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STAGE 11: IT'S A POLE DANCE! SPOLIERS

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  • STAGE 11: IT'S A POLE DANCE! SPOLIERS

    The Tour de France is a circus. It never ceases to amaze me how unusual it is, as a sporting event. We often hear that sports is such a great leveler, that it reduces the struggles of life to a basic level. How it makes complicated things simple. There is winning and there is not winning. There is person against person, or nation against nation. Sports is a morality play, a didactic experience that is easy to understand.

    But not so for the Tour de France. Everything is different here. Of course there is winning and not winning. In fact, there is a winner everyday. But sometimes, here, not winning is winning (save your energy; let another rider waste his, etc.). Sometimes here winning is losing (Lit all your matches; played outside the team goals, etc.). Sometimes here it is nation against nation, but it is also team sponsor against team sponsor and also person against person. Look at LeTour website, for example, they describe every rider by name, by national heritage and then by team, in small gray scale font. But if two countrymen on different teams try to help each other, they will be penalized. It is a schizophrenic event that has layers upon layers of competitions for prizes, prestige and jobs. It is very French.

    In addition, the event attracts more than its fair share of crazies. We have all grown to know and love Didi Senft, for example, even though the notion of a middle aged guy in red tights and wearing devil horns while brandishing a trident is, honestly, a bit odd. (As an aside, I find Didi’s recent turn to branding for hire to be very American and, well, a little disappointing). But I suspect even Didi would shy away from some of the nuts out there. Have you seen the broad-shouldered swarthy guy dressed in a women’s one piece red bathing suit and wearing a long blonde wig who runs alongside the riders each day? Who does that? What is he trying to say? Only his wig-dresser knows for sure, I suppose.

    Today’s stage was not supposed to be as hard as yesterday or tomorrow’s stage. And yet it saw no fewer than five abandons garnished with the specter of Roman Bardet puking on his bike. Nice. Phil and Paul speculated that this day was too much coming after yesterday’s hard pull to the top. Because I can’t comprehend riding even one of the stages, let alone one every day for three weeks, I cant say if this is likely true or not. But I guess they might know.

    In the end, the lead yellow jersey was escorted to the line by faithful team members (although both Porte and Thomas fell to the side as the tempo quickened) and the other “contenders.” Froome finished together with Teejay and Contador and several others all at once. There was no real movement on the contenders board. Unless, that is, you still consider Nibali a contender (as TV does because they keep listing him as one even). Nibali paced the yellow jersey group up and over the Tourmalet but then shot out the back on the final Cat 3 climb. They should probably put a photo of Nibali’s legs on a milk carton somewhere, because they have definitely gone missing.

    The day belonged to Rafal Majka. A Polish guy who has a couple of rides like this in him in every tour. His ride was impressive, He looked compact and smooth on the bike and never seemed to be in risk of cracking or being caught. Chapeaux to Majka!

    Majka’s normal job is to protect and pace Contador up the big climbs. Given Contador’s not so good day yesterday (described as his worst day ever on a bike) I was a little surprised they let Majka go up the road when the Plateau De Beille looms tomorrow. I wonder if it means that Contador has sort of given up so they are releasing Majka (who won polka dots last year, remember) to try to capture his own glory. Hard to say, but If I was Contador I might prefer Majka keep something in the tank for tomorrow.

    And what was with Valverde pipping the group on the line? Just to get that second or two? I guess it moved him two seconds closer to the podium. But still….

    After a rather promising year last year, the French have once again dropped off the TdF map. Best placed right now is Gallopin in seventh, about 4.5 minutes back from Froome. On the other hand, the Lanterne Rouge is shaping up to be a battle between riders from the Empire. The current holder is Matthews, an Aussie, but he is being threatened by Dowsett, a Brit. They are separated by less than a minute! Tomorrow’s hard day in the Pyrenees will make it tough to keep that lead without going outside of the time limit.

    I note that tomorrow also sees the return of Lance Armstrong to France during the tour. He is participating in a charity ride that will see him ride the courses for stage 13 and 14 the day before the tour gets to them. He thinks everything will be fine whereas the UCI has implied that some irate frenchies might grab him and beat him up. As if. Even so, LA’s decision to ride in this event is a bit suspect, in my mind. But I can see his desire to get on with his life. And at this point the sport is filled with people who were cheating at the same time and in the same way LA cheated, so why is he being singled out for more approbation? Probably because he was such a jerk at the time and because he won. Best to be an almost but not quite cheat (Virenque, I’m talking to you!) rather than a wipe the floor with them cheat. I guess.

    Tomorrow is mostly about the mountains (a cat 2 followed by two cat 1s and then finishing with an HC summit finish) but it also has an intermediate sprint early on where points will be awarded. Greipel will surely try to take the green jersey back from Sagan. But thereafter the stage is turned over to the goats. On to the Plateau de Beille!
    PLesa excuse the tpyos.

