Comments on: Le Tour one of the few links to sport’s bygone era

By: Bear

Bear — Tue, 21 Jul 2009 00:06:26 +0000

I agree with megatron. A lot of the Tour seems meaningless but every stage tests and weakens the riders. The wear and tear accumulated over a week of flat stages is then brutally exposed when the riders hit the mountains or the TT. There are lots of races that cater to Brian’s request (the Dauphine Libere would be a good example) but it’s the grand tours (Le Tour, the Giro and La Vuelta) that really capture the imagination. Having said that, I agree that a huge chunk of the Tour is very boring. I don’t think I have ever watched a flat stage or a time trial. But the mountain stages!!! I find them as intoxicating as anything in sport. It is a battle of attrition in the truest sense of the word and there is no way to hide. I recently went on a holiday in Switzerland and drove up some of these roads. A 7% gradient sounds like nothing but the roads are very steep and twist all over the place. It’s hard to get out of 2nd gear in a car. I have also heard that it is hard to appreciate just how fast the riders are going when you are watching on TV, although you can get some idea when you see fans trying to run with the riders. They can usually only keep pace for about twenty metres. Being physically present on a mountain stage is also reputedly brilliant as you hear the roar of the crowd from the bottom of the valley, a roar that gets steadily louder as the rider come to wherever you are. Alpe D’Huez routinely attracts one million people. One million!

By: megatron

megatron — Mon, 20 Jul 2009 05:21:08 +0000

Brain I disagree. What makes the race is its distance, the fact that the riders are backing up each day for three weeks. This is what causes the tired legs that make the final mountain stages more interesting and painful

By: Brian

Brian — Mon, 20 Jul 2009 04:58:56 +0000

Its good viewing but watching it you get the impression they could do away with most of it. 4 mountain stages, a time trial and a sprinters stage for the green jersey and you could have exactly the same excitement in one week instead of three. Its great the tour goes accross the countryside and I agree it makes good viewing but claiming its the opposite of modern sport goes a bit far in a competition where the main competitors are European companies and teams don’t bother with names representing their origins, instead just adopting the sponsors name. Kinda like tipping Carlsberg, Samsung or AIG to win the EPL next year.

By: Hammo

Hammo — Mon, 20 Jul 2009 04:03:22 +0000

Yes well the money and lure of Team Astana prevails once again! It’s amazing that you can simply buy a win at Le Tour – but then again, that’s what its all about, making money. Biggest budget, best riders, great management and impressive staff makes for an awesome team. Not to mention best chemists in the world to get that B sample ignored!

Can anyone please tell me why Cadel is still with Silence Lotto? Surely his contract is up given he’s been in the team for more than 5 years. No disrespect to the riders on that team, they are brilliant athletes just to be at Le Tour but why on earth is Cadel still there?

If Cadel was with CSC or Credit Agricole or Caisse D’Epagne last year he would have won by minutes. Instead he is with a team who cannot support him or attack or go with him on the climbs. Cadel is showing he is the strongest domestique in Le Tour dragging his team around all over the French countryside. He is the most rounded cyclist in the Tour over the last 3 years and should have 3 vitories not 2 seconds and perhaps this year finishing outside the top ten!

By: Adrian Musolino

Adrian Musolino — Mon, 20 Jul 2009 03:35:24 +0000

Matt, here are the details – http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/other_sports/cycling/8156974.stm

By: Matt

Matt — Mon, 20 Jul 2009 03:22:19 +0000

Too bad the cricket is on. By the way, riders shot at? When did this happen?

By: Derryn

Derryn — Mon, 20 Jul 2009 00:06:40 +0000

It is great viewing. I am suprised there aren’t more incidents involving the crowd. It does make for a special atmosphere but I wouldn’t be suprised to see a Peter Hoare type serial pest one day knock a top rider off his bike.

Fantastic stage last night. Contador is too strong in the mountains. The only person who has a realistic chance of beating him is Brad Wiggins because of his time trialling capabilities. Phil Liggett and Paul Sherwen have to be up there amongst the best commentators in world sport.

By: megatron

megatron — Sun, 19 Jul 2009 23:58:00 +0000

Can’t see Contador being beaten now although as you say that second to last stage could throw a spanner in the works. Wonder what Armstrong is thinking now?

Agreed that it’s a special and unique event. Congrats to SBS too for their brilliant coverage and making use of their multiple digital channels.