Tour de France time again

[Nesti]

For those who watch the TDF each year, let's hope an Aussie is on the podium again this year.

However, in 4-6 years time, if an Australian has not yet won the TDF, watch out for these three names; Cameron Meyer, Ben King and Adam Semple. Both are now riding Pro, Ben in the US and Adam in Europe.
http://www.cycling.org.au/?Page=8820
http://www.benking.com.au/?page_id=11
http://www.adamsemple.com.au/?page_id=12

I have raced with all three, but trained huge amounts with Ben over the last 4 years. Aside from being the nicest person you'll ever meet, Cam's the 2009 world track champion, and was the most aggressive rider at last years Tour Down Under. Ben's currently racing around the US and has secured a few good wins as well as some nice day-long break-aways with the likes of Lance Armstrong and Floyd Landis (LOL). On a good legs day, Ben can and does ride off the front for the whole day...even on fast US criteriums, he's that strong. Semp's a pure climber, but is still a strong TT rider. Cam and Ben are incredible TT and TTT riders, both road and track.

If your into the 'Classics', the one day wars and 1 week tours, watch out for Ben. Long tours watch out for Cam. And Poka Dot stuff is Semp.

Ben's capable of one day winning Roubaix!

All three are achieving great things, drug-free.

[Gallifreyboy]

Good luck to the aussies. Will be watching with interest Team EPO, Team masking agent and Team future drug without an assay test yet.;)

[suma126]

I cant wait for the tour de france to start this year might be the one a aussie wins . :)

[okiscopey]

Not a HUGE cycling fan, but the scenery from the helicopers covering the event is stunning. Recommended!

[koputai]

And I think SBS2 is showing EVERY stage, in full, LIVE !! Awesome!! I might not stay up for every stage, but will for the mountain stages.

Cheers,
Jason.

[multiweb]

Quite out of line :(

[MrB]

Looking forward to an ALL AUSSIE team in 4-6 years time then, certainly will have the numbers!

Looking forward to FULL coverage on SBS too, gotta love this multiple channel stuff!

[renormalised]

Big bike fan here....love the TDF!!.

Hope to see as much of the action as I can.

I'd love to go over there and watch, one day!!.

[MrB]

Ditto. For a fair few years my old man and I have entertained the idea of hiring some mopeds and following the tour around.
Last year my brother rode some legs of the tour on his pushie just behind the tour, he's doing it again this year.

[renormalised]

Great idea!!!!:D

Wish I was still fit enough to do that....ride the tour. I could get back into some degree of fitness, but not like I used to be.

[Alchemy]

ditto

lovely scenery

[mozzie]

enjoy watching the tdf one of the sporting highlights love to go and watch the atmoshere would be fantastic
mozzie

[Hagar]

TDF....... A good excuse to go outside and take a few images.

[Nesti]

Did anyone notice Contador's last 30sec up to the time-check at the top of the climb? He was dancing on those pedals and then claimed 2nd next to Mr Huge Quads.

Contador's a climber turned all-rounder, and he looks heaps stronger this year. Remember when he was toying with Rasmussen? Memory refresher here http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=znx9s60lCQo

Backed by Lance and Levi, who climb like there's no tomorrow, the mountain stages are gonna be sensational.

BTW, Lance didn't do the TT early because of the weather forecast, well it had a bit to do with it, mainly he wanted to do an early recon of the course so he could feed it back to Bruyneel for Contador.

[stephenb]

The one good thing about digital TV :thumbsup: .

TDF and cycling in general is about the only sport I am interested in. Go Aussies, :party2: should be a promising year.

[Chippy]

I've been watching the TDF fanatically for the past 10 years or so. I absolutely love it... the scenery, commentary, and of course Aussies winning stages. Would love to see Evans win it this year, but Contador and co. will be VERY tough to beat of course. Robbie McEwen is my favourite rider, but O'Grady, Rogers, Evans, etc are all great.

I love watching Robbie explode from the pack in the bunched sprints. This will probably be his last year (maybe one more) with a realistic chance of winning another stage. Hope he can do it again!!

[rider]

Astronomy, I have found, is the natural enemy of Cycling.

Its hard to get up at 3:30am to meet the guys for training when you have been up till 1:00am looking at stars.

Then comes the TDF, - 3 weeks of half a dozen bodies strewn around my lounge room in sleeping bags, too much beer and almost no sleep at all.

