id=103512969698091

    July 18, 2011 at 2:17 am #928168
    PotomacCyclist
    Participant

    @acc 5894 wrote:

    I watch when I can wrestle the remote away from my children.
    I noticed this morning they were booking along around 32 mph with a tailwind. I thought to myself I’d need hurricane force winds to achieve that speed on a flat.

    I don’t have words to describe the admiration I feel for the riders. Day after day they subject themselves to pure punishment. Watching them climb makes my chest hurt, watching them descend makes me bite my lips hoping they don’t fly off the mountain. And in general I want to feed them. Really skinny dudes. Remarkable human beings though, I’ve enjoyed watching them.

    ann

    Top American cyclist Levi Leipheimer posted from his iPhone today that they hit 48 mph on the flat road today.

    Some of the cyclists are skinny but some of them look more… normal. Also keep in mind that most of them cut weight before the Tour and try to lose as much bodyfat as possible. If you look at pictures of Lance Armstrong during interviews when he was racing at the Tour, his face looked incredibly gaunt and his cheeks were sunken in. Almost no extra bodyfat at all. But if you watch interviews during his retirement period (2006-2008), his face looks normal. He doesn’t have that scary bony look.

    So the cyclists are even skinnier than they normally are in the off-season.

    Andy Schleck is probably skinny all the time. He’s much thinner than even the other pro cyclists. On the other hand, Thor Hushovd is pretty big. He’s 6’0″ and about 180 lbs.

    But the weight control can be a problem for the cyclists. Some studies indicate that elite cyclists have lower bone mineral density than the average adult. That could be the result of the restricted diet or the lack of weight-bearing exercise on the bike. This is why it can be a good idea for cycling specialists (pro and amateur) to add some weight-bearing cross-training (strength training, running).

    July 18, 2011 at 5:03 pm #928181
    Jsnyd
    Participant

    I’m excited that this thread has popped up. I’ve been watching it a lot and wondering if I was the only one! I’m a fan of Garmin Cervelo and am really excited to see them doing well. My wife knows Tyler Ferrar and his family so we are extra excited for him and I was pretty pumped when I noticed he was closing on Cavendish on the last sprint of yesterday’s stage. I was also happy for Thor’s recent victory seeing as a big guy like him wasn’t picked to dominate as well as he did.

    What did everyone think of the French Media car? When Hoogland flipped into the fence I think I probably had the same reaction as most. “HOLY S&!#*(*&”

    I also think I’ll give Contador the prize for worst luck in this year’s Tour. He has had it rough the entire time. Maybe I’m skipping over a few deserving names but he just keeps falling down.

    and sorry for the misspelling of most names. I think everyone will know who I’m talking about.

    July 18, 2011 at 6:07 pm #928185
    DaveK
    Participant

    @Jsnyd 5918 wrote:

    I’m excited that this thread has popped up. I’ve been watching it a lot and wondering if I was the only one! I’m a fan of Garmin Cervelo and am really excited to see them doing well. My wife knows Tyler Ferrar and his family so we are extra excited for him and I was pretty pumped when I noticed he was closing on Cavendish on the last sprint of yesterday’s stage. I was also happy for Thor’s recent victory seeing as a big guy like him wasn’t picked to dominate as well as he did.

    What did everyone think of the French Media car? When Hoogland flipped into the fence I think I probably had the same reaction as most. “HOLY S&!#*(*&”

    I also think I’ll give Contador the prize for worst luck in this year’s Tour. He has had it rough the entire time. Maybe I’m skipping over a few deserving names but he just keeps falling down.

    and sorry for the misspelling of most names. I think everyone will know who I’m talking about.

    I think I’ll give Team RadioShack the award for worst luck. 4 supposed contenders going into the race – 3 crash out and the other one has crashed so many times he’s out of the overall picture.

    The French TV car should be prosecuted criminally. No ifs, ands, or buts. Hoogerland is a beast for getting up and racing. Nothing but admiration for him and for Flecha.

    Thor Hushovd is amazing – what he did shouldn’t have been possible for a guy that big. I’m also a Garmin fan despite some lapses (chasing down Hincapie in the ’09 Tour for no reason so Hincapie didn’t get to wear yellow) and I went wild when Tyler finally won a stage. I really hope Thor stays with Garmin despite the rumors. They’ve shown that he and Farrar can work together well and that the team supports both of them. Hopefully Thor will have a better Classics season next year.

    July 19, 2011 at 12:03 pm #928212
    Mark Blacknell
    Participant

    My thoughts on Hooglerland – http://stomachofanger.com/hoogerland.shtml

    Surprise of the Tour, so far – Tommy V. being able to hang with the big guns (or is that the big guns being unable to drop Tommy V?).

    Contador remains the best grand tour rider in years. Soy tranquillo.

    ~

    I second the Steephill.tv recommendation above. Also, for anyone looking for intelligent and informed commentary on the race, along with a pretty chill community vibe, check out PodiumCafe.com

    July 19, 2011 at 12:11 pm #928215
    Dirt
    Participant

    It’ll be interesting to see what happens in the next few days. I honestly don’t think the Schlecks have started to race yet. I think I finally understand their strategy and it is risky, but quite possibly brilliant. I guess we’ll find out in Paris.

    July 19, 2011 at 2:32 pm #928232
    DaveK
    Participant

    @Dirt 5961 wrote:

    It’ll be interesting to see what happens in the next few days. I honestly don’t think the Schlecks have started to race yet. I think I finally understand their strategy and it is risky, but quite possibly brilliant. I guess we’ll find out in Paris.

    I don’t agree – I think one of them has to be sacrificed and they’re not willing to do that. If one breaks away and the other stays behind it’s perfect but they both want to win, and that can’t happen. I think it’ll take them both down. Not to mention I don’t think either one has the legs to win it this year. Now Contador… he’s improving every day and he hasn’t shown his cards yet.

    July 19, 2011 at 3:11 pm #928235
    Mark Blacknell
    Participant

    @DaveK 5978 wrote:

    I don’t agree – I think one of them has to be sacrificed and they’re not willing to do that. If one breaks away and the other stays behind it’s perfect but they both want to win, and that can’t happen. I think it’ll take them both down. Not to mention I don’t think either one has the legs to win it this year. Now Contador… he’s improving every day and he hasn’t shown his cards yet.

    Convenient time to post this . . .

    July 19, 2011 at 3:15 pm #928238
    Dirt
    Participant

    Interesting day today. I enjoyed it.

    July 19, 2011 at 3:32 pm #928241
    Jsnyd
    Participant

    @Mark Blacknell 5958 wrote:

    My thoughts on Hooglerland – http://stomachofanger.com/hoogerland.shtml

    Consider this shirt, or some form of it, SOLD. haha thats a cool T

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