Tour de France 2017

[Garden Kitty]

In advance of the Tour starting tomorrow, here is an interesting article in the NY Times about Taylor Phinney and his recovery from his extensive injuries.

He also tried not to complain. After all, how could he when his father — once so physical that he was nicknamed Thor — was battling Parkinson’s disease and having trouble with his mobility?

“I thought about how my life would be so different without cycling,” Taylor Phinney said in a telephone call on Thursday. “I learned so much about the grand scale of the world and how small the cycling bubble is within this whole scheme of things. And that life would be O.K. for me if I never raced a bike again.”

And of course, the Tour Day Schmalz preview.

 

[MsZem]

Yikes, I've clearly been out of the loop - I barely recognize any of the names anymore!

I wonder if I can watch any of it on the last day (not on the Champs Elysees, that will surely be horrifically crowded).

 

[Garden Kitty]

An article from 2016 by Bonnie Ford talking about Phinney's accident and the impact on then pro cyclist Lucas Euser. It really highlights the emotional toll cycling can take on the riders.

Not the way you want to start your Tour

 

[Garden Kitty]

Outside Online article about the ever interesting Peter Sagan

Sagan trains at altitude near Lake Tahoe and Park City, Utah, and he has a particular fondness for IHOP and muscle cars. A couple of years ago, after he signed a contract with the Tinkoff-Saxo team, reportedly worth between $4.4 million and $6.5 million a year, he started shopping around for a replica of the General Lee from The Dukes of Hazzard. (Apparently, the show is still big in Slovakia.)

 

[NinjaTurtles]

Really disagree with today's decision.

 

[Garden Kitty]

Really disagree with today's decision.

I'm shocked. I turned the tv off right after the stage and just read the news now. I'll have to see how bad the crash was, but it's very unusual for them to take this sort of strong action against such a prominent cyclist and popular rider.

 

[NinjaTurtles]

It was a gruesome crash, but it's fairly obvious IMO that Cav was falling and destabilizing Sagan before the elbow motion.

Watching Cav's head under the one wheel was horrifying.

 

[Garden Kitty]

Now it's confirmed that Cav has pulled out of the race

 

[Vagabond]

A Cool Map Tool for the Tour de France

Lots of fun facts, particularly about where the Tour has gone.

And for the interactive map tool itself, point your browser to Combien de fois le Tour de France a-t-il traversé votre département ?

Don't you love how the French put a space before the question mark?

ETA: Corsica wuzrobbed!

 

[morqet]

It was a gruesome crash, but it's fairly obvious IMO that Cav was falling and destabilizing Sagan before the elbow motion.

Watching Cav's head under the one wheel was horrifying.

Falling because Sagan had cut across his line. Cav was on Demare's wheel, Sagan decides he wants to use Demare as well, moves off his line to the right and forces Cavendish into the barrier. It wasn't really the elbow that he was disqualified for (and I doubt there was anything malicious in it), but it was the reckless and dangerous riding before that. Relevant UCI rule:

2.3.036 Sprints
Riders shall be strictly forbidden to deviate from the lane they selected when launching into the sprint and, in so doing, endangering others.

 

[NinjaTurtles]

Falling because Sagan had cut across his line. Cav was on Demare's wheel, Sagan decides he wants to use Demare as well, moves off his line to the right and forces Cavendish into the barrier. It wasn't really the elbow that he was disqualified for (and I doubt there was anything malicious in it), but it was the reckless and dangerous riding before that. Relevant UCI rule:

2.3.036 Sprints
Riders shall be strictly forbidden to deviate from the lane they selected when launching into the sprint and, in so doing, endangering others.

I know.

Honestly, Demare was the reckless one. He cut across and almost took out Buhanni. Sagan reacted to get on Demare's wheel, which he had to if he was going to have a shot at winning the race. Cav had the same idea, but was behind Sagan, and took the even riskier move of going so close to the wall. He was forcing himself into a gap that essentially closed because of Demare.

This is a gray area of the sport. Sprints are hectic. My real issue is that this punishment is very inconsistent with past similar instances.
While it may be cited that the ruling came down to lanes, Dimension Data pushed for DQ based on the narrative of the elbow being dirty.

It's pretty clear that there are several teams that would have an interest in lobbying for Sagan's DQ. Whose in Green now?

 

[Garden Kitty]

It's pretty clear that there are several teams that would have an interest in lobbying for Sagan's DQ. Whose in Green now?

Demare

 

[Garden Kitty]

So sad about all the crashes on Sunday. I have to start following the green jersey competition more closely now, because it looks like yellow will be a boring competition. But some of my favorite sprinters are gone too.

 

[NinjaTurtles]

Seriously. Worst Tour ever.

 

[Aceon6]

This is actually getting interesting. 10 guys can still win the GC.

 

[MsZem]

I wonder if I can watch any of it on the last day (not on the Champs Elysees, that will surely be horrifically crowded).

I braved the crowds at the Concorde (in the end it wasn't that bad) and got to see the riders do their loops around the Champs Elysees and the Tuilleries. Which was fun

 

[Garden Kitty]

How fun, Zemgirl!

Here's a well written article about Tim Harris and Jos Ryan who run an informal cycling guest house in Belgium that has housed quite a few famous cyclists on their way up the ranks - and lots of others who never made it big.

 

[kedrin]

Thanks for posting, GK. I've been a bit quiet, but I really enjoyed this years tour. More for the 'side races', for want of a better word than the GC race. I really enjoyed watching Team Cannondale rally around Rigoberto Uran and team Sunweb support each other. Also nice to watch Taylor Phinney in his first tour.