Hey Chippy, McEwen isn't riding this year because he has just had a knee reconstruction but keep an eye on the pom Cavendish, - very similar style and a great lead-out team, something Robbie has seldom had.

The best part about this years race is the mountain stage on the second to last day. no one can let their guard down with that looming.

Rider

[Enchilada]

Watching Stage 3 now.
Boy, wish I was right now in Marseille in the brilliant Provençal. After the weeks miserable weather here, even a few days being in this part Mediterranean coast would be absolutely great. Really do love this part of the world! :thumbsup:
Really forget only viewing just the race. Better seeing for the landscape and places in France.

Magnifiqué! :)

Go Evans :thumbsup:

[Chippy]

Yeah I just found out about McEwen's knee surgery. Hope he makes it back for next year's tour. I'm NOT a Cavendish (or Boonen) fan, no matter how good they are... LOL

[Nesti]

Stage 3, well what can you say; it seems the entire Pro Peloton has just been taught a major lesson in Belgium road tactics by Team Columbia-Htc; brilliant play, they deserve to win!!! Cavendish, rode and led his team like a TDF winner. He rolled through with his team to establish the break and then directed from the last wheel. I haven't seen that control since the days of Super Mario (Cipolini). McEwen didn't have that.



My little rant:
When a 40-50 strong train drags a break back to 18sec and failed to close the gap, because it failed to keep the pressure on, because it failed to communicate, that's embarracing, that's B Grade racing!!! I bet there was some serious yelling going on in the hotel rooms last night, especially in the Silence-Lotto rooms who failed dismally under pressure. Although I like him and desperately want him to win, I'm sorry, but from a tactical standpoint, I'm now totally convinced that Evans doesn't have what it takes mentally to be a TDF winner. Last year Evans didn't win because he was bounced around by a very strong CSC. His team wasn't strong enough to help. This year Evans HAS a very good team...but where's the leadership, where's the control, where are the decisive moves which separate a TDF winner from a good all-rounder??? You watch the excuses he comes up with when an SBS commentator interviews him. Again, I'm sorry, but it is the truth.

A Pro riders with tour aspirations DOES NOT miss the oldest trick in the European racing book. Armstrong and Cancellara read the play 15km before it happened and positioned themselves accordingly. Contador, Schleck, Evans and Sastre have some serious soul-searching to do, sitting in the ladies lounge reading the paper is not the tactic of a TDF winner.

Personally, I think the use of team radios places more responsibility on the Director Sportif (Mgr's) than on the riders themselves. And even with the radios and on-board TVs, the managers still couldn't position their men. I mean, Armstrong's in the first 1/10th and his own team leader (past-tense if he keeps it up), Contador, is playing scrabble and knocking back martini's with Evans in the middle somewhere...it's a headwind-cross on the flat with 30ks to go, when the road winds to become a cross, it's time for "Full Gas". For those who don't know cycling, that is THE OLDEST trick in road racing...and what's Bruyneel doing, playing virtual scrabble with the boys???

All-in-all, that was one of the best stages of any TDF. It shows the newcomers and reminds the established, that cycling is all about thinking on the fly; communicating and controlling while suffering in the red zone. It has also demonstrated to me that Armstrong still has it in him; using his brain to pick-up an easy 40 seconds and that team managers cannot replace a brain on the saddle...about time!!!

Cheers

[Octane]

I don't have a TV so can't watch it, but, can someone point me to a web page where I can even begin to understand what the race is about? The tactics, strategies, etc? It is seriously all gobbledygook to me. Just like NFL.

Regards,
Humayun

[renormalised]

www.sbs.com.au/tdf (http://www.sbs.com.au/tdf)

[rider]

after the TTT there is .22 of a second between Lance and Spartacus (in the Yellow Jersey).

now that was worth sitting up for!

[Ric]

The two commentators they have are brilliant. I know little to nothing about cycling and the tactics but after listening to those two I actually understand whats going on and why.

That make it very interesting to watch.

[Chippy]

Yeah the commentary on SBS is very good IMO.

It was a major blunder by Evans & Co. in stage 3 and Silence Lotto screwed up again last night in the team time trial. Looking like Tour de Lance again...

[Nesti]

My reiterate previous comments about the difference between Armstrong and Evans.

Lotto: Exactly why did Evans go full gas on the climb, he dropped a team member or two, that's my biggest hate, and that finish was just stupid. The time's taken on the 5th rider, so what's the point in opening up yet another gap??? In the cycling community he looked like a beginner - no seriously, the guy's a tool! Also, why were they so quick to aero-bar after the start, they're not settled, and a touch of wheels cost them.

