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Official 2009 Le Tour De France Thread
- Thread starter Chris R
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subrock said:rewatching the 99 tour atm. crazy how the sport has turned over in the last decade.
also, shame how some people have let themselves go
I still remember the time where he lost control during a descent and fell off a cliff in 96
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7YCuQsGVV20
perfectchaos007
Member
I remember the tour was broadcast on OLN. Now I don't get OLN because we switched from cable to sattelite a couple years ago 
Is it still broadcast on OLN in the states?
We get the top 150 channels on satelite but I can't find any broadcasting the tour de france.
Is it still broadcast on OLN in the states?
We get the top 150 channels on satelite but I can't find any broadcasting the tour de france.
oof, forgot about this one. what a dumb fuck, doesnt even give him a push when he gets up.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=92xoz4OflxQ
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=92xoz4OflxQ
perfectchaos007 said:I remember the tour was broadcast on OLN. Now I don't get OLN because we switched from cable to sattelite a couple years ago
Is it still broadcast on OLN in the states?
We get the top 150 channels on satelite but I can't find any broadcasting the tour de france.
OLN turned into versus (so look for that instead) a couple years back after some delusions of grandeur thinking they could challenge ESPN in the general sports network market, so yes, sort of.
perfectchaos007
Member
subrock said:
I remember there are some parts of the course that are so steep uphill that an onlooker can run up the hills faster than the cyclist. what if a random fan started pushing the cyclist all the way up the hill, would the cyclist be disqualified?
iamblades said:
thanks. I don't have VS. but I checked the schedule and they aren't airing the tour de france.
Edit: okay they will air round 8 in an hour. I don't know if its live though. Anyways I don't get the channel so it doesn't matter for me lol
perfectchaos007 said:
IIRC they generally do at least like half the stage live in the morning, then repeat the whole stage later in the day a couple times. They don't really have much content, especially this time of year. Cycling and hockey are pretty much the only things worth watching.
well thats why the race officials are there, plus the riders are pretty quick to swat away anyone that gets a little to enthusiastic. the cyclists wants to win on their own merits so someone interfering like that would be treated pretty poorly by the cyclists and the other fans.perfectchaos007 said:
subrock said:
And if by some chance someone can push a guy up a hill long enough to be a serious competitive advantage, I say we need to give that guy the jersey. That's way more impressive than riding a bike.
Anyway, sprinting up a hill for 50 feet or so is one thing, actually pushing another guy up long enough to help him win is superhuman strength.
:lol :lol
This stage is going to be awesome. Some attacking going on now, I'm trying to catch up to some details but it seems like Kloden is being sent as the shark in any breakaway that happens today.
Andy Schleck and Evans in the breakaway but they're not too far ahead. Massive descent after the summit so we'll see how it goes.
Andy Schleck and Evans in the breakaway but they're not too far ahead. Massive descent after the summit so we'll see how it goes.
perfectchaos007
Member
subrock said:
That's just crazy enough to work!
:lol
Sneaky jump by Jefimkin today... He didn't deserve to win after not doing his part in the escape.
Otherwise it was a pretty uneventful stage, nothing changes in the standings.
As a Belgian it's also disappointing to see Stijn Devolder having a pretty bad Tour. I think he arrived in the Bus today, doesn't seem to be working out for him.
Otherwise it was a pretty uneventful stage, nothing changes in the standings.
As a Belgian it's also disappointing to see Stijn Devolder having a pretty bad Tour. I think he arrived in the Bus today, doesn't seem to be working out for him.
Current Standings:
Stage Nine:
Mountain Passes & Hills:
Another HC climb today, but so far from the end of the stage :| Surely any break will be caught/minimized. Also kinda shocked to see Astana out of the team leaders spot, but I have to remind myself that even though they have a bunch of riders in the top ten, the rest of their team needs to put down good times too to retain that spot.
Stage Nine:
Mountain Passes & Hills:
- Km 60.5 - Col d'Aspin - 12.3 km climb to 6.4 % - Category 1
- Km 90.0 - Col du Tourmalet - 17.1 km climb to 7.4 % - Category H
Another HC climb today, but so far from the end of the stage :| Surely any break will be caught/minimized. Also kinda shocked to see Astana out of the team leaders spot, but I have to remind myself that even though they have a bunch of riders in the top ten, the rest of their team needs to put down good times too to retain that spot.
Fail stage, just like yesterday. This is really the downside of it being far more of a commercial spectacle than the Giro. Uphill finishes, which is the only way to finish a mountain stage, are extremely rare. Really the reason why the Giro will probably always be better than the Tour.
MalevolentPanda
Member
Don't see what it has to do with commercial spectacle, but I'm inclined to agree in general. A bit disappointing that there's 3 days in the Pyrenees and only the first one looked likely to change the classification much. I guess they are hoping it's still up for grabs on the Ventoux. And there's not much ITT distance this year so maybe they thought more uphill finishes would be too much benefit to climbers. If it was up to me they'd lose the TTT again. It's great to watch but it has a negative impact on the rest of the race. Riders on strong teams have enough advantage already.Kabouter said:
I don't mind mountain stages that finish with a short fast descent, but it is rubbish when it's so long after the final climb.
captscience
Member
Pretty boring stage today. Too bad we don't have much to look forward to in terms of GC for another week until they reach Verbier.
