Stage 7 Spoiler

[dumbod]

I don't know about you guys but I've just about had it with the anglo-bias of Liggett/Sherwin/Roll. For two days, they harped on how Contador may have lost the TdF by being caught behind a crash due to his inattention. Roll actually said that it wasn't bad luck, it was Contador's fault.

Yesterday and today, Wiggens, Horner and Liepheimer (twice) crash and the collective hand wringing about Sky's and Radio Shack's "bad luck". I've watched these guys for over ten years and, collectively, they taught me much of what I know about pro cycling but I've had it. I may have to watch with the sound off from here on out.

[thegunner]

agreed on all accounts of the anglo-bias from the commentators.

but about that finish... guess the s5 isn't the fastest bike in the world :p

[MattTuck]

I don't know about you guys but I've just about had it with the anglo-bias of Liggett/Sherwin/Roll. For two days, they harped on how Contador may have lost the TdF by being caught behind a crash due to his inattention. Roll actually said that it wasn't bad luck, it was Contador's fault.

Yesterday and today, Wiggens, Horner and Liepheimer (twice) crash and the collective hand wringing about Sky's and Radio Shack's "bad luck". I've watched these guys for over ten years and, collectively, they taught me much of what I know about pro cycling but I've had it. I may have to watch with the sound off from here on out.

Sucks for wiggo, and I hear Horner went to the hospital. Hope he's ok.


As far as the Phil & Paul show, it is sort of like dating a girl. Her 'quirks' are cute at first ("dancing on the pedals!", "oxygen debt!", "the peloton is angry"), but then annoying. I guess you learn to live with them or you move on.

I'd recommend watching the Eurosport feed with the crew there. They are still a little UK centric, but not nearly as bad.

You COULD watch the Versus image with the Eurosport audio feed (which I've done) if you're watching both live. But then you wonder why versus is going to commercial and they're still commentating on the race on Eurosport.

In post race interviews today, they asked Cav what he thought about Wiggin's abandoning, and he's like, "oh ????!" It's a bit more raw than the overly polished versus coverage, ATMO.

[acorn_user]

Count me in the Eurosport camp. It's worth it just to have Sean Kelly. I do miss David Duffield a bit though. There's less information about the countryside and local wines/food than there used to be.

Btw, does anyone know what's going on with HTC complaining about the GC guys showing no respect? Do they mean that the GC guys are crowding the front for the sprinter's teams? Surely this stage showed why they do that....

[MattTuck]

Count me in the Eurosport camp. It's worth it just to have Sean Kelly. I do miss David Duffield a bit though. There's less information about the countryside and local wines/food than there used to be.

Btw, does anyone know what's going on with HTC complaining about the GC guys showing no respect? Do they mean that the GC guys are crowding the front for the sprinter's teams? Surely this stage showed why they do that....


Yes, that is exactly what he's talking about. The problem is that there's sprinters, and their lead out men, and the GC guys, and a guy or two from each team to ride with/support their GC man, and all of a sudden, you have 80% of the peloton that wants to be 'near the front'. Physically and mathematically impossible.

I think that they're upset, because obviously the sprinters feel like it's their day in the sun, and they're being encroached upon. Add to that, the nervous peloton, the narrow roads, etc... and it's just stressful for everyone involved.

The problem with believing that everyone needs to be near the front, is that it just creates more stress and people are riding crazy/aggressive which leads to more crashes. Kind of a vicious circle. I'm not sure what the solution is... other than possibly for the VERY flat stages, to just say that everyone together at 3K gets the same GC time, and the sprinters can then duke it out for points and cash at the finish line...

but clearly, you can't do that for the finishes that end with even a small uphill climb.

[dumbod]

How do you guys get Eurosport in the US?

[MattTuck]

How do you guys get Eurosport in the US?

www.cyclingfans.com click on the link for TDF (it's a picture) and then find the Eurosport link. (you can watch it in french and italian also, I believe)

But that is how I watch the Eurosport feed. It's not as nice as watching in HD on a flatscreen, but no one is wearing a RoadID either.

be prepared though, they still have aerial shots of chateaus and castles.

[tele]

I hear Horner went to the hospital. Hope he's ok.

http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5038/5916502444_9120c26ce7_z.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/62538017@N07/5916502444/)
Apparently a broken nose and concussion, maybe out: http://www.cyclingnews.com/news/concussion-broken-nose-for-horner

[BillG]

Btw, does anyone know what's going on with HTC complaining about the GC guys showing no respect? Do they mean that the GC guys are crowding the front for the sprinter's teams?