Bbox Bouygues Telecom: Synchronised crashing looked amazing, 10/10 from me.

Garmin-Slipstream: Dumping 4 riders is very risky - if one of them punctured, they would have been screwed.

Euskatel-Euskadi: My fav on the TTT. Why? They're hill climbers, but they kept together and posted a respectable time.

[MrB]

Yep, risky, but it paid off.
I was cheering them on just coz they had the balls to do it.

[Nesti]

You are right, it was a very calculated risk and it did pay off. Gotta admire guts.

I hear Armstrong commented, he's written-off Evans already.Evans will need to try a Landis breakaway to have any comeback now.

[goober]

I think Armstrong is right about Evans, hard to see him winning from here - and he won't break away... or rather he won't be allowed to get away.

Anyhoo, good to see Mick Rogers back and riding well!

[rider]

Each year I spend a lot of time explaining the tour to non-riding work mates, so for those of you who have an interest, but can’t get the hang of it, this is a précis of the answers to the usual “How does the Tour work?” questions. (other astro-riders feel free to expand)

Riders: Individual riders have particular talents

Sprinters can accelerate quickly and attain very high speeds for short periods of time.
They race for the Green points jersey, which is for the rider who gets the best accumulated results for sprints, which happen both at the end of the day’s race (stage) and also at particular positions during the days racing. Normally they are very bad at climbing mountains, and struggle to make the elimination time on those days.

Lead out men are nearly as fast but can hold the speed for longer, they assist the sprinter by leading him to a good position at the beginning of the sprint and letting him get up to speed whilst hiding in their wind shadow. (drafting)

GC Riders (General Classification) These riders are the strongest all-rounder on the team, they can ride up mountains well, time trial, and are strong riders on the flat stages. The rest of the team work to support them. GC riders are normally the Team leader, unless the team is concentrating solely on the sprinters prize.

Domestiques are riders who are the backbone of the team, they do the majority of the work load, so that the GC rider remains fresh for the big efforts. Domestics ride at the front of the team, and take turns at being the one that is at the front pushing into the wind so that the others don’t have to work as hard. This is called Drafting, - when you ride behind another rider it can save you between 20 and 40 percent of your energy in a long event. Domestiques also get the drinks, food etc and will give their bike to the team leader in an emergency. An exceptional domestique is sometimes better respected and may be better paid than the leader. They will ride so hard some days in support of the leader that they will not be able to keep up after their effort and will lose a lot of time.

Climbers are specialists who are very light and are able to go very fast up-hill. They are not often able to make a sustained effort on the flat, where power to weight ratio is not as important as total power output.

Each team also has a director sportif who is a sort of manager, coach and strategist. He sits in a following car with the mechanic and driver.

Prizes

The major prizes are

The Yellow Jersey: This is for the GC rider who gets right round France in the least accumulated time. By tradition, the winner of a race like the Tour de France splits his cash prize with the members of the team and its staff.

The green Jersey: This is for the sprinter who gets the best accumulated points for results in sprints.

The polkadot Jersey: This is for the Climber who gets the most accumulated points for getting to the top of the mountains first.

The White Jersey: This is for the best new young rider (under 23, I think) who gets right round France in the least accumulated time.
There are also prizes for the first rider to finish each day (a stuffed lion), and the best accumulated team results (yellow numbers the next day.)

Another prize is for the most aggressive rider of the day, this is for the person who put in the most effort to break away, which is where a rider rides out of the front of the main group (peloton) and tries not to be caught.

Timing. When a group of riders finish together they are all given the same time for the stage. This is to stop total carnage when all the riders would want to get through first. (there are 180ish in the tour, and roads are only about 8 riders wide)

In fact, if they do have a prang in the last 3 kms, they are given the same time as the riders they were with before the crash.

[Nesti]

Rider, good explanation. Sums up basics really well.

If I may add a statement about the lead-out men, as I feel these are the 'Un-Sung Heros' of riding. A good lead-out is critical, races are often lost if a lead-out is not fast enough to thin out the pack or not effective in launching the sprinter at exactly the right moment. Buy "thin out the pack", I mean that as the speed increases, riders tend (must) hide in the draft of the rider in front, and the pack thins to just a single rider or perhaps two (often overlapping). Often at about 800m out from the finish you will see 20 riders all in a single file. Pushing the air asside at high speeds very rapidly fades the rider's strength, this is because at about 1km to go, a rider may easily exceed 800W output. A sprint can easily exceed 1000W, but only for a very short time period. So if a lead-out rider can hold 800W from further out, or hold an extra 100W than the next guy, then he can effectively deny the other sprinters and lead-out riders a chance of coming around, this also increases the distance to the lead. It also deters lead-outs forming a second racing line...it's just too fast if done properly.

