Posted on 07/01/2011 7:58:26 PM PDT by Ready4Freddy
” Gawd, I hate to lose Vino, he was riding well on Saturday.
This has definitely been one of the most gruesome Tours I have seen.
I still remember Beloki going down on melting asphalt, causing Armstrong to cyclocross down the side of the mountain. That was a bad crash. But Casartelli hitting the stone wall on d’Aspet, whew, that was such a tragedy.
Dangerous sport, the margin of error doesn’t have to be much to eat it big time.”
Agree.
I cringe when I see the rain and those descents, knowing what it’s like at lower speeds in my for fun rides.
Like many I’ve tasted the tarmac, and wore the shoulder sling recovering from a fractured collarbone....
The way some of the crashers get up and go is a tribute to their determination and dedication.
” Contador: anyone else believe that he sucks this year because he had to stop doping and that his last two TDF wins were dope assisted “
Time will tell when the Schlecks attack and he has to respond.
i think you saw that already. he tried to break away and schleck (i cant remember which one) just effortlessly seemed to hang on his wheel. \
its tough when you quit doping. ask giambi
saw that one. I’m waiting for the tougher climbs when Contador thinks he can regain control of the race.
I think Andy is ready for him, and Frank will do his part to control Contador.
I’d like to see Andy in Yellow in Paris this year.
with you on that one. andy is my pick. althouygh i kind of like the spunk of voelckler. i liked him 10 years ago when he was a rook and put up that epic batle for the yellow.
Right on.
I don’t ride the road that much anymore, mostly off-road.
Dislocated shoulder, broken hand, broken finger, broken ribs, broken elbow, broken leg. I’m not all as clumsy as that might sound like, been at this for 35 years or so. I don’t take chances like I once did, but I still get out there when I can. I used to be quite the risk taker, but I’m too old to spend any more time on the mend.
I hope we have seen the last of the crashes this year, but they got a lot of miles to go.
Stay safe, FReeper.
Even though the crash does look like a typical move somebody makes when they're startled by obstructions in the road (drivers instinctively turn the wheel toward whichever hand is dominant), I'm still hoping somebody did an immediate blood alcohol test on the driver.
I hate to say this, but when I first saw the crash and rewound to try to make out the sign on the car & saw it was a France 2 vehicle, I instantly thought of Princess Diana's crash. The investigation showed her French driver had ingested an ungodly amount of booze in her Parisian hotel's bar downstairs right before she stepped into the car that night.
Evidently Hooglander & Flecha's respective teams are doing their own investigations to be sure their riders' interests are served and at least one of 'em is not ruling out legal action. Via UK's The Guardian, Team Sky May Sue Over Flecha Car Crash
[T]his years race hasn’t been as brutal as you might expect in terms of sending riders home. Through nine stages, 2011 is just a touch above the 15-year-average, and well below what you’d expect for such a full field. Certainly the GC contenders have been overrepresented in the early departures, but that higher visibility doesn’t necessarily reflect a more destructive event... It’s certainly felt like a more dangerous race, and viewer reactions (mine included) have helped foster that sense. But looking at the numbers, it’s pretty clear that reaction is not reflective of a greater number of crashes, but more a result of a greater public awareness of and affection for the athletes involved.
It may be that we're just seeing more of the crashes captured in more spectacularly vivid fashion on camera this year. And it also may be that everybody (players, race commentators & fans at home) have been seriously spooked after Leopard Trek's Wouter Weylandt died at the Giro two months ago. He was the first rider to die in a major tour since since Fabio Casartelli was killed in the 1995 TdF - a lot of the riders in this Tour were toddlers when that one happened. Everyone's on edge since the Giro, so our perspective on the crashes is magnified by that.
But, I did get this story about a doping DQ from Red Badger this morning.
For his sake, i hope his B sample is negative. Five times his salary as a fine? Wow. That is a lot for a young guy like that. Plus he’d lose his job.
Good article from the WSJ:
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052702303812104576439862756666174.html
Yesterday, I met some good friends of Tyler Farrar's family their son was in an accident and Tyler's father put his arm back together. Since then, Tyler's dad was hit by a car and paralyzed during a training ride.
Folks in Wanatchee Washington are up early watching the tour.
Stage 10 - Aurillac > > > Carmaux - 158 km
Tuesday, July 12, 2011
Km 62.5 - Côte de Figeac - 2.3 km climb to 6 % - Category 3
Km 70.5 - Côte de Loupiac - 2.5 km climb to 4.1 % - Category 4
Km 99.5 - Côte de Villefranche-de-Rouergue - 4.1 km climb to 5.9 % - Category 3
Km 143.0 - Côte de Mirandol-Bourgnounac - 3.9 km climb to 4.1 % - Category 4
Stage 10 - Aurillac > > > Carmaux - 158 km
Tuesday, July 12, 2011
En ligne - A sporting perspective
JEAN-FRANÇOIS PESCHEUX’S ANALYSIS: A transition stage towards the Pyrenees
“As the race heads towards the Pyrenees, we will be heading through the Cévennes for two days. These stages are rolling, but lack any significant difficulty. But the heat can take a toll on the riders. The breakaway specialists will be dreaming of victory, as will the specialist sprinters, even though the latter are going to spend the whole day suffering because today’s route is not all flat. After the first rest day, those riders who have not had a good first week and think that they won’t have too many chances beyond this will be determined to show themselves. However, at the same time, the sprinters’ teams will not want to let them slip away. Consequently, we could well see this stage finish in a bunch sprint.”
