OT - Tour de France (because I like it)

Submitted by jmdblue on

It's shaping up to be a good Tour.  Cavendish's fall was brutal and it's unfortunate he's out for the race's sake.  Still, there are several up-and-coming sprinters to challenge Greipel and Kittle.  Also it seems there are at least 4 guys who may be able to challenge Froome for the GC... Talanky (nice win at the Dauphine), Van Garderen (Solid BMC team fully supporting him),  Contador (off his doping suspension and looks to have returned to form), and Nibali (great climber in a climber's tour - currently in yellow).  I think Froome will probably lock up the win on the time trial, but that's the penultimate stage.  Lots will happen between now and then.

reshp1

July 7th, 2014 at 11:20 AM ^

Nice to see Jens come out on stage one and announce he's still riding strong by taking the mountains jersey with his signature lone breakaway. He did an interview yesterday where he said Tommy Vockler and he were making fun of the other two in the early breakaway with him for not seeing it coming. Brilliant move by opening his attack at the intermediate sprint. By the time the other two realized he wasn't just going for the sprint, it was already too late.

Sad to see Cav crash out in his mom's home town, but really he's got no one to blame but himself. That was a totally hare brained move on his part, and unnecessary too. I was hoping he'd stay in the race, but that fall looked really bad. I'm glad Gerrans wasn't seriously hurt though.

Stage 2 looked absolutely insane with 9(!) categorized climbs and probably another dozen smaller uncategorized climbs. I was really pulling for Sagan to win it, it's pretty amazing to see a "sprinter" keep up with the best climbers in the world over that last climb (for reference other sprinters like Kittel and Griepel came in 20minutes behind). Too bad none of his teammates were able to make it over together with him. In the end he had to shut down attacks singlehandedly for 4k, and in the end Nibali's attack finally stuck. Still, getting the green jersey is a pretty good consolation prize.

jmdblue

July 7th, 2014 at 11:28 AM ^

Funny thing about the end of yesterday's stage was the way the group behind Nibali knew they couldn't chase without bringing Sagan up with them and handing him the win (and additional green jersey points against their own sprinters).  Gerrans showed a great deal racing with the leaders after his Cav-induced spill.

swalburn

July 7th, 2014 at 11:39 AM ^

I love cycling but seem to enjoy the Tour slightly less each passing year.  I love the one day classics.  That being said Kittel is quite impressive so far.  Sagan would still be my pick for the green jersey though.  He will rack up second place finishes and get points on some stage where all the other sprinters are dropped.  I hope we see fireworks when the race gets to the mountains.

Edit:  Apparently what I predicted happened yesterday.  I need to start paying attention.

reshp1

July 7th, 2014 at 2:26 PM ^

Should be a good tour this year for the GC (I agree some of the previous years turned out pretty boring). Contador and Froome will be going toe to toe and there are a lot of guys just a step down that will battle hard for a podium spot and may even take a shot at the top spot if either of the top guys falter. 5 uphill finishes and a lone, grueling TT on the last day should make for a very interesting final 2 weeks.

medals

July 7th, 2014 at 12:20 PM ^

No need to excuse/apologize for OT TDF coverage.  It is shaping up for a slow few weeks for UM sports and I, for one, welcome discussion here . . . .

snarling wolverine

July 7th, 2014 at 3:39 PM ^

The Tour often has a stage or two that goes through a neighboring country.  Cities love the exposure it offers and lobby to be included.  Since the route changes every year, it's possible to include a visit to another country now and then.  (The constants of the Tour route: it always goes through both the Alps and Pyrenees, it goes clockwise on odd-numbered years and counterclockwise on even-numbered years, and it always ends in Paris.)

Having three consecutive stages in a foreign country is very unusual, though.  This is presumably a one-off deal.

 

 

Leatherstocking Blue

July 8th, 2014 at 8:46 AM ^

Very little money in cycling - Lance Armstrong aside- yet they dope to gain an advantage (really to level the playing field). So does anyone believe with millions of dollars at stake in other sports an athlete wouldn't rub some cream on their shoulder to recover faster? Take baseball: whether it was amphetimines in the 70's, coke in the 80's and various forms of steroids today, by insider accounts, more than half the players use PEDs.  And that is a sport that has very little wear and tear on the body. 

No, cycling is "dirty" only because the governing body goes to great lengths to test the riders. Apply cycling's testing and penalties to any of the money sports and few teams would be able to field a team.

hennesbe

July 7th, 2014 at 6:59 PM ^

I don't watch cycling.  It comes somewhere after soccer.  But i do like to see the old towns they ride through and the beautiful countryside.

reshp1

July 8th, 2014 at 10:44 AM ^

The American announcing team is terrible though, with the exception of Bobkie. Christian Vandevelde has a chance to be ok with some practice, but struggles to get a complete sentence out right now. The "anchor" guy they have with them in the studio (name escapes me at the moment) is a huge douche that knows nothing about cycling. If they're going for a layman's perspective, they've definitely succeeded. The whole "Inside the Race" with Steve Perrino bit is so forced and unnecessary. I guess the post race interviewers (Steve Schlanger and Carolyn Manno) are pretty good. I'm really dreading the day when Phil and/or Paul retire, which is sadly probably sooner rather than later.

Leatherstocking Blue

July 9th, 2014 at 10:35 AM ^

Do they toss it back to the American announcing team for the American audience and the rest of the English-speaking world gets an all Phil and Paul commentary? Either way, at least Phil and Paul are announcing during the mountain climbs when the "bi'riders are on the rivet" and at the end of a stage when the peloton "has the bit between its teeth". I wonder what they could do with a college football game?

ChicagoB1GRed

July 8th, 2014 at 6:22 PM ^

should be the most entertaining stage until the mountains begin in stage 10. Terpstra and Cancellera should be the  favorites. Nobody will win the tour tomorrow, but one of the favorites could lose it. Sorta like watching a NASCAR race, the interest is in who might crash. Seriously, this stage is a severe test of strength and bike handling skills.