  • #2
    This was a fabulous write up. Thanks for doing these, even if they are sporadic.

    Today's stage was fun to watch. That sprint finish up the hill was great and to see the breakaway get caught in the final 20 seconds was heart breaking. Crazy. Also, JC Peraud's crash was something I've never seen before. He just went down...with no one else...in the middle of the peloton. Then he got back on the bike, caught the peloton and eventually finished....looking like this...:yikes:

    "Discipleship is not a spectator sport. We cannot expect to experience the blessing of faith by standing inactive on the sidelines any more than we can experience the benefits of health by sitting on a sofa watching sporting events on television and giving advice to the athletes. And yet for some, “spectator discipleship” is a preferred if not primary way of worshipping." -Pres. Uchtdorf

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    • #3
      The Peraud crash was really disturbing to watch. It was fascinating (and also disturbing) to watch him pedal at 25 mph while a physician was hanging out of a convertible driving next to him, trying to bandage his wounds. It's a unique sport where even with a severe injury, one keeps on playing, receiving medical attention without letting up. I don't envy Peraud when they take off the bandages this evening, or when he wakes up in the morning. I'd take a month off; I certainly wouldn't want to get back on the bike and ride another 100+ miles.

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      • #4
        Originally posted by PaloAltoCougar View Post
        The Peraud crash was really disturbing to watch. It was fascinating (and also disturbing) to watch him pedal at 25 mph while a physician was hanging out of a convertible driving next to him, trying to bandage his wounds. It's a unique sport where even with a severe injury, one keeps on playing, receiving medical attention without letting up. I don't envy Peraud when they take off the bandages this evening, or when he wakes up in the morning. I'd take a month off; I certainly wouldn't want to get back on the bike and ride another 100+ miles.
        I haven't read much on it so I'm still trying to figure out what happened. There wasn't a good camera angle of the crash. In fact hte only camera shot was from teh front and he just came into view as he was rolling on the pavement. It was certainly odd. I wonder if he just clipped someone's back wheel...but when that happens oftentimes the other guy goes down as well. And the fact he didn't taken anyone else down was just weird...or lucky.

        That first crash that took out a bunch of people on day 3 (or was it 2?) was really bad. They will still replay it and just seeing the bikes go tumbling through the grass and people flying through the air....just horrific. Most of these guys are just happy to be riding in the tour. They've trained forever for the shot and it would really suck to have it cut short after just 2.5 days...and I'm sure the thought of the chance going to waste...and a lot of adrenaline...makes them get back on and pedal even with broken bones at times. These guys certainly aren't soccer players.
        "Discipleship is not a spectator sport. We cannot expect to experience the blessing of faith by standing inactive on the sidelines any more than we can experience the benefits of health by sitting on a sofa watching sporting events on television and giving advice to the athletes. And yet for some, “spectator discipleship” is a preferred if not primary way of worshipping." -Pres. Uchtdorf

        Comment


        • #5
          Originally posted by PaloAltoCougar View Post
          The Peraud crash was really disturbing to watch. It was fascinating (and also disturbing) to watch him pedal at 25 mph while a physician was hanging out of a convertible driving next to him, trying to bandage his wounds. It's a unique sport where even with a severe injury, one keeps on playing, receiving medical attention without letting up. I don't envy Peraud when they take off the bandages this evening, or when he wakes up in the morning. I'd take a month off; I certainly wouldn't want to get back on the bike and ride another 100+ miles.
          Peraud's crash really was pretty bad. Every time somebody thinks bike riders are little wimpy dudes they should watch him getting up and riding. It is amazing. Like PAC, if that happened to me I might sell all my bikes and take up knitting. Just imagine being in a car going 25-30 mph and being forced to fall out of the door onto the ground, all while you're wearing nothing but a thin layer of lycra. Yikes.

          I think he probably did clip the guy in front of him. It is probably just like Tony Martin's crash. As you may recall Martin's front wheel clipped the rear wheel of the rider in front. The guy in front did not go down. The riders that also went down in Marint's fall did so because they were pushed sideways or were unable to avoid the pile up. Here, as Moliere noted, it seems the rest of the peloton was just lucky.