(letour.com)
Stage 10 - Aurillac > > > Carmaux - 158 km
Tuesday, July 12, 2011
Aurillac
• Stage town on 7 previous occasions
• 30, 000 inhabitants
• Prefecture of Cantal (15)
While it is known that Aurillac got its name from the word Aureliacum, from the Roman house of Aurelius, during the Gallo-Roman era, the history of the city really goes way back to 885AD, when it was built by Count Géraud. A market town on the doorstep of the Midi, Aurillac remains a town of trade and commerce. While dominated by the craft industry for so long, and home to clog makers, goldsmiths, tanners and copperware manufacturers, it was then taken over by the umbrella-making industry, for which the town has become famous. Today the local economy is characterised by a dynamic network of smaller businesses, covering the farm produce, plastics and communications industries. Aurillac is also often falsely accused of being one of France’s coldest places, but in fact it enjoys an average of 2,000 hours of sunshine a year, making it France 21st sunniest town. Situated in the heart of a perfect area for sport and recreation, it is home to two of the world’s biggest cultural events: the Européennes du Goût food festival and the International Festival of Street Theatre.
The prefecture of Cantal is also the historical capital of the umbrella manufacturing industry, but in general the Tour’s cyclists have reached the town without any hitches during the last six stage finishes which have taken place there. Luis Leon Sanchez still has an exceptional memory of the last one, where he won his first stage of the Tour de France in 2008, having left all of his rivals behind in a descent, by using one of his favourite victory tactics. Bradley Wiggins is also a leading figure in Aurillac, since he won a stage of the Tour de l’Avenir there in 2005.
Carmaux
• Stage town for the first time
• 10, 400 inhabitants
• Cantonal subdivision of Tarn (81)
Carmaux was built on a large deposit of coal, where the three rivers – the Cérou, the Céroc and the Candou – meet, and at the crossroad of Ségala, the Pays Albigeois and the Pays Cordais. The town’s mining industry was later joined by a glass-making industry, for a long period making Carmaux a politically charged area of union unrest.
Today, the town has is enjoying a new period of expansion, which includes ambitious projects such as the restructuring of the town centre and the pilot project to replace the roof of the Jean-Jaurès school with one made of solar panels. It is a dynamic town, with more than 80 clubs and societies, and hosts events and festivals all year round, including the Grandes Fêtes de la Saint-Privat, the A Fleur de Peau festival, celebrating world music, and the Biennale des Verriers, held every two years at the town’s glass museum. Carmaux has also been twinned with Neckarsulm in Germany for more than 50 years, while in 2010 it was also twinned with the Italian town of Porcari.
The commune of Tarn played a decisive role in the history of France: it was after the major miners’ strike in 1892 that Jean Jaurès was able to win the seat as the deputy of Carmaux, his first term of office as a Socialist Activist. Now all the town has to do is to crown a renowned cycling champion for its first appearance on the programme of the Tour de France. For the moment only the Tour de l’Avenir has stopped there.
Sorry, guys & gurls, I was out of town and didn’t have internet access **shudder** as I had planned. I even had all my graphics with me ready to post.
Who could have known that the introduction of the first mountain in the Tour de France in 1905 would five years later lead to perhaps the race's most famous quote? And who could have known some Tour peaks encountered for the first time nearly 100 years ago would become today's race monoliths?
It was race founder Henri Desgrange, the person responsible for many Tour innovations, who added several climbs in the Pyrenees to the 1910 race. His goal was simple: increase race excitement to increase circulation of his daily newspaper, L'Auto, which gave vast coverage to the race.
During a two-day stretch, riders in Stage 8 in 1910 endured the rigors of climbing obscure, mountainous dirt roads. Ascents like Aspin, Tourmalet, Aubisque, and Peyresourde were included. Many riders walked with their bikes on some of the difficult sections. Octave Lapize of France got angry. As he progressed past the halfway point of the Col d'Aubisque, Lapize noticed race officials and he spoke his peace in their direction: "You're assassins! All of you!" said Lapize en route to his overall race win.
Lapize's abrupt words have stood the test of time as the race's mountain mantra. Tour riders have a love-hate relationship with the famous and infamous race peaks, and nothing speaks to the severity of the climbs (and to the race directors who devise their ascents) like Lapize's outburst.
Wondered what happened to you! You went MIA for several days! Glad to have you back!
Cavendish beaten in a straight up sprint? Incredible!
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