Le Tour de France 2014

[creadinger]

@vvill 89485 wrote:

(I love it because it has cricket too, and I cut cable last year. Stuff stays up for watching on-demand about a week before it’s unavailable. You can skip all ad breaks unless you’re watching live. The labeling of cycling and cricket programming sucks though, everything is just titled “Cycling”, for example.)

So you obviously know who Sachin Tendulkar is then…

http://www.theguardian.com/sport/2014/jul/03/who-is-maria-sharapova-sachin-tendulkar

Thanks for the tip. I’ll look into that for future stuff. I’m also looking into how I can get the BigTenNetwork without cable. So far it looks like the best I can do is write an angry letter.

EDIT: Looks like BTN offers streaming now for $15/mo. No angry letters needed! Well, except for – Michigan sucks!

[vvill]

@creadinger 89492 wrote:

So you obviously know who Sachin Tendulkar is then…

http://www.theguardian.com/sport/2014/jul/03/who-is-maria-sharapova-sachin-tendulkar

Thanks for the tip. I’ll look into that for future stuff. I’m also looking into how I can get the BigTenNetwork without cable. So far it looks like the best I can do is write an angry letter.

Yeah, my wife had a colleague whose surname was Tendulkar and I was all but apparently no one else ever noticed it. I used to watch maybe 5 days of cricket at the Sydney Cricket Ground each year (about half test match days, and the rest one dayers – never seen a 20/20), I do miss the atmosphere of those games. I played with a cricket club for a short time too, but mostly I stuck to “backyard” cricket. But I’ve been away from cricket for long enough though that most of the players I know have retired so it’s not quite the same. You can’t really do any successful water cooler cricket chat around these parts either.

The subcontinent-targeted advertisements on Willow are quite interesting. I had never heard of Paradise Biryani Pointe before. But anyway, I was impressed with Dish offering that option – if only all channels could be so easily purchased legally and without contract commitments (HBO anyone?!). (On a similar note, I was looking forward to Aereo expanding into DC, but alas.)

[cyclingfool]

@Dickie 89487 wrote:

Shame Movistar didn’t know the stages before that decision was made… with this year’s Tour being so light on TT’s he might have had a chance. Next year will certainly be TT heavy… can’t see him competing with the “Froome stick” in that type of race.

Contador was a less than convincing TT rider early on. Now he can certainly hold his own. Maybe Quintana can make similar improvement, at least enough so to make a serious run at the Tour.

On a related note, as a viewer, I must say I’m not a big fan of the TT. Team TT I like, but the individual TT I find boring, more boring than the most predictable of flat stages. All of which is to say I’m glad the Tour is light on TTs this time around.

[dasgeh]

Yes, let’s watch the Tour. With kids. This Sunday. And, wth, let’s ride bikes there.

KIDICAL MASS ARLINGTON RIDE, SUNDAY, JULY 6th, 10:15am, ROCKY RUN PARK to IRELAND’S FOUR COURTS TO WATCH THE TOUR DE FRANCE IN ENGLAND.

Details: http://kidicalmassarl.blogspot.com/

**Please give me a little break for organizing so late. Family stuff. Ended up in Iowa last minute. All is fine but didn’t know when we’d be back. And please help spread the word because, well, this is all being pulled together last minute. THANKS!**

[PotomacCyclist]

I’m not a huge fan of the individual TT’s either. The flat stages can be monotonous, but that windy flat stage last year (or was it 2012?) was one of the best stages that year. Of course, the mountain stages are awesome to watch. The fans do get a bit crazy up there. Maybe it’s the lack of oxygen? Or more likely, it’s the overabundance of alcohol. And then those descents are scary to watch. Most people (including a lot of the pros) aren’t willing to let it go completely on the downhills and hit top speeds, at 60 or sometimes 70 mph. That’s why I think of stage road cycling as a daredevil sport, similar to the downhill in Alpine skiing or the luge or skeleton at the Winter Olympics. Superfast speeds with little to no padding or protection at all (unlike the very sturdy cars in NASCAR).

As for Universal Sports, I’m still frustrated and surprised that Comcast hasn’t been able to reach an agreement to add US back to the Xfinity line-up. Comcast is a part owner of Universal Sports. How can it be that difficult to reach an agreement when you are a part owner of the other side? Besides cycling, US shows a lot of Olympic-type sports that I find interesting, like triathlon, track and field, etc. Plus more obscure sports that don’t get much coverage on other channels. Mountain biking, XTERRA triathlon and so on.

Even when I had US, I didn’t watch too much of the Giro or the Vuelta. Maybe it’s because the stage races take up so much time. It’s hard to follow a 3-week event with all the other things going on in everyday life. I’ll follow the Tour, but it gets to be a struggle toward the final week. I get mentally fatigued just from watching it for that long. I think it takes me a year to recover before I watch another 3-week stage race, which is why I didn’t follow the Giro or Vuelta too closely when I had US.

[hozn]

Well, the Giro was only available for me (fios) on BEIN this year, which is where it seems most of the spring classics are broadcast too. It works, though; with fios I just add the $10 sports package for the months I want it and then I get US and BEIN. (Otherwise we just have lowest channel tier.)

[Arlingtonrider]

Go Jens!

[kwarkentien]

Jens is a great example for all of us “senior” bikers. Shut up legs!!!!!

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

[PotomacCyclist]

Programming note: There will be limited coverage on the main NBC channel on the weekends. NBC has a repeat (edited) broadcast today and tomorrow.

Next Saturday, I think the live morning coverage will actually be on NBC, not NBCSN. 8 am – 12 noon, Sat. July 12.

[Subby]

What a finish today. I felt sick to my stomach seeing Cavendish go down like that.

[kwarkentien]

@Subby 89568 wrote:

What a finish today. I felt sick to my stomach seeing Cavendish go down like that.

I agree. He really looks hurt. I wonder if he’ll start tomorrow.

[APKhaos]

English press are reporting that Cavendish has a dislocated shoulder with associated ligament damage. He must be doubtful for the start tomorrow, especially given the brutal stage profile. 12000 feet of climbing in the middle of England!

[Starduster]

Found a news source courtesy of Jim Helwig @ Abaca Imports, Alexandria- http://www.cyclingnews.com/. *With* live updates!

[PotomacCyclist]

Cavendish is out because of the shoulder injury. He also placed the blame on himself for causing yesterday’s crash. It was an aggressive move. Is it just part of sprint finishes? Or was he over-amped because he was racing in his mother’s hometown and wanted to win not just the stage but also the right to wear the yellow jersey (for at least one day)?

As wild as he can be, Cavendish certainly makes those sprint finishes exciting to watch. Too bad he won’t be in the rest of this year’s Tour.

[creadinger]

@PotomacCyclist 89574 wrote:

Cavendish is out because of the shoulder injury. He also placed the blame on himself for causing yesterday’s crash. It was an aggressive move. Is it just part of sprint finishes? Or was he over-amped because he was racing in his mother’s hometown and wanted to win not just the stage but also the right to wear the yellow jersey (for at least one day)?

As wild as he can be, Cavendish certainly makes those sprint finishes exciting to watch. Too bad he won’t be in the rest of this year’s Tour.

I didn’t see the crash, but don’t Cav and Renshaw especially, have a history of being bullies in the sprint finishes? Last year there was at least one instance where Renshaw was going to be DQed because he cut someone else off. I just don’t like how those guys race. At least because he caused the crash he, himself is the reason why he’s out of the tour.

[Author]

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