View Full Version : The Tour de France appreciation thread.
bicycle
06-07-2007, 12:38 PM
I bloody love this bicycle race:)
I bloody love this bicycle race:)
me too:D
bicycle
07-07-2007, 10:21 AM
me too:D
How do you think Robbie Mcewen will fair against pettachi in this years race:)
danielg
07-07-2007, 10:44 AM
What exactly is entertaining about watching men in lyrca pedal like robots for hours? It's not like they even have skill like xc/downhillers have, its just pedal pedal pedal pedal pedal with pathological levels of competitivness.
lottie
07-07-2007, 11:10 AM
i agree- although- each to their own- i cant stand sport- my o/h is obsessed with all sports and i dont see the thrill in watching them,its mind numbing!!! :D
How do you think Robbie Mcewen will fair against pettachi in this years race:)
I don't know. I haven't been watching Robbie's form this year but he seems to be able to pull something special out of the bag in 'le tour' and he is kinda partial to that green jersy :p
danielg, it is not quite as simple as that. I guess you need to be involved in the sport to understand what drives them and to fully understand the finer points. Some, like Robbie, are specialists in the sprint, others excel on the mountain legs, some are time trial specialists, and then you get a team all working together to support their number one rider. It helps if you understand about tactics and teamwork. Take Lance Armstrong for instance. The man was a machine but he did not do it alone. He had the whole team behind him, supporting him, dragging him along, pushing him. Yes it is very competitive but most of the cyclists and triathletes I know are competing against themselves. If they are winners that is good but it is about setting their own personal bests.
Originally Posted by bicycle
How do you think Robbie Mcewen will fair against pettachi in this years race
I don't know. I haven't been watching Robbie's form this year but he seems to be able to pull something special out of the bag in 'le tour' and he is kinda partial to that green jersy :p
Hey bicycle :)
http://www.cyclingnews.com/road/2007//tour07/?id=results/tour071
Stage 1 - Sunday, July 8: London - Canterbury, 203km
McEwen's Canterbury Tale: Robbie's Unbelievable Win
:p:p
cruise4
09-07-2007, 03:47 AM
Wonder if any new drugs will be used?
edelweiss pirate
09-07-2007, 09:36 AM
It's a beautiful thing...... but like everything in our world, it isn't perfect.
bicycle
09-07-2007, 11:17 AM
Hey bicycle :)
http://www.cyclingnews.com/road/2007//tour07/?id=results/tour071
Stage 1 - Sunday, July 8: London - Canterbury, 203km
McEwen's Canterbury Tale: Robbie's Unbelievable Win
:p:p
Yep you where right, I dont know how he does it, at the back after crashing with 5 km to go:eek:
Btw his nemisis pettachi why is he not riding this year:confused:zabel has lost it and I can't think of any other challenges, looks like Its Robbies year:(
Yep you where right, I dont know how he does it, at the back after crashing with 5 km to go:eek:
Btw his nemisis pettachi why is he not riding this year:confused:zabel has lost it and I can't think of any other challenges, looks like Its Robbies year:(
I copied this to post earlier and just went looking for the source. I can't find it yet but will post when I find it :o
Out is green jersey hope Alessandro Petacchi, who used too much asthma medication in the Giro and is facing a possible one-year ban.
Found it :D
http://www.cyclingnews.com/news.php?id=news/2007/jul07/jul06news2
FCI to hear Petacchi in late July
The disciplinary board of the Italian Cycling Federation (FCI) disciplinary commission has set a date for hearing the case of Milram's Alexander Petacchi on July 24 in Rome. Following a hearing on July 4, CONI's anti-doping prosecutor Ettore Torri suggested a one year sentence.
The 33 year-old sprinter had a non-negative test for the asthma drug Salbutamol during this year's Giro d'Italia. Although he had dispensation for the asthma product, the levels that were recorded at the Giro were abnormally high, leading to CONI's investigation.
