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Le Tour de France (NWT)

Deacon said:
Crazy day. Andy Schelck is out because of a crash involving a spectator and Froome had a crash as well.
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This is what I was talking about.
 
Totally agree that those dudes are bonkers, on of off the PEDs.

I race a bit and can tell you that those dudes are just as otherworldly as if you and I tried to step onto an NBA court and hang in there. We have a few really solid riders around the Piedmont Triad. Some who have been ranked as a "pro" at different times in their lives and can certainly put up pro numbers in terms of watts/kg, 1 hour time trails, etc. And not a single one of them could even hang with the peloton, hiding out in the draft, in one of these TDF stages.

They're averaging 25mph, over cobbles, over 5 hours. And do it for 3 weeks in a row with far less oxygen available in some stages. Come on. That's effing surreal.
 
WhatUTalkinBout Willis said:
Totally agree that those dudes are bonkers, on of off the PEDs.

I race a bit and can tell you that those dudes are just as otherworldly as if you and I tried to step onto an NBA court and hang in there. We have a few really solid riders around the Piedmont Triad. Some who have been ranked as a "pro" at different times in their lives and can certainly put up pro numbers in terms of watts/kg, 1 hour time trails, etc. And not a single one of them could even hang with the peloton, hiding out in the draft, in one of these TDF stages.

They're averaging 25mph, over cobbles, over 5 hours. And do it for 3 weeks in a row with far less oxygen available in some stages. Come on. That's effing surreal.
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I think NBC needs to do a better job of communicating some of this in their telecasts. They are over reliant on time as their measure when I think speed would better communicate to the n00bs watching how impressive these riders are. Much like distance running, it looks too effortless.
 
Deacfreak07 said:
I think NBC needs to do a better job of communicating some of this in their telecasts. They are over reliant on time as their measure when I think speed would better communicate to the n00bs watching how impressive these riders are. Much like distance running, it looks too effortless.
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this must be tough to navigate for announcers, bc you don't want to piss off your die hard fans by talking about #basic shit all telecast
 
TownieDeac said:
this must be tough to navigate for announcers, bc you don't want to piss off your die hard fans by talking about #basic shit all telecast
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I think adding a graphic with speed would be an easy enough fix. Shouldn't bother anyone.
 
Deacfreak07 said:
I think adding a graphic with speed would be an easy enough fix. Shouldn't bother anyone.
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you're still gonna get the plamadonks who are like, pshh i can go 30mph in my car no problem
 
Spot the Wonder said:
I'll admit, I have trouble watching now. I was an Armstrong believer. In spite of the evidence and common sense, I bought his bull shit hook line and sinker. Feel pretty stupid now, but there it is. He wasn't the only cheater, just the best one. Contador and Schleck are racing this year, and they're both dirty. They should just let them all cheat and be done with it.
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yep. I remember reading a book on Lance from his Postal days and I just wanted to believe. it was written when Floyd Landis was on his team and he had an inspiring story, too. so when Floyd won the year after Lance retired I thought it was amazing especially the way he did. then he was stripped and became a fierce critic of Lance and it was all downhill from there.

watching the Tour was a summer ritual with my parents and me (I did my damnedest to avoid spoilers during the day). now I just don't care any more.
 
Deacfreak07 said:
I think adding a graphic with speed would be an easy enough fix. Shouldn't bother anyone.
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I keep saying the same thing. With marathons on TV they are constantly telling us how fast they ran the last mile, etc. Why can't they do the same thing here? Tell us how fast the guys in the breakaway are going as they pull away from the peloton. Tell us how fast the peloton is going and how much they are speeding up as they reel the breakaway in... Etc...
 
They should share that info. I'm a fan if a niche sport, indy car, and I don't care about "dumbed down" commentary. The more people interested, the better.
 
Wow just watched today's stage. Race organizers really tricked it up.
 
Ok so I finally checked the speed from today's stage. From what I am seeing the winner covered 155.5km/96.6 miles in 3:18:xx, so just north of 29mph in the rain, over the cobbles, crashes everywhere, peloton ripped apart. That is insane, mind blown.
 
JimBoeheim said:
Ok so I finally checked the speed from today's stage. From what I am seeing the winner covered 155.5km/96.6 miles in 3:18:xx, so just north of 29mph in the rain, over the cobbles, crashes everywhere, peloton ripped apart. That is insane, mind blown.
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See, that would help the viewing experience.
 
Speed is only one metric in a sport that has a lot of interesting layers. Viewing the TDF is a lot of fun once you understand all of the races within the race. You have to watch a few stages from start to finish to begin getting your arms around it. It helps if you happen to have some interest in riding a road bike. That's when you'll appreciate what these guys are accomplishing. Interestingly cycing can be really fun in your late 40's, 50's and 60's. I began riding about eight years ago and have gotten stronger each year. Once you learn how to conserve energy in a group, you'll be surprised with what you can accomplish. It also leads to a healthier lifestyle as you become painfully aware of how excess weight can slow you down. It's a long and lonely ride home when you get dropped from a group, but that becomes the motivation needed for improvement. Getting better on the bike has turned out to be a lot easier than dropping my golf handicap.
 
can we all just take a moment to understand and appreciate how fucking hard it is to ride an 18% grade? not even race an 18% grade - just physically move yourself up that steep of an incline.
as others have mentioned the speed, hearing the numbers and the watts these guys are pumping out is mind-blowing. personally i feel like i have been hearing them drop the speed of the peloton fairly frequently, but even still- i'd say the average cruiser of a rider is somewhere around 11-13mph. i train/race, and bust my ass to hold ~22-23mph for 5 miles. they're holding upwards of 30mph for HOURS. it's absurd.
 
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