Tour de France Stage 9 - Cobbles - Roubaix - SPOILERS

[Buzz]

Originally Posted by oldpotatoe

Maybe cancel the stage if it rains too..
C'mon, bike racing, make 'em race their bike. All on same course, no advantages to anybody. I loved it, would like to see more pave' or dirt stages(LIke Strada Bianchi)...these guys are pampered with vans full of equipment, legions of staff..mix it up!!

Agree. Also, as someone else posted get rid of the race radios.

[bobswire]

Originally Posted by Black Dog

I agree. I would add that the race radios and power meters are also pampering and should be gone. The sport is killing itself by presenting a boring show.

Ditto, true that. I rarely watch it anymore other than in the morning getting ready for the day. I'll watch the highlights later in the day. One of the main reasons I became a fan of cross and classic's,classics are too hard for teams to try and control otherwise you miss the boat like Sagan did on stage 9.

[fignon's barber]

Originally Posted by jdp211

I don't recall the exact number, but per the episode of The Cycling Podcast after stage 9, the Tour has a long history of cobbled stages in the tour. The number that jumps out in my head was that something like 60 or 70 editions of the Tour have featured stages with cobblestones.

In the early days of the Tour/Giro, ALL stages were on pave/gravel/dirt.

[ntkt10]

I don't have a problem with power meters, but the race radio virtually guarantees the break is always caught.

[fignon's barber]

Originally Posted by oldpotatoe

Maybe cancel the stage if it rains too..
C'mon, bike racing, make 'em race their bike. All on same course, no advantages to anybody. I loved it, would like to see more pave' or dirt stages(LIke Strada Bianchi)...these guys are pampered with vans full of equipment, legions of staff..mix it up!!

You're right. It's called the Tour de France, not the Tour de France's smooth climbs. It's a race over all the roads.

[MattTuck]

Originally Posted by FlashUNC

You're just turning sand into mud. Which I don't think is any better. Its Roubaix. There's never a better. Its which way do you want to hit the deck.

The better would be paving them over.

Originally Posted by Lionel

What ???

I was typing on my phone yesterday, and clearly didn't communicate as well as I would have liked.

Not following the meteorological conditions of Northern France that closely, I have to rely on what I heard and read in a few places. Namely, that it had not rained there in 3-4 weeks.

The thin layer of dust that builds up as a result of that length of dry weather is enough to compromise grip compared to 'clean' stones. When I said guys with a broom and a hose, I wasn't suggesting they muddy up the course the morning of the race. I was suggesting that they get out a few days ahead of the race and 'clean' (not to an immaculate standard -- just get that layer of fine dust off) the couple dozen corners on the cobbled sectors, or otherwise entering or leaving the cobbled sectors.

My read on the Tejay crash, having watched it a few days ago, and being majorly sleep deprived, was that the guy entering the cobbled section ahead of him lost his front wheel because of the dusty conditions.

To me, that adds nothing to the race. It is hard enough to race on that surface, under good conditions.

I certainly would also scoff if someone were saying they should come in with water trucks the morning of the race and hose the entire course down.

[FlashUNC]

Originally Posted by Black Dog

I agree. I would add that the race radios and power meters are also pampering and should be gone. The sport is killing itself by presenting a boring show.

We should also limit the amount of water they can drink during a stage, like in the good ol days of the Tour. These wusses and their "hydration."

[Jeff N.]

Originally Posted by jdp211

I don't recall the exact number, but per the episode of The Cycling Podcast after stage 9, the Tour has a long history of cobbled stages in the tour. The number that jumps out in my head was that something like 60 or 70 editions of the Tour have featured stages with cobblestones.

Perhaps, but none that I can remember feature cobbles as long as I've seen in this TdF. And gravel? Absurd. Sorry. If one's idea of a great tour Stage is seeing lots of blowouts and crashes and injuries, then I guess lots of long and unnecessary cobbles and gravel is just the ticket. Let's throw out some broken glass and thumb tacks too! Maybe even a few land mines!

[redir]

Originally Posted by Jeff N.

Perhaps, but none that I can remember feature cobbles as long as I've seen in this TdF. And gravel? Absurd. Sorry. If one's idea of a great tour Stage is seeing lots of blowouts and crashes and injuries, then I guess lots of long and unnecessary cobbles and gravel is just the ticket. Let's throw out some broken glass and thumb tacks too!

Agreed. Screw gravel.