Cycling Miscellany

[Moliere]

This notion of gentlemanly rules is very fluid. They do exist, but their contours and limits vary a lot from tour to tour depending on the overall standings and upon the personality (and standing) of le Patron. In Armstrong's years, for example, he absolutely ruled things, so there was some waiting, probably, and he did wait for Ulrich, but it was pretty much his choice. Neither of those examples came at <7k to go when the bunch was winding up for the finish. Plus, even with the wheel change Richie lost 47 seconds at the line. So even though the 2 minute penalty really puts him in an insurmountable hole, the 47 seconds would have hurt him anyway. Moreover, and Hood's article makes this point, they simply broke the rules in an unambiguous and obvious fashion and were rather open and vocal about it. (Porte even bragging about the aid on twitter, although he didn't realize it was illegal when he did so).

I am not offended that the rule exists nor that it was applied here. I think the real problem is that the jury was required to penalize 2 minutes and 200 francs. They should be given more discretion to decide the appropriate penalty. Here, for example, an appropriate penalty might be based on the time that was saved between 'Clarkie's' gesture and the moment Team Sky mechanics (or a teammate) would likely have shown up.

The 200 franc penalty is pretty funny. Isn't that like $250? I know these guys aren't wealthy like an NBA player but they still have money.

[creekster]

I'm sure this still gets debated frequently is certain corners. Did he really wait?! I think he did. I also think that it didn't matter. Armstrong was unstoppable that day. (If you don't remember, this was in 2003 when Armstrong's handlebars snagged on a spectators bibon, causing him to crash. Armstrong later returned the favor on a descent (I believe the following Tour) where Ullrich missed a turn and went into a ditch. In the end, Ullrich won more Tour's than Armstrong, so there's that.

This notion of gentlemanly rules is very fluid. They do exist, but their contours and limits vary a lot from tour to tour depending on the overall standings and upon the personality (and standing) of le Patron. In Armstrong's years, for example, he absolutely ruled things, so there was some waiting, probably, and he did wait for Ulrich, but it was pretty much his choice. Neither of those examples came at <7k to go when the bunch was winding up for the finish. Plus, even with the wheel change Richie lost 47 seconds at the line. So even though the 2 minute penalty really puts him in an insurmountable hole, the 47 seconds would have hurt him anyway. Moreover, and Hood's article makes this point, they simply broke the rules in an unambiguous and obvious fashion and were rather open and vocal about it. (Porte even bragging about the aid on twitter, although he didn't realize it was illegal when he did so).

I am not offended that the rule exists nor that it was applied here. I think the real problem is that the jury was required to penalize 2 minutes and 200 francs. They should be given more discretion to decide the appropriate penalty. Here, for example, an appropriate penalty might be based on the time that was saved between 'Clarkie's' gesture and the moment Team Sky mechanics (or a teammate) would likely have shown up.

[Dwight Schr-ute]

A good take on yesterday's wheel exchange.

http://velonews.competitor.com/2015/...t-again_370969

[Dwight Schr-ute]

That's interesting in light of the fact that it's almost certain the peloton would have slowed down to wait for Porte if they weren't already near the end and trying to catch a break away. Cycling seems to have some "gentlemanly" rules, which aren't written, one being that you shouldn't lose a race due to a mechanical. Didn't Ulrich once stop and wait for Armstrong back in the day?

I'm sure this still gets debated frequently is certain corners. Did he really wait?! I think he did. I also think that it didn't matter. Armstrong was unstoppable that day. (If you don't remember, this was in 2003 when Armstrong's handlebars snagged on a spectators bibon, causing him to crash. Armstrong later returned the favor on a descent (I believe the following Tour) where Ullrich missed a turn and went into a ditch. In the end, Ullrich won more Tour's than Armstrong, so there's that.

[Moliere]

I think it's to maintain the integrity of the team concept. Otherwise you might have rampant abuse of national or ethnic affiliation, exactly as shown by Clarke and Porte here. It has happened a few times before (especially with the Spanish and the basque, as I recall) but that is pretty blatant.

That's interesting in light of the fact that it's almost certain the peloton would have slowed down to wait for Porte if they weren't already near the end and trying to catch a break away. Cycling seems to have some "gentlemanly" rules, which aren't written, one being that you shouldn't lose a race due to a mechanical. Didn't Ulrich once stop and wait for Armstrong back in the day?

