**SPOILER** TDF finish today

[Dekonick]

Holy cow! What a great finish (sad when a break away gets caught like that...)

Made me think of the old 70's flick rollerball...

Cycling Aussie style! :fight:

:D

Who says flat stages cant be interesting?

[Ray]

Just saw they knocked little Robbie out of the standings for that little head butt (butthead?). Couldn't happen to a more deserving guy. Boonen's amazing.

-Ray

[Dekonick]

he may as well just have reached out and held him or shoved a pump in his spokes...

heh...it did make it interesting to watch to say the least!

Lets hear it for the Belgian!

[andy mac]

c'mon you big pussies!!!

maybe everyone could just hold hands and they could all cross over together and the world would be a really happy place with no losers...

mcewen is paid to win. if he was american you guys would love him.

we should be thankful for the sprinters going at it. otherwise they may as well cut the tour down to a couple of time trials and a few mountain stages.

are you aware why stuie got up robbie's nose?

see report below...

"Francaise des Jeux took over the pace-making, but it was Crédit Agricole who wound up the sprint. Sébastien Hinault drove hard, Jaan Kirsipuu drove harder and Thor Hushovd went along the right-hand barriers with a couple of hundred metres left. As he did, Boonen made his move from seven or eight back, with McEwen stuck right on his wheel.

No one looked likely to catch him, and McEwen’s chances of doing so went when O’Grady moved to the left to pass the fading Hushovd and unwittingly took the space in which McEwen had been intending to make his final effort."

so give the guy a break and go watch ice dancing if you don't like it.

[Ray]

Everything you just described that O'Grady did was "just racing" - he beat Robbie to the spot he'd hoped to use to get around Boonen. Tough ***** for Robbie. Leaning into him woulda been one thing to try to take the position back. But he literally hooked O'Grady with his head and held him back, knocking him out of third. O'Grady had third and McEwen took it by virtue of holding him back - not much different than if he'd just grabbed him. The judges saw it the same way and knocked McEwen out of the placings for today. He wasn't just fighting for position - he was impeding his progress.

I wouldn't have been crying one way or the other, but I think it was the right call by the refs.

-Ray

[andy mac]

totally agree. he went too far and was rightly dinged. just wanted people to know the history leading up to it. it's easy to judge sitting on your butt with the beauty of tivo and a cup of coffee in hand...


here's a question:

how would you ride if that was the only way you put food on the table for your family?

[dave thompson]

here's a question:

how would you ride if that was the only way you put food on the table for your family?
Regardless, one still has to race by the rules, some unwritten.

[andy mac]

you guys sound like he got away with it!

[e-RICHIE]

here's a question:
how would you ride if that was the only way you put food on the table for your family?



i'd get a big tv company to sponsor me and
have my chimeric twin gimme a lead out.
wait - maybe i'd get a The Boys from Brazil
thing going and just lead myself out and then
up the climbs too. what is the word, nontupulets?
an unbeatable team, no?
bananas.
e-RICHIE©™®

[BumbleBeeDave]

. . . that this is just a wild-@ss guess on my part, but I don't THINK he's supposed to be able to do that, is he?

BBDave

____________________

Robbie McEwen of Australia, second left, hits compatriot Stuart O'Grady as they battle in the final sprint of the stage, as Tom Boonen of Belgium, in green at right, speeds to win the third stage of the Tour de France cycling race, Monday, July 4, 2005, between La Chataigneraie and Tours, western France. (AP Photo/Christophe Ena)

[andy mac]

helloooooooo bbd.... hellooo mcfly...

ummmm the judges got him. or did you miss that?

he was relegated, lost a ton of points and maybe any chance at the green.

jeeeeeeze.

maybe your energy would be better spent going after OJ or michael???

c'mon bbd, dave, go work for ally mcbeal and save the world from themselves.

[BumbleBeeDave]

I forgot to insert these after my comment . . . :rolleyes: :rolleyes: :rolleyes: :rolleyes: :rolleyes: :rolleyes:

Of COURSE I knew they relegated him! I work at the GD NEWS-paper, 'fer Pete's Sakes! ;) ;) ;)

BBDave

[musgravecycles]

here's a question:

how would you ride if that was the only way you put food on the table for your family?


The rest of the pro peleton seems to do just fine...

[Kevan]

I don't like riding with Sandy.

He's forever trying to rest his head on MY shoulder.

[dave thompson]

I don't like riding with Sandy.