Petacchi is currently suspended by his Milram team while a verdict is pending. He is also missing this year's Tour de France, which starts in London on Saturday.
Petacchi, who signed the UCI's anti doping charter on Tuesday, could be required to repay a year's salary to the organisation under conditions of the new agreement, should he be found guilty of doping.
bicycle
09-07-2007, 04:37 PM
You even have to be careful at what you choose to eat as the list of banned substances is very long and a bit to strict imo considering what these guys go through over the 3 weeks.
Btw i am, I know it is the law to wear helmets over there but do many cyclists bother?
pierre_jean
09-07-2007, 05:32 PM
I have respect for the runners but this sport is undermined so much by doping that I am not interested any more. Moreover, controls anti doping always have delay on new drugs...
I think that they should finally authorize the doping and make a classification of best produced at the end :D
bicycle
09-07-2007, 06:21 PM
I have respect for the runners but this sport is undermined so much by doping that I am not interested any more. Moreover, controls anti doping always have delay on new drugs...
I think that they should finally authorize the doping and make a classification of best produced at the end :D
I dont know what drug you are on, but you need to chang it as it does'nt seem to be working.
You even have to be careful at what you choose to eat as the list of banned substances is very long and a bit to strict imo considering what these guys go through over the 3 weeks.
Btw i am, I know it is the law to wear helmets over there but do many cyclists bother?
Yes they do. You get kids riding to school with their helmet on their handlebars but every so often they have a police blitz and after a few fines and the wrath of Mum and Dad they usually comply ;) In the Northern Territory it is legal to ride on the footpath or bikepath without a helmet but when on the road, helmets must be worn.
And yes it is true about the banned substances. they have to be sooo careful. Overdosing on asthma medication is just plain dumb. As part of an elite team, he would have been well aware of how much was too much. Although if having an asthma attack, and just trying to breathe it is understandable. He should, however, have fessed up.
pierre_jean, there is a lot of publicity about drugging but the guidelines are very strict and rigidly applied. Most would not jeopardise their career but you will always get the minority to whom winning is more important than pushing their own boundaries. If found guilty of doping, their future is not too rosy. The media blows it up so much that people can be excused for thinking it is more widespread than it is. There are plenty of things that are legal to boost energy levels and combat lactic acid build up.
As bigus dickus said, nothing is perfect and we are finding the cheats in all sport now. It is really sad that winning means that much to them. It should be about doing your best.
I saw the most beautiful example of sportsmanship at a school triathlon. To make up a three girl team, a girl entered who was overweight and not very fit. She was struggling bigtime and was starting the run leg when the rest had finished. She was walking and wheezing, red in the face and not in very good shape. She was determined to finish, so her team mates who had finished, walked with her. They were part of a very competetive school contingent and when word got around of her effort the entire school team ran out to meet her. They all walked back with her, chanting her name and clapping. I had gone and told the guy on the mike what they were doing and he put it over the mike, saying wow what a team. When they came in, almost carrying the girl, who was not up to it but would not quit, everyone there cheered and clapped them. Believe me there were many with tears runnng down their face. Now THAT is sport. :cool:
sport: competition between teams or individuals: fair and honourabe competition
bicycle
09-07-2007, 11:41 PM
Cheers for that info iam.
I have heard it said from many fellow cyclists that helmets will protect at 12 mph impact speed but anything above .........:(
Have you read the book LA Confidential?
Cheers for that info iam.
I have heard it said from many fellow cyclists that helmets will protect at 12 mph impact speed but anything above .........:(
Have you read the book LA Confidential?
No I haven't read it.
Weeell!! Number one grandson rode into the back of a parked car (don't ask)doing about 30kph . He hit it so hard that the bike, a three day old Avanti :rolleyes: folded up and the exhaust embedded in his front tyre. He went headlong onto the gound and his helmet cracked but his head was fine. Imagine what would have happened had he not been wearing a helmet. He came out of it with a broken collar bone and a few bruises.
bicycle
10-07-2007, 12:27 AM
No I haven't read it.