Every facet of cycling is hard, but the lactic acid doses associated with the lead-out is immense. These lead-out riders, as well as assistants to the climbers are also the riders who are used to reel-in breakaways etc. So the [slang] term used for these riders is Super-Domestiques and it usually takes them years to become that strong.

A lead-out rider, whether that be 2km out or 600m out, are usually good track 1000m riders. This event is called a 'Kilo'. Arguably the most painful event in all of cycling. Here's what Sky Christopheson has to say about riding the Kilo, " My blood was turned into battery acid... I would commonly ride that fine line of losing consciousness."

You must also consider that the lead-out rider has been working all day.

Good article here;
http://www.roadmagazine.net/road_home/featurepdfs/08_Power_October.pdf

[Octane]

rider,

Thank you /so/ much. I learnt more from your post than anything I've seen. I don't have a TV, so can't follow along, but if I do get a chance to catch the highlights I will at least have some idea of what's going on.

Again, thank you!

Regards,
Humayun

[MrB]

Don't worry Humayun, I've been watching TDF for years and I still learnt a thing or two from rider's post! ;)

[Octane]

lol, Simon, I'm glad to read that!

Regards,
Humayun

[rider]

Thanks people,
by the way, watching the the presentation last night I realized I did have one prize wrong in my missive.
The dreaded fluffy lion is actually given to the wearer of the yellow jersey on each day it is won. The winner of the stage actually gets a ubiquitous engraved-perspex-on-a-stand trophy.

oh, and while I wrote about the TDF, the same general things apply to all tours, - only the colours of the jerseys change. for instance the TDF Yellow Jersey is ochre-orange in Australia's Tour down under, and pink in the Giro de Italia

[SkyViking]

Glad to see there are so many fellow Tour enthusiast here!
When I lived in Denmark I used to cycle around Europe every year, up and down the famous mountain climbs carrying a tent and sleeping bag. As I always wanted to go further and into more extreme terrain I ultimately did a 5200km cycle trip through Alaska and Canada during 1 1/2 months in 1999. Saw both black and Grizzly bears, wolves, moose, bald eagles and endless stretches of remote Arctic wilderness. It was absolutely spectacular and truly the best thing I ever did - of course quite a few people I met thought I had a screw loose :P
I only wish I'd had a digital camera back then, the photos would have been so much better.

Oh, and it will be a spectacular TDF stage with finish on Tourmalet tomorrow- can't wait! :D

[goober]

Tourmelet is a monster... they went over it last stage, now they're going back up it (from the opposite direction). Someone will make a move tonight between Schleck and Contodor.

[Octane]

It's going to be amazing. Poor Schleck was robbed!

H

[goober]

I've got mixed feelings about that incident. Schleck attacked, Contodor countered. Schleck's chain came off, and Contodor is expected to sit up? I don't really care, as I think both are amazing athletes, but I was amazed at the vitriol poured on Contodor.

[mithrandir]

There has always been a "gentleman's agreement" not to take advantage of mechanical failures. I forget who the other person was but the commentators mentioned Lance Armstrong waiting for someone one year, and the next year he waited for Armstrong.

They will probably keep booing Contador until he lets Schleck catch up at least the 8 seconds.

[goober]

I understand the agreement, but Schleck's chain came because he attacked ... you push your bike by standing up on a 7% gradient, and things get stressed.

[SkyViking]

Re gentlemans' agreement, if the two of them had been alone in front and one then got a puncture, than yes the other should definitely wait. That's an out-of-the-blue accident and cannot be avoided now and then. And such scenes have played out several times in past years.

But, when the chain comes off it's due to either poor maintenance of the bike or poor use of the bike, both of which are fair enough for a competitor to take advantage of. Of course it's a grey area and one can argue at length over what constitutes fair play in cycling, but I think this was all right. Surely not the most prestigious way to take the jersey but Contador didn't do anything wrong IMHO. I then just hope that if Contador wins in Paris it will be with more than the 38s Scleck lost that day.

Either way, it has so far been great to follow the most unpredictable and dramatic Tour in many years. Finally some real racing rather than the circus of '06 and '07.