I just realized why that song in the background in that Nike/Livestrong commercial sounds so familiar. It's the song they used in the Mirror's Edge trailer!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4gWcnkv4bLQ
Mogwai-Autorock
I just realized why that song in the background in that Nike/Livestrong commercial sounds so familiar. It's the song they used in the Mirror's Edge trailer!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4gWcnkv4bLQ
Mogwai-Autorock
Zzz, boring again. Hopefully the alps have some punishment in store. After rewatchjng the '99 tour, this year is fucking childs play. Guess we have to wait a week for another showdown :-/
edit: just watching the end of the 99 tour, after the top of the tourmalet (the last climb before the flat today) there were 2 more climbs afterwards. either the racers or the organizers are pussies this year.
edit: just watching the end of the 99 tour, after the top of the tourmalet (the last climb before the flat today) there were 2 more climbs afterwards. either the racers or the organizers are pussies this year.
MalevolentPanda
Member
To be fair, in '99 the entire peloton was on EPO. There are good reasons for it not to be quite the same.subrock said:
MalevolentPanda
Member
Absolutely disagree. It's definitely not a level playing field, and wouldn't be even if they were all cheating. Said sophisticated methods are very expensive and not everyone has access to them. But I don't believe they're all cheating. Comparing climb times from then to now and looking at the way performances such as the Saunier Duval riders last year stand out suggests things are quite different now.hadareud said:
Hope everyone enjoyed their off day (I know I did!)
Current Standings:
Stage Ten:
Mountain Passes & Hills:
Man the next few days could be really boring Expect the standings to not change very much unless the weather acts up / there is a major crash / selective very ultra bad luck.
Current Standings:
Stage Ten:
Mountain Passes & Hills:
- Km 12.5 - Côte de Salvanet - 1.8 km climb to 4.5 % - Category 4
- Km 27.5 - Côte de Saint-Laurent-les-Eglises - 2.0 km climb to 5.3 % - Category 4
- Km 58.5 - Côte de Bénévent-l'Abbaye - 1.8 km climb to 3.4 % - Category 4
Man the next few days could be really boring
Expect the standings to not change very much unless the weather acts up / there is a major crash / selective very ultra bad luck.It's amazing how terrible the route is this year. Every year I think the ASO couldn't possibly fail harder, but they always manage to. They really need to look at the Giro and learn a little, this year's Giro had a lot of amazing stages, way it's looking now, TdF has one still coming up, maybe two (Verbier). Also, a time trial in Paris on the last day is a much better idea than a 164km victory celebration.
Man I hate these mountain stages that end with a long flat or downhill? what's the point? no wonder nobody bothered to attack.
So far this has rendered two mountain stages (out of 3) useless . and mountain stages is the only reason I watch the tour. (plus individual TT)
So far this has rendered two mountain stages (out of 3) useless . and mountain stages is the only reason I watch the tour. (plus individual TT)
MalevolentPanda said:
Totally agree.
This year I am mad. very mad. I feel I've been taken by greedy incompetent thieves. and I can't understand why Paul and Phil don't say anything. Can't be they agree with tour organizers.
And what's with those "Nature Valley" commercial-free 30 minute segments with a "commercial" blocking just the part of the screen you want to see the most? These bozos don't realize how damaging this is for a brand to be considered so arrogant?
Chrysler one (last stage) was ok though because the annoying commercial didn't stay on the screen the entire time.
Champomade
Member
It is a tradition, a time for riders to celebrate, and a sprint on the Champs-Elysées is always beautiful to watch imo.
sonarrat said:
He even has Aspergers, so he should be a GAF hero.
Cavendish wins quit easily again. Thor has to spend his energy closing a gap that opened up before the sprint. I don't see why Cervelo has absolutely no one up there to help him. Haussler has done absolutely nothing. Cav is so strong that he could never beat him when starting from his back wheel in a flat finish.
Hopefully (who am I kidding) tomorrow's leg isn't another snorefest. And does anyone know if the finishing town tomorrow is pronounced Fargo? :lol
Current Standings:
Stage Eleven:
Mountain Passes & Hills:
Current Standings:
Stage Eleven:
Mountain Passes & Hills:
- Km 45.5 - Côte d'Allogny - 1.5 km climb to 4.5 % - Category 4
- Km 150.0 - Côte de Perreuse - 2.0 km climb to 4.6 % - Category 4
aw jeez. I'll catch the short version of this one tomorrow
on a cycling related note, you know how I said I would die if I attempted a somewhat challenging hill? well I went out and tackled one I've been scared of for a while called Tantalus dr. in Honolulu. climbs 1500ft over 6 miles and I beat that big motherfucker. descending was a blast too. I only hit 60kmh though, I'm no Cancellara.
go me.
on a cycling related note, you know how I said I would die if I attempted a somewhat challenging hill? well I went out and tackled one I've been scared of for a while called Tantalus dr. in Honolulu. climbs 1500ft over 6 miles and I beat that big motherfucker. descending was a blast too. I only hit 60kmh though, I'm no Cancellara.
go me.
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