[creekster]

Seems like a dumb rule. I wonder what caused it to become a rule.

I think it's to maintain the integrity of the team concept. Otherwise you might have rampant abuse of national or ethnic affiliation, exactly as shown by Clarke and Porte here. It has happened a few times before (especially with the Spanish and the basque, as I recall) but that is pretty blatant.

[Moliere]

Doh!

http://velonews.competitor.com/2015/...as-help_370932

Seems like a dumb rule. I wonder what caused it to become a rule.

[Dwight Schr-ute]

Doh!

http://velonews.competitor.com/2015/...as-help_370932

[bluegoose]

Cycling Miscellany

The Atoc started out the first couple of years in February. Nice idea, but the weather can be pretty iffy that month throughout the state. May was a much better choice, knowing that the weather would be a little more predictable and that they would get a few good riders for the reasons MTB mentioned.

This year they did a public ride/race of the course in conjunction with the main pro race. Not sure of all of the details, but a friend of mine here in town just finished the entire race route today. He logged it all on strava, so it was pretty cool to be able to follow his daily progress. A ton of miles, with a couple of the stages being crazy hard.

He said mount Hamilton was steep, but taking it easy on the lower slopes made the upper parts manageable.

I think it was Friday or Saturdays stage that was a monster. 81 miles with almost 12,000 feet of climbing. He was pretty whooped after that one.

He'll have to reintroduce himself to his family when he gets home. Not only was it a solid week on the road for the race but he was spending up to 20 hours per week training for the last several months. That, on top of being a very busy orthopedic surgeon. Seems pretty crazy to me, but he was happy to have done it and done it well but the sounds of it.

[mtnbiker]

Crazy that the event has gotten big enough that guys like Sagan would leave Europe for it instead of riding the Giro. A nice option to ramp up for the Tour.

Well, they can't be in top form for 3 straight months. Riding the Giro would take too much out of a rider to be a realistic threat in the Tour. Much better to ramp up to top form by riding some shorter races. Wasn't the ToC raced earlier in the year in past years? I think the change to a later date on the calendar has helped to attract talent, too. Seems like they had some pretty awful weather in the past.

[Moliere]

Sagan's victory today was awesome. It was even better given the ride he had yesterday on the mt baldy climb. Very cool of him to have won a semi-decent tour.

[Dwight Schr-ute]

Anyone else following the Giro? Contador went down yesterday in a bad crash right before the finish. Looks like he dislocated his shoulder, but didn't break anything. He got some ice and rest and went back out and rode 264km finishing in 30th place on the day and losing only 3 seconds. Granted it was a flat course, but that is a crazy thing to do on a recently dislocated shoulder. It'll be interesting to see how he does on a serious climb when he has to really get out of the seat and push it.

http://velonews.competitor.com/2015/...est-day_370351

You obviously missed my post in the "Questions for Doctors" thread. Not following closely, just casually. I can't imagine having to spend that much time in the saddle with a dislocated shoulder. They had to make a special pink jersey just so he could put it on. We'll see how well he does coming off the rest day tomorrow.

Also interesting to see the Giro and Tour of California going at the same time. Crazy that the event has gotten big enough that guys like Sagan would leave Europe for it instead of riding the Giro. A nice option to ramp up for the Tour.

[Moliere]

Anyone else following the Giro? Contador went down yesterday in a bad crash right before the finish. Looks like he dislocated his shoulder, but didn't break anything. He got some ice and rest and went back out and rode 264km finishing in 30th place on the day and losing only 3 seconds. Granted it was a flat course, but that is a crazy thing to do on a recently dislocated shoulder. It'll be interesting to see how he does on a serious climb when he has to really get out of the seat and push it.

http://velonews.competitor.com/2015/...est-day_370351

[Moliere]

As the grand tours begin to kickoff, here's one of my all time favorite clips:

[bluegoose]

Here's a good read about Barry bonds current role in the cycling world. Has taken a pro women's team under his wing. Mentions several times that cycling has saved his sanity and even possibly saved his life.

http://espn.go.com/espn/story/_/id/1...shifting-gears