Weeell!! Number one grandson rode into the back of a parked car (don't ask)doing about 30kph . He hit it so hard that the bike, a three day old Avanti :rolleyes: folded up and the exhaust embedded in his front tyre. He went headlong onto the gound and his helmet cracked but his head was fine. Imagine what would have happened had he not been wearing a helmet. He came out of it with a broken collar bone and a few bruises.
Ouch!!! Hmm interesting regarding the helmet, I have not read LA confidential myself but there are some things that dont seem right about Armstrong, he is good freinds with George Bush, he retires at 33! he then sets up a cancer charity making millions for the pharma industry when there are allready cures for cancer being suppresed by the mainstream, I personally think he was groomed for success by the elite, given something very hi-tec that could'nt be detected. But then again I could just be paronoid, and he was just an outstanding cyclist
cruise4
11-07-2007, 02:59 AM
The fat ones should be allowed to take the drugs.
karma19
13-07-2007, 12:03 AM
Riding a bike for a woman is not always the comfortiest thing. lol Maybe taking the drugs does help
Riding a bike for a woman is not always the comfortiest thing. lol Maybe taking the drugs does help
errr!! It is not real comfortable for a man either :eek: :p
and there are no women in le tour de France anyways :)
armoured saint
13-07-2007, 04:35 AM
I was watching it for 3 minutes yesterday on tv. I loved the forest they were riding through.
Screw the riders. The trees were beautiful.
bicycle
13-07-2007, 10:49 AM
Riding a bike for a woman is not always the comfortiest thing. lol Maybe taking the drugs does help
Try riding a recumbent, you wont get saddle sore on one of these and less work in a head wind, also goes a lot faster downhill:D
Recumbent bicycle - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
bicycle
15-07-2007, 09:25 PM
I was watching it for 3 minutes yesterday on tv. I loved the forest they were riding through.
Screw the riders. .
Not all at once I hope:eek:
Anyway I think they will be too tired for that sort of thing, now behave yourself:rolleyes:
karma19
16-07-2007, 06:44 PM
Try riding a recumbent, you wont get saddle sore on one of these and less work in a head wind, also goes a lot faster downhill:D
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Recumbent_bicycle
Now thats more like it.........just need someone to sit at the front and do the pedalling. lol;)
joy division
16-07-2007, 07:41 PM
I bloody love this bicycle race:)
Oh the drug cheats race, yeh great isnt it........
:o
Oh for pete's sake! There are drug cheats everywhere now.
Name me a sport where you don't have a minority of people who are more concerned with winning at all costs than winning as a result of their own hard work.
Are you involved in cycling? Do you know just how stringent their testing is?
cruise4
26-07-2007, 11:19 AM
Terror bombs explode on Tour de France route
Daily Mail
Wednesday, July 25, 2007
Comment: Imagine if Muslims had exploded bombs at a major Western sports event - the media would go ape and everyone would be freaking out about it for weeks, just as they did with the "car bomb" non-events in Britain last month - but if it can't be lumped on "Al-Qaeda" no one cares. Back in January, ETA bombed Madrid airport and it barely even made the news.
FLASHBACK: Terror's Trivial When It's Not Muslims
Two explosions believed to be terrorist bombs have disrupted the Tour de France's Spanish leg.
The devices went off after a bomb threat was received from a caller claiming to represent Basque separatist rebels ETA.
No one was hurt and the race was not called off after the explosions, which came after the caller told a highway authority that ETA had planted several bombs along the route of the Tour de France through the Spanish region of Navarre.
The race had already passed through the area when the blasts occurred, it said.
No police or government officials were immediately available for comment.
ETA, which has killed more than 800 people in four decades of armed struggle for traditional Basque lands in northern Spain and southern France, called off a ceasefire in June.
Comment: Drugs and Bombs... you would have thought this was a winning combination for the media.