OT - Tour de Thread

mhectorgato · Post #1 » by **mhectorgato** » Mon Jul 14, 2008 8:42 pm

I know there are some cycling fans on the site - so hopefully this isn't a conversation between me and myself only.

Congrats to Cadel on getting the Mayo Jaune on a killer stage. Don't know why, but I was genuinely happy for him - and he seemed rather thrilled as well, almost coming to tears.

He was awfully close last year. What a way to come back from a crash yesterday!

Has an Aussie ever wore it on the podium in Paris?

Post #2 » by **TheGlyde** » Mon Jul 14, 2008 11:38 pm

No Aussie has won the tour no... Cadel was our first to even get a top 3 finish...

I hope fhe doesn't wear himself out trying to protect yellow this early... but yeah, I stayed up to nearly 2am for the finish and was yelling at him to cross in under 2:17...

Rest days are good, i need sleep.

mhectorgato · Post #3 » by **mhectorgato** » Tue Jul 15, 2008 1:08 am

TheGlyde wrote:No Aussie has won the tour no... Cadel was our first to even get a top 3 finish...

I hope fhe doesn't wear himself out trying to protect yellow this early... but yeah, I stayed up to nearly 2am for the finish and was yelling at him to cross in under 2:17...

Rest days are good, i need sleep.

I DVR the race every day and then at lunch and after work I watch it.

Ricco was amazing yesterday. It always amazes me how these guys ride for 4, 5 or 6 hours and then have the ability to sprint on flats or to accelerate on the climbs like that.

Any idea what's up with Robbie? Doesn't seem to have it this year so far.

Post #4 » by **TheGlyde** » Tue Jul 15, 2008 1:30 am

mhectorgato wrote:I DVR the race every day and then at lunch and after work I watch it.

Ricco was amazing yesterday. It always amazes me how these guys ride for 4, 5 or 6 hours and then have the ability to sprint on flats or to accelerate on the climbs like that.

I love the tour, and watch it closely every year regardless of what scandals pop up, I enjoy the battle... but yeah, the whole cloud of drugs in cycling always has me wondering... I just try and forget it and watch the race tho.

mhectorgato wrote:Any idea what's up with Robbie? Doesn't seem to have it this year so far.

He has no help for one, the team is totally built around Cadel, his teammates have been instructed to not waste energy on flat stages helping lead out Robbie lol... so I'm sure that is part of it... he might be getting on a bit as well... I dunno.

mhectorgato · Post #5 » by **mhectorgato** » Tue Jul 15, 2008 1:42 am

TheGlyde wrote:He has no help for one, the team is totally built around Cadel, his teammates have been instructed to not waste energy on flat stages helping lead out Robbie lol... so I'm sure that is part of it... he might be getting on a bit as well... I dunno.

But he's been known to follow other teams' lead out on the sprint and then come out of seemingly nowhere to battle for or win the stage.

Maybe he's getting older and is a pedal stroke slower than the kids?

mhectorgato · Post #6 » by **mhectorgato** » Wed Jul 16, 2008 7:54 pm

FYI - great site for cycling photography.

Here's a link to the TdF page:

http://www.grahamwatson.com/2008/tdf/coverpage.html

Post #7 » by **TheGlyde** » Fri Jul 18, 2008 3:44 am

Riccadro Ricco went down for doping today

http://www.letour.com/2008/TDF/LIVE/us/ ... nique.html

As an athlete it really really annoys me that there are still ppl out there in sports trying to cheat their way to the top :banghead:

... They keep trying to clean up cycling but every year of late there seems to be a huge scandal involding someone high in the overall clasification...

MagicHolland · Post #8 » by **MagicHolland** » Fri Jul 18, 2008 10:24 am

They might as well legalize doping, because they all do it..

mhectorgato · Post #9 » by **mhectorgato** » Fri Jul 18, 2008 1:15 pm

TheGlyde wrote:Riccadro Ricco went down for doping today

http://www.letour.com/2008/TDF/LIVE/us/ ... nique.html

As an athlete it really really annoys me that there are still ppl out there in sports trying to cheat their way to the top ... They keep trying to clean up cycling but every year of late there seems to be a huge scandal involding someone high in the overall clasification...

There's no respect for their teammates (as the team withdrew). There's no respect for the competitors. There's no respect for the event. There's no respect for the spectators. There's no respect for the sport either.

Still I love the sport. Still I love the event.

cedric76 · Post #10 » by **cedric76** » Fri Jul 18, 2008 1:20 pm

by the way it is Maillot jaune

Optimus_Steel · Post #11 » by **Optimus_Steel** » Fri Jul 18, 2008 1:21 pm

My uncle is a cyclying nut and he would get cable for like a month or 2 in the summer just to watch the Tour de France, then after it was over he would cancel it. Dont know if he still does this. True story.

mhectorgato · Post #12 » by **mhectorgato** » Fri Jul 18, 2008 2:04 pm

cedric76 wrote:by the way it is Maillot jaune

Merci. Je l'ai orthographié phonétiquement.

mhectorgato · Post #13 » by **mhectorgato** » Fri Jul 18, 2008 2:09 pm

prorl wrote:My uncle is a cyclying nut and he would get cable for like a month or 2 in the summer just to watch the Tour de France, then after it was over he would cancel it. Dont know if he still does this. True story.

You can your nut of an uncle that the same channel (Versus) carries cycling year round. However, other events don't get the same amount of coverage - only on the weekend. But they show stages from the Giro, Vuelta, spring classics - like the Paris-Roubaix - and various other stateside stage/crit races.

cedric76 · Post #14 » by **cedric76** » Fri Jul 18, 2008 2:28 pm

mhectorgato wrote:
cedric76 wrote:by the way it is Maillot jaune

Merci. Je l'ai orthographié phonétiquement.

almost there

but who am i to correct people ;-)

mhectorgato · Post #15 » by **mhectorgato** » Fri Jul 18, 2008 3:10 pm

cedric76 wrote:
mhectorgato wrote:
cedric76 wrote:by the way it is Maillot jaune

Merci. Je l'ai orthographié phonétiquement.

almost there

but who am i to correct people

You can send the correction to Babelfish.Yahoo.com

cedric76 · Post #16 » by **cedric76** » Fri Jul 18, 2008 3:25 pm

You can send the correction to Babelfish.Yahoo.com[/quote]

hope it is a free translator ;-)

mhectorgato · Post #17 » by **mhectorgato** » Fri Jul 18, 2008 3:29 pm

cedric76 wrote:You can send the correction to Babelfish.Yahoo.com

hope it is a free translator ;-)

[/quote]

Oui.

(I took French in school for 1 year. But that was many many many years ago.

mhectorgato · Post #18 » by **mhectorgato** » Fri Jul 18, 2008 5:51 pm

A by product of the earlier doping ... got to wonder about Cavendish ...

I don't think I've seen a bike break like that Specialized of the Gerolsteiner who hit the road furniture at 60k.

mhectorgato · Post #19 » by **mhectorgato** » Wed Jul 23, 2008 12:45 am

That John-Lee Augustyn crash

About 13 seconds into this video:
http://www.bicycle.net/2008/tour-de-fra ... -by-versus

I couldn't imagine how it would be to descend down the mountain at 90+ kph!

It's a feat for a cyclist to do a century (100 miles), and these guys are doing this up the Alps in successive days - 3 H.C. tomorrow including Alpe D'Huez.

Post #20 » by **TheGlyde** » Wed Jul 23, 2008 8:51 am

Yeah that was crazy... wonder if they will drag his bike out as a souvenier lol