          This all having been said, I thought the TV coverage of the race following Peraud's mishap was very revealing of the French character. You can call it the Poulidor syndrome. As you know, the TV feed is not controlled by NBC. Instead, NBC gets the shots the French directors decide to feed it. As soon as Peraud went down, we were treated to virtually non-stop coverage of Peraud for something like 5-10 minutes or more. Without interruption. It was like they lost track of the fact that a bike race was taking place. Instead of at least occasionally peeking back to the break or the peloton, the cameras trained an unblinking gaze on Plucky Peraud and his medical care followed by his wincing ride through the caravan, past the gruppetto and into the peloton. It was an amazing ride to be sure, but less would have been as much if not more. But the French have no current bike riding heroes. The best they can do these days, it seems, is appalud the likes of Tommy Voeckler as he wobbles off on a courageous but decidely doomed break, tongue flapping and bike swaying. Or they can cheer for Tony Gallopin, the Galloping Gaul,who is just hoping to stay in the top ten. Then, suddenly, they have Peraud, who was on the podium last year (Yes, the PODIUM! and frwnch man on the PODIUM!) but who has been a disappointment so far this year, and he is rolling on the pavement. Bloodied but not bowed. But He will not stop. instead, he gets up and rides. And, I think, they love him all the more for it. In fact, they will likely talk about this as much as they would have if he took second place again. So just like their beloved Raymond Poulidor, who finished on the podium five times without winning, and who completed 12 Tours without ever wearing yellow, not even once, and who because of this became one of the most beloved figures in french cycling, so the french cameras could not leave Jean-Christophe Peraud as he struggled back on his bike. Let the rest of the race take care of itself. We have a valiant but non-winning French effort going on here! I love the French.
          PLesa excuse the tpyos.

          Comment


          • #6
            Originally posted by creekster View Post
            Peraud's crash really was pretty bad. Every time somebody thinks bike riders are little wimpy dudes they should watch him getting up and riding. It is amazing. Like PAC, if that happened to me I might sell all my bikes and take up knitting. Just imagine being in a car going 25-30 mph and being forced to fall out of the door onto the ground, all while you're wearing nothing but a thin layer of lycra. Yikes.

            I think he probably did clip the guy in front of him. It is probably just like Tony Martin's crash. As you may recall Martin's front wheel clipped the rear wheel of the rider in front. The guy in front did not go down. The riders that also went down in Marint's fall did so because they were pushed sideways or were unable to avoid the pile up. Here, as Moliere noted, it seems the rest of the peloton was just lucky.

            This all having been said, I thought the TV coverage of the race following Peraud's mishap was very revealing of the French character. You can call it the Poulidor syndrome. As you know, the TV feed is not controlled by NBC. Instead, NBC gets the shots the French directors decide to feed it. As soon as Peraud went down, we were treated to virtually non-stop coverage of Peraud for something like 5-10 minutes or more. Without interruption. It was like they lost track of the fact that a bike race was taking place. Instead of at least occasionally peeking back to the break or the peloton, the cameras trained an unblinking gaze on Plucky Peraud and his medical care followed by his wincing ride through the caravan, past the gruppetto and into the peloton. It was an amazing ride to be sure, but less would have been as much if not more. But the French have no current bike riding heroes. The best they can do these days, it seems, is appalud the likes of Tommy Voeckler as he wobbles off on a courageous but decidely doomed break, tongue flapping and bike swaying. Or they can cheer for Tony Gallopin, the Galloping Gaul,who is just hoping to stay in the top ten. Then, suddenly, they have Peraud, who was on the podium last year (Yes, the PODIUM! and frwnch man on the PODIUM!) but who has been a disappointment so far this year, and he is rolling on the pavement. Bloodied but not bowed. But He will not stop. instead, he gets up and rides. And, I think, they love him all the more for it. In fact, they will likely talk about this as much as they would have if he took second place again. So just like their beloved Raymond Poulidor, who finished on the podium five times without winning, and who completed 12 Tours without ever wearing yellow, not even once, and who because of this became one of the most beloved figures in french cycling, so the french cameras could not leave Jean-Christophe Peraud as he struggled back on his bike. Let the rest of the race take care of itself. We have a valiant but non-winning French effort going on here! I love the French.
            Love it. The board's own Bobke. The visual on little Tom Voeckler was perfect.

            As for Peraud, having cut the cable cord during the short rental stint until the new house is finished, I had to go hunting for it on YouTube after Moulier's post. Searching Peraud crash produces a surprising amount of results. The TT wash out from '13 that knocked him out of the Tour was a tough one. (And really not all that different from today's, just the other side.)

            I know it's easy to try and sniff out the French bias. Like a fresh baguette, of course it's there. My three minute YouTube clip didn't let me witness the heroics back into the pack, but you can bet that had it been Contador, Froome or even Nibali, it likely would have garnered a similar amount of attention. And honestly, I'm glad that they do it. It's the blood that makes the stories. And it's the stories that make the race. Of course, we're all interested in the winners, but that's not why we watch 2 1/2 hours of footage on stages that we know will come down to a bunch sprint. We watch for the suffering. It's what we connect with. The broken tibias and clavicles, the road rashes and the barbed wires. This is why I will continue to watch through the dearth of American contenders, through the darkness of EPO and blood doping. Because in the end, EPO doesn't have any influence on the wounded that pick their broken selves off the asphalt to push them towards the gravitation of the flamme rouge. Yes I will cheer to finish for yellow, polka dots and green, but I will cheer loudest for the red. Even if that blood originated from a 14 year old kid in the Peruvian Andes. Viva le Tour!
            I told him he was a goddamn Nazi Stormtrooper.

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