Tour de France 2008

[Dan Greenstein]

This event cycles off in Brittany Saturday. No Contador, Leipheimer, Klöden, or Jerry. Who do you like?

http://www.steephill.tv/2008/tour-de-france/

[AKKOLADE]

This event cycles off in Brittany Saturday. No Contador, Leipheimer, Klöden, or Jerry. Who do you like?

wait, there's still a tour de france?

[ValenciaQBowl]

I just hope that LeMond beats Hinault, that liar!

[grapesmoker]

Yeah, now that I've been kicked off the tour no one's going to watch it. What a bunch of chumps.

[Tegan]

Did they go ahead and create the plaid jersey for the leading non-roided rider?

[Matt Weiner]

Anyone who thinks there is a single professional-level cyclist or track star who is not juiced should go halves with the Easter Bunny on this bridge I'm trying to unload.

[ValenciaQBowl]

Tyson Gay ain't on the juice. Nor is Bernard Lagat. But maybe the latter isn't a star, unfortunately.

[AKKOLADE]

Tyson Homosexual

Fixed.

[pray for elves]

Tyson Homosexual

Fixed.

I believe you mean "Autocorrected."

[First Chairman]

After 4 hours of cycling, the only important thing to watch is the last 200 meters in stage 1.

I guess I'm hoping Hincapie is still riding... but who knows. Volker is going to get a lot of attention.

I admit this is the only sport where you run away from everyone to attack them...

[Captain Sinico]

... Soccer?

MaS

[cdcarter]

Anyone who thinks there is a single professional-level cyclist or track star who is not juiced should go halves with the Easter Bunny on this bridge I'm trying to unload.

Although it may be the case that Valverde is doping, that's a pretty damn large claim to make, and it's pretty unfair.

[First Chairman]

... Soccer?

That's fair, but you're running towards a goalie... presumably... unless it's an empty net situation.

[First Chairman]

Am I the only one who thinks ITT stands for individual time trial?

Now that it's a rest day, what do we know?
1) You have one dumb rider who thinks he can't get caught doping EPO.
2) Liggett is going to great lengths trying to pump up the excitement about the Tour. Some of it is deserved, but I guess I lack the historical context to know how really exciting the Tour is this year.
3) The prediction game among the Versus commentators is funny for the "bobblehead" graphics.
4) No one on TV has explained the concept of gradient yet. Sure, I'd like to know what a Cat 2 climb consists of, and why there doesn't seem to be a Cat 1 climb anywhere yet.
5) Whatever happened to the team time trial anyway? I like the lack of a prologue, but no TTT?

(BTW, what does ITT stand for in the AHAN Jr. stuff anyway?)

[ValenciaQBowl]

You know, Tom, I had to ask that same question recently: for us old guys, ITT apparently means "In this thread." Not knowing this is not nearly so embarrassing as my assumption when getting e-mails from my nieces years ago and thinking that LOL meant "lots of luck." Sigh.

To the Tour, I've paid less attention the last two years than ever. All the guys I used to care about have retired or been disgraced out of the sport.

But I am interested in the gradient scale, too--how is it that there were two climbs in yesterday's ride that are "beyond classification"? What kind of scale are they using that can't adapt it to these climbs?

PS--if you live in Florida, UF in Gainesville has created a virtual riding experience meant to simulate yesterday's climbs. Put on your tight shorts and check it out.

[cdcarter]

5) Whatever happened to the team time trial anyway? I like the lack of a prologue, but no TTT?

Yea, I was really confused about this one. The team time trial was always a really fun stage to watch. Oh well, just more ridiculous climbs can be had this way.

Bets about how long Evans is going to keep the yellow before Schleck gets him?

[Sen. Estes Kefauver (D-TN)]

thinking that LOL meant "lots of luck."

A girl in my class's mother thought lol meant "little old lady" until sometime last fall.

[Kanga-Rat Murder Society]

5) Whatever happened to the team time trial anyway? I like the lack of a prologue, but no TTT?

Bets about how long Evans is going to keep the yellow before Schleck gets him?

Unfortunately, Schleck is never going to get the yellow jersey. Cadel Evans is way too fast for this to happen and he is the better time trialist. The reason Schleck will not take the lead is suprisingly the lack of the TTT. There is no doubt that Schleck and his Team CSC-Saxo Bank would have won the TTT (Schleck isn't even the best rider on the team). As for now, my final top five will be
1. Cadel Evans
2. Denis Menchov
3. Carlos Sastre
4. Christian Vandevelde
5. Frank Schleck

[Maxwell Sniffingwell]

Vandevelde will finish in the top two - I'm thinking either [1. Vandevelde 2. Not Evans] or [1. Evans 2. Vandevelde].

[Dan Greenstein]

Am I the only one who thinks ITT stands for individual time trial?

Now that it's a rest day, what do we know?
1) You have one dumb rider who thinks he can't get caught doping EPO.
2) Liggett is going to great lengths trying to pump up the excitement about the Tour. Some of it is deserved, but I guess I lack the historical context to know how really exciting the Tour is this year.
3) The prediction game among the Versus commentators is funny for the "bobblehead" graphics.
4) No one on TV has explained the concept of gradient yet. Sure, I'd like to know what a Cat 2 climb consists of, and why there doesn't seem to be a Cat 1 climb anywhere yet.
5) Whatever happened to the team time trial anyway? I like the lack of a prologue, but no TTT?

