Me n Frenchie think this will be good spot to discuss the race for those in the know and those new to the TDF. Pitch in with your thoughts and we will try to help with the technical questions. Starts saturday..... Frenchie says lets " try and bring some of the facts about the Tour to those who had never bothered to watch it. A lot of the coverage from Channel Four has been good in that respect, but some days they only give brief highlights, whereas French TV tends to cover everyday in full. .... I would actually like more people to understand the race better. Theres only one Wiggins..........!¬!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Just a brief start to the thread then. Lots more to follow if people are interested. Any questions and we will try to find the answers. Running from Saturday July 2nd to Sunday July 24th 2011, the 98th Tour de France will be made up of 21 stages and will cover a total distance of 3,430.5 kilometres. The teams taking part this year are as follows: AG2R LA MONDIALE: ALM BMC RACING TEAM :BMC COFIDIS, LE CRÃDIT EN LIGNE :COF EUSKALTEL - EUSKADI: EUS FDJ: FDJ HTC-HIGHROAD :THR KATUSHA TEAM: KAT LAMPRE - ISD :LAM LIQUIGAS - CANNONDALE:LIQ MOVISTAR TEAM: MOV OMEGA PHARMA - LOTTO :OLO PRO TEAM ASTANA :AST QUICKSTEP CYCLING TEAM: QST RABOBANK CYCLING TEAM RAB SAUR-SOJASUN :SAU SAXO BANK SUNGARD :SBS SKY PROCYCLING :SKY TEAM EUROPCAR EUC TEAM GARMIN-CERVELO :GRM TEAM LEOPARD - TREK :LEO TEAM RADIOSHACK :RSH VACANSOLEIL-DCM PRO CYCLING TEAM :VCD So 22 teams with 9 riders in each team. The teams will have leaders who are the top riders and they will have domestics who are there to help them to win. The team will also have out and out sprinters who on the flat stages will be nursed through the long rides, then be unleashed at the end of a stage to try and out sprint the others. This year there should be 5 UK riders taking part. David Millar GRM, Geraint Thomas SKY, Ben Swift Sky, Bradley Wiggens SKY and Mark Cavendish THR. Last year Mark Cavendish was described as the fastest man in the world on a bicycle as he won a number of sprints, reaching speeds of over 60 mph
If you do want to have a look at it then the schedule of times can be found here: http://www.itv.com/tourdefrance/2011/news/tour-de-france-itv-tv-schedule/
Am I alone in thinking that (along with most motor sports) cycling is only remotely interesting as a spectator sport if there is a pile-up or two on the way? I'm sorry to say that I enjoy watching half the peloton fall over each other as they sprint for the line. Of course, it's a different matter if the crash involves serious injury or worse. I am no ghoul.
If this takes off would you like it to be stickyed whilst its going on? I dont mind doing that if Leo and N agree.
Wait and see I think BHD. V-R you ask a question. Can you explain why 13m people stayed up into the wee small hours to watch women sliding rocks down the ice? As one learnt more about the tactics and skills you understood why they missed out on their beauty sleep.
Experience has shown that sites like this will not need sticking if they have a following as there is daily action and interest - for example the Chess thread has stayed remarkably visible despite me thinking it would only attract a geek or two like me
BHD - if you want a "practice sticky" why not run a poll on something with a deadline and stick it for that period - Norway will probably do that when he is ready to on the Backgrounds
I must admit, I'm only a bit-part watcher of the TDF. It is one of those things where I intend to watch more, but generally time doesn't allow it. I haven't seen too much build up of it to be honest. So who are the favourites? Is Contador riding? Think Sky have a decent chance of showing? Am hoping Cavendish comes to team Sky, bt suppose it depends on his contract with HTC, and who he feels he has a better chance with!
I've seen it 'live', it went past a few miles away from my village in France. Quite a strange experience, we sat by the side of the road for hours and they zip past in a few seconds. Not really a spectator sport
Kev - Contador is the hot favourite despite a CAS hearing coming up (he consumed growth hormone via a contaminated steak he says). Schleck brothers and Wiggins are in the frame and Cadel Evans maybe. Cavendish looks good for the green jersey, along with Husvoltd and possibly Boonen. Vic - you are right that as a live sport its a bit limited, but went to the Grand Depart (start) in London 2007 and it was a great all day atmosphere. On TV the best thing are the Eurosport commentators who chat for 3-4 hours without tedium or repetition. David Harmon does it now but David Duffield set the standard bhd - probably not a sticky as this will depend upon our fellow posters interest..
I'll be watching, especially when they get to the South. Some people claim that the tour is devalued by all the proven and suspected doping, but then how anyone can sit on a razorblade in a crouched position for 3 weeks, with high temperatures and mental mountain stages without resorting to the medics bag of tricks is beyond me. Still not an excuse for cheating but a monumental effort whatever the circumstances.
I have to agree that you do see far more on the TV than actually being there. A couple of years ago the race came within an hour of here so we decided to go and see it for ourselves. The atmosphere on the side of the road was great fun, especially when a gent managed to get his knee through a safety barrier and required the services of the gendarmes to free him. We positioned ourselves in the small town just after a 90° turn in the road thinking that the riders would be going past at a reasonable pace. Loud speaker vans announced that the caravan, or publicity vans, would be arriving shortly. A strange assortment of carnival vehicles came around the bend, showering the spectators with goodies, everything from drinks and key-rings to baseball type caps and sweets. It was all very loud and the people at the side of the road had even brought carrier bags to take home the spoils. There was then a period when things became quiet, broken by sudden shouting from people who were following the race on their mobile phones and keeping everyone up-dated. Overhead we could hear the approaching helicopters relaying their pictures for the TV coverage. Suddenly around the corner the police outriders appeared lights flashing and we knew that we were about to see the riders. A huge rush of multi- coloured Lycra, changing up through the gears after the corner sped past at a fantastic speed. It was almost impossible to pick out an individual rider as the entire peloton was still together, but I did just catch a glimpse of Lance Armstrong one of the reasons that we went. If you wish to really see the individuals you need to be positioned on one of the mountain stages, but then so many people go to these areas you will have to be camped out for a couple of days. We left the town, returned home and discovered that there had been many attacks and counter attacks with breakaway groups getting five minutes clear, then pulled back in. It had been a day of tactics that finished with a sprint into Limoges where the crowds were massive. This year the race will be near again, but to get the best view I think I will follow the TV coverage.
Currently sat on top of L'Alpe d'Huez where we organise a trip for the Marmotte cyclosportive (184km, 5000m vertical, one day). Used to do this kind of stuff myself (have ridden 3 'Etapes du Tour' which is the amateur mountain stage they hold each year during the TdF) and whilst I can't help admiring the guys who do it for real, inspite of the widespread doping, but I have found that 'sports' cycling in the UK has become the new golf with lots of overpaid financial services people taking it up. Having to deal with hundreds of these 'people' every year has kind of dampened my enthusiasm for the sport as a whole. Frenchie's right of course, to be a worthwhile live spectator sport, you have to be on a mountain stage (and a tough mountain, too; on the smaller ones they barely slow down) and a good spot requires overnight camping at least.
Wiggins says SKY havn't mention podium in their prep. Think Brailsford is after a TDF winner by 2015 though.
A certain Ms Kasia Borowitz (spelling) - the piano teacher that sacked Tony Blair's son because the parents weren't committed enough? My wife lives in abject terror !