Apparently Frank Schleck was fighting Cav for position, which is bizarre. Once they get within the crash zone they should get the hell out of the way.

[ultraman6970]

It is a race not a who is the friendliest team contest. HTC is nervous because they are toasted after the tour, they need to win races so.... those fights for positions always happen and always will, wussies!

Horner tomorrow maybe tonite will have a black eye and his face will be swollen, doubt he will start tomorrow with a broken nose, sad for him.

AS and leopard will have a hell of a job tomorrow because any of the GC guys that runs away AS will be even more toasted in the ITT.

[jpw]

ASO has a lot to answer for. The Tour is starting to have more and more of a Giro feel to it, as if the riders are little more than performing seals required to jump through hoops, juggle balls on their noses, and generally thrill the paying audience with ever more risky feats of daring do. Apparently after last year French television channels got on to ASO to complain about disappointing television audience figures. ASO seems to have responded with the intermediate sprint change chances, difficult rising finishes, and some rather narrow country lanes. Today's stage was a classic example of artificial manipulation with the intermediate sprint only 25km from the finish. How is that 'intermediate'?

My sympathies to Bradley, but I'm sure he'll be back next year, and perhaps AC will still be serving a two year ban at that time.

I saw Farrar being interviewed this morning. He's so.... uninteresting. Cavend_a_sh makes me laugh, and I think the journalists are finally beginning to appreciate his worth... on and off the bike.

Why is Schleck trying to hussle Cav off the HTC train line?

Is Hushovd's bike the ugliest in the peloton?

[Alan]

It would be interesting to compare the dnfs per stage from the Giro to the Tour but this is getting ridiculous. The Giro was hard but this is a crash fest knocking the GC contenders down by a lot every day.

You have to feel for those who have crashed out of the Tour as they spend a lot of their year on training and in a few seconds they are out. Guys like Levi, Wiggins, and Horner have nothing to show for the Tour. Now the guys who lost a minute or two are not in such bad shape. At least guys like Contador and Vandevelde are still in the race.

The race just doesn't feel right to me after all of these crashes. It feels more like a lottery than a race. Maybe I will feed differently after the race hits the mountains but it was a brutal first week. Race winners should be those in the best shape not who win the crash test derby.

Alan

[1happygirl]

Hahaha true about the commentary. I am soooo patient and even I'm getting tired of the Versus coverage. It is a tradition for me but is now, at times, too much.

How did LA do it so long? Peds but ...
Ditto on the lottery aspect and less play (Giro anyone). In all sports, football, soccer, basketball, cycling, (less in the last 3 sports) a strong team and INJURIES plus less play.

Take two football players, both from the same state, Texas. Earl Cambell, Heisman winner, running back for Oilers. No front line defense, in every play, hit hard, overused. Injuries injuries injuries. Short career. In recent years not even walking.


Emmitt Smith, Cowboys. No Heisman finished 9th in voting. Had team protection and little injuries playing pro. After retirement, still walking AND dancing.
In cycling it seems a little more luck but how much is skill and conditioning?

PS Sad to see Horner out so early. That's my boy there. Maybe Karma for the big red R and JB?

[wc1934]

"they harped on how Contador may have lost the TdF by being caught behind a crash due to his inattention. Roll actually said that it wasn't bad luck, it was Contador's fault".


not sure if it was alberto's or Bjarne Riis's fault, but he should NOT have been so far back - why was he not instructed to ride closer to the front - fault or not - it was a mistake that should not have happened.

[1happygirl]

not sure if it was alberto's or Bjarne Riis's fault, but he should NOT have been so far back - why was he not instructed to ride closer to the front - fault or not - it was a mistake that should not have happened.

Oh yeah, better coaching see the opposite example Earl above. Now I'll add this one. Good call.

[dumbod]

"they harped on how Contador may have lost the TdF by being caught behind a crash due to his inattention. Roll actually said that it wasn't bad luck, it was Contador's fault".


not sure if it was alberto's or Bjarne Riis's fault, but he should NOT have been so far back - why was he not instructed to ride closer to the front - fault or not - it was a mistake that should not have happened.

I don't necessarily disagree but you've missed the point. If Contador was to blame then Wiggens was to blame, Horner was to blame and Leipheimer was to blame (twice). They were all riding well back in the peleton and got caught in crashes. You can't blame one rider and excuse the others as "bad luck".