(BTW, what does ITT stand for in the AHAN Jr. stuff anyway?)

1. Make that two dumb riders. Two guys who have absolutely no reason to dope because they were never going to win anything decide to pump themselves up anyway. But, it is better them than contenders a la Jerry last year.

2. Since I once again work 8-5 and, even if I did work evenings, do not have cable, I have seen only 20 minutes of Versus coverage. I follow text updates at work. I do miss Phil Liggett, but I am able to do just fine with text and the occasional non-Versus video.

It helps that the team I would be cheering for, Astana, is not in the race. I have less of a stake, which means I can just enjoy the action. However, it is great to see an American, Vande Velde, doing so well. I hope he does not pull a Leipheimer and be passive when it is time to make a move.

3. <Eurocentric>You would never see bobbleheads in our coverage. That kind of crap is seen only in America. Americans are so naive. Our sport coverage is pure, not needlessly melodramatic like the NBC Olympics.</Eurocentric>

5. Apparently the team time trial (TTT) was too biased in favor of strong teams, which meant only three or four teams ever had a chance of winning it. This lack of competition is a reason the prologue was ditched this year.

4. Gradient is simply rise over run. A climb with a height difference of 200 meters with a length of 5 kilometers has a gradient of
4%.

Either the Versus crew expects their audience to be very knowledgeable about cycling, or the classification of climbs is a badly-kept secret. It is not the first because in the Kiddie Table coverage with Bob Roll and that other guy, they explain terms that cycling fans already know.

The overwhelming main factor in classifying climbs is height difference. Almost every Cat 4 climb is between 50 and 150 m; Cat 3 is between 150 and 300 m, Cat 2 is between 300 and 600 m, Cat 1 is between 600 and 1000 m, and Hors Categorie is above 1000 m. The Hors Categorie came about because they originally had four categories, but then they decided they wanted a higher category, and Cat 0 would sound stupid.

[AKKOLADE]

I would rather watch people try to escape drug testing than the Tour. Source: http://sports.espn.go.com/oly/tdf2008/n ... id=3499871

Pierre Bordry, the head of the French Anti-Doping Agency (AFLD) that tested Ricco, revealed that the Saunier Duval team leader tried to flee anti-doping officials after the fourth stage on July 8.

"When he knew he was going to be tested, he went off, and it is the escort who caught him," Bordry said Tuesday. "He found himself blocked off. There was a traffic jam of cars and he could not get through the cars."

Bordry said AFLD staff demanded an apology from Ricco.

"We asked him to apologize to the agency and the staff, which he did along with his team director," Bordry said. "We told him that, because of his behavior, we were now going to test him after each stage. He put a target on himself."

After Ricco's positive test, Saunier Duval quit the race. Ricco and teammate Leonardo Piepoli have since been fired.

[Matt Weiner]

I forget...if every rider gets disqualified before the end of the race, does the yellow jersey go to the Speaker of the House, or to the guy who holds the high-score record on Galaga?

[Auks Ran Ova]

I think it goes to the guy with the huge biceps from that stock arrest footage from the Daily Show.

[First Chairman]

I think it goes to the rider for which yellow actually coordinates well as a fashion statement. Or at least someone who isn't afraid of

[Eärendil]

Is it still considered doping if a coach sics an angry hive of on his rider?

[First Chairman]

Well it is over, except for the ceremonial race to Paris. Evans proved that all the experts are wrong again as Sastre found a way to keep his losses low and save the yellow jersey for himself. Schumacher beat Cancellara again to win the second ITT, and Andy Schleck will likely win the Tour in three years should he actually switch teams. Frank Schleck gave up the ghost and finished in 6th overall.

[ValenciaQBowl]

I've only paid cursory attention this year, but I was hoping that Evans or someone else would cut Sastre's lead to under 15 seconds. Had that happened, do you think that the challenger would break tradition and attack on the last day? I would think they'd have to try. And it would be a lot more interesting than the boring "smile and wave" ride.

[First Chairman]

Ah... doubt it. They'll still be honorable and have all the jerseys (except sprinters) enjoy the ride. Unless there's an awful crash or they did a Champs-Elysees time trial (which they never will since Fignon? was beaten by Lemond when they tried).

[ValenciaQBowl]

Right--Laurent Fignon. The guy who looked like Ray Manzarek. Now THAT's when I used to be interested in the Tour. Before 80% of board members were born.

[First Chairman]

Whenever ESPN Classic decides to have the ESPN Classic 2 channel with marathon coverage of past ToF's...

[Maxwell Sniffingwell]

This was a good Tour - I watched every stage on VS - and I'm glad to see a CSC-Saxo Bank guy win. Sastre may not have been the best rider, but CSC-Saxo Bank was so clearly the best in the field that I'm glad one of that team won it.

Andy Schleck (with more experience) and Vande Velde (with a better team) will be dangerous in the future.

[cdcarter]

Yea, as much as I wanted Garmin to win, CSC deserved it. This was a fun tour, although I would love to see the Prologue and TTT to return next year. And maybe a bit better of a doping scandal than that guy who ran from the testers. Great stuff, that.