Anyone else following the Tour de France?

[Cazzie]

Besides Dominique! :icon_lol:

Beautiful country-side coverage. This is one of the best reasons for watching a bike race, seeing the country. Many helicopters and much footage. Thunderstorms may happen before the finish today, which now looks to be a sprint finish. A breakaway of four riders are still ahead, but the hounds have cut the pace from over ten minutes to just over four minutes with 36-miles to go.

Tomorrow is a team Time Trial and this year it counts like the old TTTs, the entire winning time is added to each of the individual team rider's time. That is how it should be. Bravo Tour de France!

Lance looks good, but I see no way for him to win unless he has super legs on the three mountain top finishes. And I am afraid that Contador has him matched there and has him beat in the individual Time Trial.

Caz

[FlyTexas]

Yep, I'm watching it. :wiggle: Watching the Tour really gets my fever up to go out and put some serious miles on my bike. :jump:

Brian

[wombat666]

Live coverage in HD here Caz ..... even if the time is bloody uncivilised!
And Armstrong is a 'winner' just by being there.
:applause:

[Cazzie]

Watching now, HD on Versus here too wombat. Cadel and Lotto just went out.

An unreal, narrow, twisty, and scary TTT course.

A very exciting stage yesterday. Lance is on his game, His individual TT is not as good as it once was, but let's see how he handles the three mountain top finishes. The one thing he does have is "smarts".

Caz

[Cazzie]

Wombat, it does not look good for Cadel this year, the deck is stacked against him.

Lotto finished 2:35 behind Askana and that is a big hole to make up in the mountains. And Cadel just does not have the team for the mountains, Askana is too stacked. If he is to do anything, he will have to bite the bit and do it all himself like he did last year.

But Lance is something else. Friday's stage 7 will be a teller, the first mountain stage and an hors category finish in the Pyrenees, the earliest the Tour has hit the harsh mountains in years.

Caz

[Ickie]

I use to follow it till all the yearly doping accusations. Now all I think when I hear about the race, is who's next.

[FlyTexas]

I know how you feel Ickie, but watching the peloton in full flight racing through the beautiful French countryside kinda makes me forget about the juicing problems in the sport...at least for awhile.

Brian

[dominique]

I couldn't take my holidays during the tour this year :banghead: and watching the evening highlights is stale fun, you don't see the French landscape from the air, you don't see the younger "foot soldiers" of the big guys taking their chance escaping the peloton, you don't see the ruses/finesse of the race (LA was not bad yesterday putting Contador in a Catch 22 situation :applause:)


D

[cheezyflier]

i don't really follow it, to me raam http://www.raceacrossamerica.org/raam/home.php?N_webcat_id=1 is a far cooler race. besides, until the uti lightens up and allows recumbents in the tour, doping means nothing. level the playing field and allow it.

[Cazzie]

Bon Jour Dominique, so sad you cannot see the Tour live.

It has been splendid coverage except for the so many interruptions for ads that we have in American TV. If I see that Progressive Pitch Bee-atch one more time, I am going to scream!

But the Tour is such a tactical event, it is just boring to most viewers who do not understand professional cycling. But the country is beautiful and from the helicopters, the views are down right pastoral at times.

As to the juicing, so far, so good this year. But it is done and is still being done in many American sports. And many times we are not just talking performance-enhancing drugs where the NBA and NFL are concerned! Baseball is locking down on performance-enhancing drugs pretty well, let's hope cycling can get it down pat too.

Cheezy, I was a personal friend of Shelby Hayden-Clifton, who won the female RAAM event in 1984 and finished 2nd in 1985. She hailed from Greensboro, NC. I rode with her husband and met them in West Virginia to help along with mechanical duties.

Caz

[cheezyflier]

Cheezy, I was a personal friend of Shelby Hayden-Clifton, who won the female RAAM event in 1984 and finished 2nd in 1985. She hailed from Greensboro, NC. I rode with her husband and met them in West Virginia to help along with mechanical duties.

Caz

very cool! to finish is an awesome feat all in itself. to take first and 2nd is amazing!
the rans team had an awesome finish this year, and as usual recumbents did very well.

[Trans_23]

I watched the first few Races Across America as the race's founder, Lon Haldeman was from my hometown of Harvard, Illinois. Although I didn't personally know Lon I knew of him (went to school with his younger brother). You never saw the man not on a bicycle. I think he won the first three races by many hours. One year that the race went through Harvard, I was on my way home from a late night date and I saw Lon racing through town preceded by the ABC camera crew. The lights for the camera nearly blinding me. Until Cheezy's post I hadn't realized that the race was still being held. Lon must be proud that it has lasted so long and by the looks of the website, has blossomed into an even larger event than it was all those years ago.

[mfitch]

Live coverage in HD here Caz ..... even if the time is bloody uncivilised!
And Armstrong is a 'winner' just by being there.
:applause:

We get no coverage, and the times (local) are always horrible. Nevertheless I get some enjoyment from highlights, and lots of motivation for riding. However, 80 km with a max of about 1000 m climbing elevation is my usual limit. If weather holds I will be out Friday enjoying the beautiful Alaskan scenery.

A local took 3rd in the RAAM a few years ago. He practiced by competing in our local Fireweed 400 (400 miles in one day). Unlike most he competed alone rather than as a relay team. That ride is constant up and down mountain too (Sheep Mountain to Valdez I think). Anyone who can complete these kind of rides earns respect from me.

[demorier]

These early stages have been boring me to death. But I think I'll warm up to it once it gets deeper into the stages. Takes forever to really get going this meeting. Probably lucky I'm something of an insomniac.

[cheezyflier]

the one thing those guys rarely talk about is the saddle sores. if the uti ever ends the ban on recumbents, you'll see more older people competing, and things will change a little.

[Cazzie]

Hey guys and gals, for some good live streaming coverage of the tour without the adverts, go here:

http://atdhe.net/7528/watch-le-tour-de-france-2009

Phil and Paul are calling the event too.

Caz