Le Tour de France 2014

[PotomacCyclist]

The Tour de France starts off this year in Leeds, England, on Sat. July 5. Only the 2nd time that the Tour will be starting in the UK.

The U.S. soccer team was knocked out of the World Cup, so it shouldn’t matter that the World Cup continues its later rounds on Saturday. Watch the TdF instead!

NBC Sports (NBCSN) is now showing the double climb of Alpe d’Huez from last year’s Tour. NBCSN will show other stages from 2013 over the next two days, plus a preview program of this year’s race.

Live coverage of the 2014 race begins on Saturday at 6 am, with an edited version of the stage repeating throughout the day. Each stage airs live in the mornings, with edited repeats showing in the afternoons, evenings and overnight, similar to last year’s broadcast schedule.

The 2014 Tour runs from July 5 to July 27.

Chris Froome will try to defend his title. Bradley Wiggins, the 2012 champion, will not be riding. Neither will last year’s runner-up, Nairo Quintana. (Quintana did win the Giro d’Italia, just over a month ago. He wants to return to the Tour de France in 2015. He will be a serious threat to win the maillot jaune, or yellow jersey.)

http://www.letour.com/us/

http://www.nbcsports.com/cycling

Topic

[cyclingfool]

Didn’t realize there wasn’t prime time coverage tonight, at least not for us east coasters. God thing I already set the DVR at home for the 12-2:30 rebroadcast. I was bummed to see Teejay lose time yesterday.

I am excited by the prospect of the French finally getting a rider on the podium in Paris this year. It’s been too long since their last podium, not to mention overall winner. For me, it’s somewhat akin to my sympathies for Canadian NHL teams come playoff time. No Stanley Cups for a Canadian team since 1993. (Last French podium – 1997, last race winner – 1986)

[PotomacCyclist]

[video]http://gfycat.com/ImpassionedShamelessCapybara[/video]

Clueless spectator on cellphone collides with Tour leader Vincenzo Nibali, but fortunately Nibali does not crash.

[PotomacCyclist]

Looks like Nibali has the GC title all but wrapped up. He just needs to stay upright and finish out the remaining stages to win the final yellow jersey.

Friday is a stage for the sprinters, although there is a Category 4 climb near the end. Interesting name of the town at the 71.5 mile mark. When Bob Roll was describing tomorrow’s stage, he conveniently skipped over the name of that town. I wonder why…

http://www.letour.com/le-tour/2014/us/stage-19.html

[ATTACH=CONFIG]6291[/ATTACH]

[Powerful Pete]

@PotomacCyclist 91105 wrote:

[video]http://gfycat.com/ImpassionedShamelessCapybara[/video]

Clueless spectator on cellphone collides with Tour leader Vincenzo Nibali, but fortunately Nibali does not crash.

Yes, all for an attempt at a selfie while speaking to someone on the phone. All well that ends well, I suppose.

[PotomacCyclist]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WgPiM4c3Ovc

[cyclingfool]

@PotomacCyclist 91111 wrote:

Interesting name of the town at the 71.5 XXmileXX km mark. When Bob Roll was describing tomorrow’s stage, he conveniently skipped over the name of that town. I wonder why…

[ATTACH=CONFIG]6291[/ATTACH]

Yeah, that town name is epic.

Also, I expect Gerard Depardieu and Steve Martin to help congratulate the winners in the jersey ceremonies at the end of the stage. (Bergerac, see “Cyrano de”)

[PotomacCyclist]

Jens Voigt’s post after the stage (via Bicycling Magazine):

“F—k, that was just another s—t day on the Tour! That was a s—t day! Those were s—t roads! That was s—t weather! That was a s—t hard tempo! Those were s—t crosswinds! Those were s—t flats! Those were s—t crashes! That was a s—t finish and that was a s—t parking lot after the finish!
I’m so over the Tour de France! I’m over smiling and signing autographs!

About the only funny thing about the day was that moment when we passed through a town called “Condom!” I had to laugh about that, yeh! Geez, maybe I should have seen that before I had six kids, haha!

But other than that there was nothing good about this day. I’m so over the Tour de France!”

So what does he really think?

