Tour de France 2010

[Stan4dSteph]

I saw the end of Stage 8 in Avoriaz, the rest day, and the beginning of Stage 9 in Morzine. Here are some photos:

http://lh3.ggpht.com/_XCylz9tK3iI/TD-GBVx2jcI/AAAAAAAACLQ/_SAfgFNt8bc/s288/IMG_2499.JPG

http://lh6.ggpht.com/_XCylz9tK3iI/TD-GI4ZDXBI/AAAAAAAACL8/SKcCYhTUSt8/s288/IMG_2525.JPG

http://lh4.ggpht.com/_XCylz9tK3iI/TD-GEfvLiAI/AAAAAAAACLg/qOH3yWT-mHk/s288/IMG_2560.JPG

http://lh5.ggpht.com/_XCylz9tK3iI/TD-GutMHBNI/AAAAAAAACNk/wWcEk3qA008/s288/IMG_2638.JPG

Link to the album (http://picasaweb.google.com/steph.wien/Tour201002?authkey=Gv1sRgCOaVr8_7q56JDA#)

[MouseWife]

yay!! Lance!! Sooo bummed about the accidents he had. Were you there when he had those 3 crashes?

I want to see your pics...right now my computer is shutting down for every little darn thing....don't get lost in the shuffle!!

AND Enjoy your trip!!! Wahoo!!!

[alphabassettgrrl]

I'm totally jealous that you're there!!!!! I really want to see the Tour in person. The best we can do right now is TiVo, but we're watching every stage! And I follow a bunch of the racers on Twitter.

[MouseWife]

abg~ I found Lance on Twitter, I just don't get there often. This would be a good time to, though.

Did you see the video on YouTube about his crash? I think it was the second one of that day, the real one. On Versus, the camera only gets to him as he is there getting up off of his bike. On Youtube, it shows him sliding about 25 feet.

Or what about todays incident? The end? I'll wait until you respond in case you haven't seen it.

Oh yes, green with envy. I'd love to be there. The ruins, castles, all of it. I would love to hike about. Ride only on flat surfaces. ;0)

[alphabassettgrrl]

Yeah, I saw the fan video. Ouch.

Today- haven't seen the video yet, but supposedly Renshaw headbutted Julian Dean, which made him unable to lead out his guy. After that, he put one of the other guys into the barriers (*big* no-no). The rule is - in a sprint, everybody holds a straight line. They say he didn't, so he's out.

Where it gets sticky is that a rider who pulls this kind of stunt is not *always* expelled. I'm glad they're going hard on him, but if other riders have got away with it, that's not good.

[MouseWife]

I haven't seen what they decided. I saw them ask him {Renshaw} and he said 'I am a clean rider' but the video totally shows otherwise. Julian Dean was calm about it {I was thinking because he felt they would expell him?} but the rider he pushed into the barriers was not as light about it.

What worries me is that they may let him stay. Did you see the fight that broke out the other day at the end of the race? Those two guys were not expelled. Perhaps they weren't sure who was at fault? I don't know.

[alphabassettgrrl]

I never did hear what the fight was about. Cadel Evans punched at another rider on another of the early stages, toward the finish. Didn't find out what spurred that, either.

So far what I've seen is Renshaw is expelled. Maybe the continued fouls are why they decided to crack down on Renshaw, hoping that further nastiness will be reduced.

Some people are saying Julian Dean did something bad, too, though they're not saying what. I guess he got a fine; so did someone else. I forget who.

Just race, guys, right? Win it clean, or lose it fair. Yeah it stinks to lose, but cheating and fighting and nasty? Does not help the sport, nor your chances to win.

[MouseWife]

Just race, guys, right? Win it clean, or lose it fair. Yeah it stinks to lose, but cheating and fighting and nasty? Does not help the sport, nor your chances to win.



Exactly.

All of the things that happened to Lance and he still kept going. Riding after breaking off your seat in a crash? Um, wouldn't that hurt really bad? :eek:

What did you think about the orange teams handing out of feed bags at that point of the race? Even the commentators said it was a bit odd at that stage. The poor kid who did it looked like 'did I do that???'

I am loving Shleck. {spelling}. Love to see him smile when he is riding. Too bad his brother was injured.

[Ghoulish Delight]

Gotta love those head-to-head battles (http://www.totalprosports.com/2010/07/15/mark-renshaw-expelled-from-tour-de-france-for-headbutting-julian-dean-video/)

[katiesue]

Awesome pix Steph!

[MouseWife]

So, I'm sitting here tonight watching todays TDF. So beautiful. So magnificent the landscapes, buildings.

Then this popped into my mind:

How did Steph manage to be there for this?

I know I haven't been following anyone very closely, I know you go a lot of places. But, how did you wind up there? Are you there for work/school? Vacation?