He's forever trying to rest his head on MY shoulder.
Paul Anka is ringing in my ears.

[Dr. Doofus]

forget about the aussie catfight

if doof was a ds (and he would be sheeyat because he's a doofus fan with a computer who doesn't know anything) boonen would be the guy he would sign first. feb-oct boonen is the best athlete in the sport.

ale-jet won't win the worlds

tornado tom will

[Sandy]

I don't like riding with Sandy.

He's forever trying to rest his head on MY shoulder.

Better than you trying to rest your head on MY shoulder long after we put our bikes away. :)

Head and Shoulders Better Than The Rest,

Shampoo Sandy

[cs124]

snip... feb-oct boonen is the best athlete in the sport.

ale-jet won't win the worlds

tornado tom will

...to "The Doof is always right"

No doubt about it, Tom Boonen is amazing. P-R, RVV and 2 tour stages so far... he's packed a worthy career into 1 season, bravo.

Now, onto the catfight... I've made it no secret that I feel a great affinity for Robbie, we're both cranky little buggers who happen to share a birthday and I've raced against him many years ago at the university (collegiate) championships. I admire his scrappy fighting spirit and his shoot from the hip quotes at the end of races. But today I was just so disappointed and embarrassed by his performance. :(

[BumbleBeeDave]

. . . of Tyson biting Holyfield’s ear in obvious desperation when he realized he‘s done, outclassed, and his day is over. Maybe not a good comparison--Robbie obviously is not “done”--but that is what popped into my mind, nevertheless. Just a world class stupid move. Did he think they wouldn’t notice? Also reminds me of Casagrande getting booted from the Giro a few years ago for getting pissed and running some no-name into the barriers on some climb.

BBDave

[e-RICHIE]

snipped:
Also reminds me of Casagrande getting booted from the Giro a few years ago for getting pissed and running some no-name into the barriers on some climb. BBDave


very lance/simeoni-esque, n'est ce pas?
e-RICHIE©™®

[William]

snipped:



very lance/simeoni-esque, n'est ce pas?
e-RICHIE©™®

Hey,

Don't forget Steels humming water bottles at people during the height a sprint a few years back. :fight:

Stuff happens all the time in a pack sprint, sometimes more blatent, sometimes not. But the Bump-&-Grind is almost always going on.

William

[BumbleBeeDave]

Look at the pic! I think Rowdy Robbie was doing just a BIT more than a "bump and grind!" Why didn't he just wear spiked bracelets and backhand Stewie across the face? Even THAT would have been less obvious than THIS move!

BBDave

[William]

Look at the pic! I think Rowdy Robbie was doing just a BIT more than a "bump and grind!" Why didn't he just wear spiked bracelets and backhand Stewie across the face? Even THAT would have been less obvious than THIS move!

BBDave
Dave-oh pal,

I'm not saying there isn't a blatent infraction to be had here. I'm just pointing out that bumping, pushing, and elbowing go on a lot more then some folks here seem to believe. The majority of the time it's not as blatent as you saw there. Do you folks remember Moncasson (sp?) and Abdujaporov? Those two were always all over the place bouncing off of people and running/pushing people off of wheels. They rarley got called for it. Tom Steels got so PO'ed at one of them that he pulled out his water bottle and hummed it at Fredric (as I remember it) for bouncing him off Chippo or Zabels wheel. Or Abdu zipping across three lanes and bouncing Riis of of Jalabert's wheel....don't believe he was called on that one either.

Again the point to my rambling is that it bumping, pushing, & jostling happens often....but that was a really blatent move and he got busted for it.

William

[sspielman]

snipped:



very lance/simeoni-esque, n'est ce pas?
e-RICHIE©™®

That observation may very well fall under the category of "inconvenient fact"...Anyhow, the race NEEDS robbie MacEwen...after all, he once asked Lance if he wanted to be punched in the mouth. As far as his moves in the sprint go, he was pressing the limits, but Stuey had leaned on him before...he was just giving a little back with interest. Rock on, Robbie.

[e-RICHIE]

[QUOTE=sspielman]That observation may very well fall under the category of "inconvenient fact"...(cut)QUOTE]

i dunno.
i think of it as "skank is as skank does...".
we debated this alot last august. i just don't
buy into the intimidation stuff. its use can
be extrapolated to show what is wrong with
much of human behavior - in sports, at least.

re the sprint itself: have you ever come this
close to knowing what's involved leading up
to those last 100 meters? i think robbie was
just being robbie.
e-RICHIE©™®