[PotomacCyclist]

This fellow seemed to enjoy the stage more than Jens did:

[ATTACH=CONFIG]6295[/ATTACH]

[video]http://www.francetvinfo.fr/sports/tour-de-france/video-un-elephant-parmi-les-supporters-du-tour-de-france_655619.html[/video]

http://www.europe1.fr/Sport/Tour-de-France/Flashs/Un-elephant-regarde-passer-le-Tour-2190441/

[PotomacCyclist]

Another video from the onboard cameras that some of the Tour riders are carrying this year on their bikes:

https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?v=527324117397150&set=vb.169975489798683&type=2&theater

[APKhaos]

@PotomacCyclist 91154 wrote:

Jens Voigt’s post after the stage (via Bicycling Magazine):

“F—k, that was just another s—t day on the Tour! That was a s—t day! Those were s—t roads! That was s—t weather! That was a s—t hard tempo! Those were s—t crosswinds! Those were s—t flats! Those were s—t crashes! That was a s—t finish and that was a s—t parking lot after the finish!
I’m so over the Tour de France! I’m over smiling and signing autographs!

About the only funny thing about the day was that moment when we passed through a town called “Condom!” I had to laugh about that, yeh! Geez, maybe I should have seen that before I had six kids, haha!

But other than that there was nothing good about this day. I’m so over the Tour de France!”

So what does he really think?

Pure Jens talk. Love it. Don’t be surprised if the peleton send Jens to the front to enter the Champs de Elysee in first place on Sunday. They did it for Hincappie and other epic hard men when they rode their last TdF.

[PotomacCyclist]

A better use for cars?

[ATTACH=CONFIG]6309[/ATTACH]

And Jens Voigt grows a longer tongue.

[ATTACH=CONFIG]6310[/ATTACH]

[Actually, it’s an energy bar that he squeezed into that shape.]

[PotomacCyclist]

http://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/cycling/tourdefrance/2014/07/24/la-course-cycling-women-paris/13072691/

The Tour de France is adding a one-day women’s race, on the same day as the final day of the men’s race. Both races finish in Paris.

Too bad La Course is only airing on Universal Sports. Comcast still doesn’t carry the channel after it became a regular cable channel, not a digital broadcast subchannel. (This is the case, even though Comcast is a part owner of Universal Sports and there are plenty of available channel slots on the Comcast line-up.)

Universal Sports has far less household reach than NBCSN does. I’d like to see NBCSN at least show a replay of La Course sometime in the near future, but I don’t see it on the schedule.

[ATTACH=CONFIG]6311[/ATTACH]

Evelyn Stevens will be one of the American riders in La Course. Her journey from Wall Street finance to pro cycling is well documented. She rode in a charity time trial event on Pennsylvania Ave. some years ago, the Bike for the Heart event. (The Sister to Sister charity was started by Irene Pollin, wife of the late Abe Pollin.) That event was only staged once. It included a community bike ride, a large spin bike session in Verizon Center, and the individual time trial on a short 5-mile course from Gallery Place (in front of Verizon Center), along Pennsylvania Ave. and back up to Gallery Place. They had a start house, similar to what you see for the TT stages at the Tour de France. The race organizer was a gold medalist in cycling at the 1984 Olympic Games. Even though the entry fee was minimal (something like $20), not that many people signed up for the TT, although there were more people in the community bike ride and the spin bike session. Former DC Mayor Adrian Fenty, the Mayor’s brother, the then Marine Corps athlete of the year (a sprint cyclist) and Evelyn Stevens all participated in the time trial event.

That was my first year of racing as an adult. The TT was open to any and all, with no qualifying required, so I signed up. I have to say that it was one of the coolest bike experiences I’ve ever had. How many people can say that they have done an individual time trial on a closed-off Pennsylvania Ave. on the section between the White House and the Capitol, with a personal motorcycle escort, and competing against an up-and-coming star in women’s pro cycling, the DC mayor and a Marine Corps athlete of the year? There are other bike events in DC but I’m not aware of many individual TT events, and none that have been open to the general public.

Anyway, I met Evelyn Stevens briefly that day. I thought it was neat to see her on TV at the London Olympics. And now she will be in La Course at the Tour de France.

[APKhaos]

Continuing the “TdF riders are from a different planet” theme…..

During the individual TT stage coverage yesterday, Christian Vander Velde casually mentioned that Tony Martin was riding a 58 tooth main ring. The closeups showed he was also running a tiny corn cob cassette as well. Got gearing?

[PotomacCyclist]

More than one TDF cyclist can do a wheelie:

[ATTACH=CONFIG]6314[/ATTACH]

I think he has just a little reason to celebrate.

[KayakCyndi]

Well that certainly was fun! I’ll miss the tour and will now have to figure out how to watch the Vuelta. Oh, and I heart Tejay.

[Author]

Replies