Do tell and please do share more pictures and any tales you have of the places you've been. Such history there!!!

Thank you for taking the time to share. :0)

[alphabassettgrrl]

All of the things that happened to Lance and he still kept going. Riding after breaking off your seat in a crash? Um, wouldn't that hurt really bad? :eek:

What did you think about the orange teams handing out of feed bags at that point of the race? Even the commentators said it was a bit odd at that stage. The poor kid who did it looked like 'did I do that???'

I am loving Shleck. {spelling}. Love to see him smile when he is riding. Too bad his brother was injured.
Hard to say how hard his crash was, and he was probably disconnected from his bike when the seat broke. It's probably carbon fiber, which doesn't handle impact as well as other materials (I think).

The feed zones are always weird, no matter where they put them.

Love Schleck, too. It always makes me cringe when a rider crashes, in part because they so often *break* things. I saw pictures of Frank with his shoulder in a sling, and he posted on Twitter his x-rays showing the plate in his shoulder.

[MouseWife]

That's true, didn't think about the carbon fiber, so light, but, then more easy to break?

True about the feeding zones. The guy only was doing what he was told. They wouldn't have the bags ready if it weren't time, right?

Poor Frank! I hope Andy does very well {I do wish for Levi to do well, too} but it would be sweet if his brother were there helping him. He is fighting Contador every step of the way.

Weren't he and his brother 2nd and 3rd, maybe last year?

[alphabassettgrrl]

Don't remember but they're usually together.

[scaeagles]

This cycling stuff has turned into the WWF or some form of daytime drama.

LeMond accuses Armstrong of paying big money for someome to implicate LeMond in drug scandals. Landis disgraced and trying to bring other down with him. Armstrong standing firm about his performance enhancing drug-free status. Some cyclist punched another for some reason or another.

Kind of insane.

[MouseWife]

That part is disappointing.

The fighting, I don't think either of them were disqualified. Poor, poor sportsmanship-like behaviour.

And, Lance, I would be disappointed down the line if ever anything came out negative about his accomplishments. I've read about him and it seems his body creates whatever it is that keeps the blood/energy flowing? Something I obviously lack, seriously. I tried to be the 'breakaway' and only got 'so far'. My legs crapped out and that was all I had. It wasn't much. So whatever it is I don't have, he does.

This negative attitude, that is why I don't care much for Contador. Things he has said. Maybe this year he is trying to be more congenial, but, that is just marketing, right?

[alphabassettgrrl]

I sincerely hope Lance is clean. I'd hoped the same for Landis, and apparently I was wrong there.

The fighting this year is unusual and I hope it dies down. Never did hear why the two racers were fighting nor why Evans punched the other coming up to the finish.

I'm kind of glad they sent Renshaw home. Not for the head-butt, though that was dirty, but the way he cut off the sprinter after that. Not cool. Race it clean, boys. I'm feeling less and less positive about Contador. The things he says, the way he talks about other people, and I'm hearing notes on Twitter about something happening today with Schleck, a mechanical, and a breach of informal etiquette. Haven't seen it yet.

[MouseWife]

My husband told me something about Schlecks' chain coming off or something? Yeah, from that Contador won by a matter of seconds {not a minute}.

The things he said about Lance before. I don't like him. Arrogant, cocky. Lance is going to be {or is} 39. To treat him like he can't be considered competition?

I have to say, I saw him speak during an interview. Squeaky little guy. I laughed imagining Lance back at their compound imitating him....sorry, childish but it just cracked me up.

[alphabassettgrrl]

Yeah, I'd heard Andy's chain came off twice; some people think Contador should have waited for him since he's the yellow jersey. I don't see an issue, it's a competition, but the Twitterverse seems to think badly of C for going ahead.

[MouseWife]

The commentators said something about a code of honor or something like that. But, he's never held to it, from what I've seen/heard.

Rick said that Schleck wouldn't speak after the ride. I didn't realize it had come off twice.

Damn but he is a great rider!! He caught up!

[alphabassettgrrl]

Oh, absolutely, he is! Go, Andy!

[MouseWife]

So, I did see that they did get to talk with Andy for a bit. Also, on the Road I.D. page on Facebook, there was a link to an interview with Contador.

On that FB page, people are posting a lot of comments. Some say that Andy should suck it up that he needs to learn how to shift, etc.

Another pointed out how Lance stopped while his competition recovered from a crash.

A lot of interesting comments.

AC says he didn't know. They all wear headsets. Right? I know it is questionable but the guys he wouldn't have lost time as his main rival was/is Shleck.

Is it true they booed him???

[alphabassettgrrl]

I can see the tradition going either way. Sure it's good form to wait for the guy who's having trouble, but on the other hand, it's a competition.

I'd be surprised if Contador didn't know. Yeah, they have radios, but the other riders would have told him, too.

They booed him??? Wow.

