It's on NBCSH. Started at 4:29 this morning. I record it and watch at leisure
OT: Tour de France started this morning
- Thread starter zoby
- Start date
And I thought they were holding it on Manhattan and Brooklyn streets recently.
http://www.nycbikemaps.com/maps/manhattan-bike-map/
http://www.nycbikemaps.com/maps/brooklyn-bike-map/
Maybe they will be able to hold it here in a few years since there will be no place for
a car or truck to park or drive on.
https://www.nydailynews.com/new-yor...0190418-v7as7jjcwnbx7lvgixwgkyt72u-story.html
http://www.nycbikemaps.com/maps/manhattan-bike-map/
http://www.nycbikemaps.com/maps/brooklyn-bike-map/
Maybe they will be able to hold it here in a few years since there will be no place for
a car or truck to park or drive on.
https://www.nydailynews.com/new-yor...0190418-v7as7jjcwnbx7lvgixwgkyt72u-story.html
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anon_ivydyf0amkzay
Guest
Driving in NYC is a nightmare. There should be more bike lanes as it's the best way to get around.
Thanks for the heads up, @zoby! I always watch the race when they're ascending Alpe d'Huez so I can see them arrive in the village at the top of the mountain. I went skiing there 25 years ago with some British friends, and the bus we took from Lyon to the village ascended the 21 hairpin turns in a blizzard. From what I could tell I outlasted most of the rest of the bus in being able to look out the window as we climbed, but as we got to about the 12th turn and the turns seemed to get tighter and tighter, and the driver wouldn't slow down to what seemed an appropriate speed because he might not regain traction, I also stopped looking out the window because it was frightening. We couldn't see ten feet out the window but could occasionally see a cliff wall right below us! When we got to the village we thought we had arrived on a sliver of roadway cleared for the bus, but the next morning it turned out we had pulled into a parking lot and the parked cars were covered in six feet of snow. The next day another foot fell while we were skiing, after which we saw a Cat driving up the mountains with A LOT of 1-foot-square tan boxes stacked on a sled it was pulling. We asked our ski guide what those were, and he said, "Dynamite. They launch them into the mountains to control avalanches." We heard dull explosions throughout the day, and all I kept thinking was, What a cool-ass job those two have!
Here's the famous road into the village:
And here's the village:
Here's the famous road into the village:
And here's the village:
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Their sponsor this year is Syringes Are Us!
No Alpe d'Huez stage this year.Thanks for the heads up, @zoby! I always watch the race when they're ascending Alpe d'Huez so I can see them arrive in the village at the top of the mountain. I went skiing there 25 years ago with some British friends, and the bus we took from Lyon to the village ascended the 21 hairpin turns in a blizzard. From what I could tell I outlasted most of the rest of the bus in being able to look out the window as we climbed, but as we got to about the 12th turn and the turns got tighter and tighter and the intervals between them got shorter and shorter, and the driver wouldn't slow down to what seemed an appropriate speed because he might not regain traction, I also stopped looking out the window because it was frightening. We couldn't see ten feet out the window but could occasionally see a cliff wall right below us! When we got to the village we thought we had arrived on a sliver of roadway cleared for the bus, but the next morning it turned out we had pulled into a parking lot and the parked cars were covered in six feet of snow. The next day another foot fell while we were skiing, after which we saw a Cat driving up the mountains with A LOT of 1-foot-square tan boxes stacked on a sled it was pulling. We asked our ski guide what those were, and he said, "Dynamite. They launch them into the mountains to control avalanches." We heard dull explosions throughout the day, and all I kept thinking was, What a cool-ass job those two have!
Here's the famous road into the village:
And here's the village:
It my favorite of the mountain stages as well.
Wow, great Stage 1 of The Tour. Pete Sagan, riding with Bora- Hansgrohe, took the early 20 points for his sprint, but lost in a photo finish by 3 inches to Mike Teunissen with Jumbo-Visma. Two major crashes, knocking out some favorites. Team Time Trials tomorrow.
No real women's tour now. Had Route de France Feminine for a while, but not for last three years.
No real women's tour now. Had Route de France Feminine for a while, but not for last three years.
Yeah, they do it every other year IIRC. I found out the hard way a few years ago when I'd turn on the TV every night to see which stage they were in, and night after night they weren't there. I figured I must've missed it somehow, but later learned it's an every-other-year type of deal.
Back in the 70s and 80s they went there 4 years in a row but haven't done back to back since 94-95. Different starting cities too.
Many of the repeat mountain climbs are historic but Alpe d'Huez is epic. Would like to get there once and also see the finish in Paris. Near the top of the bucket list.
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anon_ivydyf0amkzay
Guest
Probably the least exciting stages of the tour but can be very important. Added value this year they stay in Brussels.
+1
Annual bicycle race to see who is the best doper of the year.
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anon_ivydyf0amkzay
Guest
And what does said title have to do with anyone’s ability to whine about inequality...you know like WNBA players NO one watches except as an ambien substitute bitching they don’t make enough...
My response was sarcasm to a sarcastic post. About inequality men cycling is night and day to women.
There was a famous ride in Philly and the ladies race was half the miles as men but just a one day event.
It's more about opportunities and desire. Mostly opportunity.
Hopefully you desired to make the most of the opportunity to meet some of those ladies. [smoke]
Figure the Olympics is the women's top race, although it's not a grand tour. It's all about sponsorship & marketing, which I don't see happening.
Lol.
Yeah, some of these transgender athletes are ruining things for the women. Too many stories of transgenders taking opportunities away from 'authentic' women, not to mention intersex athletes which is another can of worms.
Agree. Local bike clubs have high % of woman and they ride the same routes and tours. So it's a popular sport. There is really not many avenues for them to turn pro.
Monster news again at Team Time Trials. Jumbo-Visma wins by 20 seconds. Mike Teunissen keeps the yellow jersey. [ and, I believe, the green. but of course he can only wear one so Sagan is wearing green] Teunissen started the Tour as a "domestique", a protector of his team's lead rider. Domestiques are basically offensive lineman. The Tour basically has it's Big Story.
I enjoy watching everyday and a huge fan of the Tour but Time Trials are boring. Team is better than individual. What makes them watchable is the coverage of the area that NBC Sports does so well and listening to Phil Liggett. I forgot who said it yesterday when they went to Liggett the first time and used the phrase "the voice of summer" as the intro. Certainly the voice of July.
And Paul Sherwen is going to be missed greatly this month.
And Paul Sherwen is going to be missed greatly this month.
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LOL. I personally have no interest at all in this. Not just because of the cheating, but also because the team aspect of it make it anything but a true race.
If it were just a bunch of dudes trying to outrace each other through difficult terrains, with no doping or other unnatural physical enhancements, yeah, I think it would be pretty cool.
Enthusiasts, please correct me where I'm wrong.
You're wrong. Lol. Seriously it was the team aspect that drew me into the Tour and other classics. You can't look at it as and individual sport. It isn't. There is a great amount of strategy everyday, every mile because it's a team race. If it was just individuals most races would end up like those on a Velodrome where everyone waits to the end to make a move. Sometimes coming to a complete stop. Nonsense.
American's also only look at who wins the yellow jersey. Europeans still embrace the Olympic model of celebrating the top 3. Plus winners of the mountains, Sprint and young rider. And teams help their mates in all categories.
Yeah, that's my point, too. It's not a race of individuals, it's a team competition, but it's usually not portrayed that way (at least in American media, as you are saying). It sounds like thinking of it that way is why I don't get it. Thanks for the education.
What do you think of all the doping, etc. ? Is it gone from the race now?
Also individual cycling events are single day events. One race and it's over. This is a month long grind and it really has to be a team event.
Only 3 days in and have to give Bob Roll sitting in Sherwen's seat and doing a great job as 2nd to Liggett. Miss him in the studio part as he was very funny and entertaining in that spot but hats off to Roll.
You might like the sprint finish stages. Sprinters are the relatively bulkier guys with too much fast twitch muscle to last in the mountain stages. The sprints are races within the race, and that's where you get your mayhem finishes, crashes and bad blood controversies. You'll see teams trying to block lanes for their top sprinters, maximize drafting etc.
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The Tour could not have been happier with Stage 3. Perfect weather. 134 miles, mostly flat, with four relatively steep hills at the end. Five riders broke out from the Peleton, at one point over 6 mintues in the lead. But when the hills came, all but one faded. Wellen had a 2 minutes lead, got all the hill points, to put himself in the polka dot jersey at the end of the stage. He got off his bike at the top of the hill, exhausted and needing mechanic. Frenchman J. Alaphillpe attacked at the bottom of the hills, over came Wellen at the top, blasted down the hills to win by 26 seconds. France went wild, since this stage began in Beligum, ended in France, and a Frenchman now wears yellow.
Sagan claimed Green for himself, not winning any stage outright, but getting more than enough points to set himself up for winning the Green in 7 Tours. That's Tour Royalty.
Sagan claimed Green for himself, not winning any stage outright, but getting more than enough points to set himself up for winning the Green in 7 Tours. That's Tour Royalty.
Before my time, but I believe there was a Velodrome in either Newark or Jersey City and thousands and thousands of people used to watch bicycle races indoors.
Very interesting, thanks.
Maybe if I saw one of these types of races live, where I could really see and understand how the teams work together, I would appreciate this more. I feel the same way about soccer -- I never appreciated it watching it on TV because I really need to see the entire field to understand what's happening.
Thanks...
I enjoy watching the tour every year. Scenery is amazing and cant imagine riding so hard over so many days.
The one thing i dont like is how each of the cyclists can communicate with the team car. I wish the cyclists had to strategize themselves and with their teammates while on the course. When there is a breakway group they know how far the riders are ahead, who is in the group, etc. Would seem more pure to me if they had to make decisions themselves instead of someone in a car making decisions.
The one thing i dont like is how each of the cyclists can communicate with the team car. I wish the cyclists had to strategize themselves and with their teammates while on the course. When there is a breakway group they know how far the riders are ahead, who is in the group, etc. Would seem more pure to me if they had to make decisions themselves instead of someone in a car making decisions.