[MouseWife]

The commentators this morning discussed it. 3 out of 4 thought he made the wrong choice and one said 'It's a bike race!'. So true. But, if he wins by 30 seconds, how good will that feel?

I just watched the footage of Contador receiving the yellow jersey, you do hear a lot of boos, but, yes, it was probably 50/50 cheers/boos.

Up too darn early this morning, think I'm getting a cold or something, went to bed super early yesterday. Able to actually watch it as it airs!

[alphabassettgrrl]

I love watching it live! :) I think I like the climbs best. Seeing someone just go away off the front is amazing! Then someone tries to catch up, and sometimes they make it.

[MouseWife]

Well, I was watching it live. After hubby went to work {I fell back asleep a bit} he called to talk about who won. I said it's not over. Ah...he had rewound it on the DVR. So, I was behind.

It was a great race!! Yay for Lance!! I won't say more in case you haven't watched yet....

[alphabassettgrrl]

I'm hearing rumors that Lance is going to go for stage wins, and I hope he does. He's not in danger of taking yellow from Andy, so go for it!

[Not Afraid]

He tweeted that this was his last TdF, so I hope he gets a stage win.

[alphabassettgrrl]

Yeah, I hope so, too.

[MouseWife]

He did fantastic yesterday. So close.

[Stan4dSteph]

How did Steph manage to be there for this?I needed to come to France for work, and the timing just worked out well that I could take a few extra days to try to catch the Tour. I've had a goal to see it in person for a while now. I looked at the schedules for the mountains and time trials, and the Morzine-Avoriaz stages worked well. Poked around on the internet to find a place to stay and found an apartment for rent in Avoriaz. It's a ski resort, so there are lots of rentals available there.

If you really want to go, it's best to start planning right when the route is released so you can reserve a place to stay far enough in advance. The only other logistics you need to consider are the road closures affecting access. Those details come out closer to the race though. Hope you get to go sometime! It's a blast.

[MouseWife]

That is awesome, Steph! Thanks for the tips, too! I know watching all of the stages we are in awe and so wanting to be right there!

Great job! ;0)

[Alex]

Out of curiosity, on a normal leg, how much do you actually see? I would assume the vast majority of the pack comes through in just a 10-15 minutes span or is that just a misconception (gah! I just had to rely on spell check to tell me that misperception is not a word; it should be) caused by TV coverage focusing on frontrunners?

Going to a street race in person always seemed kind of like only be able to watch four seconds of the Indy 500. (Not saying there aren't other reasons to see it in person, just curious about that aspect of getting a sense of an actual race.)

[alphabassettgrrl]

Steph, I hope to see it in person one of these years.

Alex, husband and I have gone to see the Tour of California bike race for a few years now. While yes, the official pack comes through in a clump, there's usually a break-away ahead of them, and the waiting and anticipation kind of hype it up, especially if you get in an area where they're announcing the status of the race (like the king of the mountain points or maybe a sprint point). This last time we saw a stage where they did 4 laps of the same course, so we got to see them each time. On that one, they were strung out quite a bit so it was a bit more excitement.

[MouseWife]

So true, you do see much more on t.v. :0) {my selling point for my hubby NOT making it to the motocross race in Washugal this weekend.....}

I think it is just so exciting to be at a race. Of course, in France, so much more!!

[Stan4dSteph]

Out of curiosity, on a normal leg, how much do you actually see? I would assume the vast majority of the pack comes through in just a 10-15 minutes span or is that just a misconception (gah! I just had to rely on spell check to tell me that misperception is not a word; it should be) caused by TV coverage focusing on frontrunners?

Going to a street race in person always seemed kind of like only be able to watch four seconds of the Indy 500. (Not saying there aren't other reasons to see it in person, just curious about that aspect of getting a sense of an actual race.)That's why I decided to focus on mountain stages and time trials. You get more action spread out over time. Stages that end on a climb string out the pack, and generally the riders are going more slowly past you, although they still go a lot faster than you'd think. The prime spots along the mountain are staked out with campers for a couple of days ahead of time with people from all over. It's a pretty crazy, fun scene. For time trials the riders are spaced out to race against the clock, so you see them come by one at a time.

Before the riders get there, the publicity caravan comes through with the sponsors giving away lots of free stuff.

[MouseWife]

I like free stuff!! :D Souvenirs can be sooo expensive! A pen that I can use daily and be reminded of my fun times...a mug.

I do take the pens from hotels. I like to have a bunch, in my car to doodle on the road, give to the kids, etc. It is a nice feeling later when I am looking for a pen and I pick one up that says 'Yosemite Lodge' or 'Disneyland Hotel' or...you get the point. :0)

It's not just 'cause I'm cheap. :0)

[dlrp_bopazot]

We were very very close from each other when i was in Strasbourg ! snif snif next time we should organide a meetup .