It would have been interesting what would have happened if Froome had a mechanical breakdown on the downhill without a team car immediately to hand.
KudosDave
KudosDave
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Deleted member 4366
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The GC riders become that when they have earned it. The team believe that they're have the best chance of winning out of all the team members, so they organise the team to give him the best chance. Often they crash out in the race, some the team has to come up with plan B and give someone else a chance. If there's two guys in the team that both show they have potential to win, the chances are that one of them will be poached by another team at the end of the season. It's the same in Formula 1. There's normally a preferred championship winner.
This Tour de France racing is more exciting than F1 because there's a lot more going on with the tactics and interrelationships as well as the skill of the rider in racing down slippery windy roads at speeds of up to 70 mph on skinny tyres with rim brakes. F1 would become more similar to bike racing if there were say 6 drivers in each team. That would make it interesting.
Don't forget also that in the TdF, there's two time trial days, where the riders are completely on there own. That's where they make the biggest time differences, so your GC rider has to be the best racer on his own with the ability to at least keep up with the best on the long hill-climbs and have the stamina to be able to sprint at the end of a 200km ride.
This Tour de France racing is more exciting than F1 because there's a lot more going on with the tactics and interrelationships as well as the skill of the rider in racing down slippery windy roads at speeds of up to 70 mph on skinny tyres with rim brakes. F1 would become more similar to bike racing if there were say 6 drivers in each team. That would make it interesting.
Don't forget also that in the TdF, there's two time trial days, where the riders are completely on there own. That's where they make the biggest time differences, so your GC rider has to be the best racer on his own with the ability to at least keep up with the best on the long hill-climbs and have the stamina to be able to sprint at the end of a 200km ride.
Just watching it now...why are their back wheels covered like that??..the spokes/wheel are sorta covered..dunno how to explain it really/....have a look..
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It's a time trial today, so they need maximum speed and streamlining. the covered wheels have less drag. You'll see that their clothing and helmets are different as well to reduce drag, and their bikes are completely different to what they had yesterday.
ah....i see..thanks..i noticed the different helmets..gonna miss watching this when it,s over...tour of britland in September I think...looking forward to it... im hooked...
There was one Tour on TV that actually outdid the Tour de France for sheer spectacle, and that was the Tour de Langkawi on the first occasion it was televised. Subsequent years it was broadcast were never up to the same standard.
But what an extraordinary spectacle that first occasion was. The rugged mountain scenery, the colourful and divers Malaysian peoples and creatures and the sheer fun of the event.
One shot that has always stuck in my mind was the support car with the front passenger holding a huge python that was hanging a few feet out of the car window by the cyclists as they passed.
None of those images from the early tour are online, only later less interesting ones and this article on the current event.
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But what an extraordinary spectacle that first occasion was. The rugged mountain scenery, the colourful and divers Malaysian peoples and creatures and the sheer fun of the event.
One shot that has always stuck in my mind was the support car with the front passenger holding a huge python that was hanging a few feet out of the car window by the cyclists as they passed.
None of those images from the early tour are online, only later less interesting ones and this article on the current event.
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But what was the Python for?haha...would loved to have seen that...python sounds cool...
Ah well- only a few weeks until the Vuelta a Espana. Starts August 19th (in France). Expect to see Froome, Bardet, Uran, Yates and Contador to carry on where they left off.
No idea but obviously an oversize pet of one of the support team. The way it was being hung far out of the car window made me think he may have been trying to put off other riders, but if so it wasn't working. They were riding past it completely unconcerned.
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That was my thought. I don't think the fun elements met with official approval, since subsequent TV films of the Tour excluded them, concentrating just on the cycling.
That was a pity, the first Tour film was like an entertaining travelogue and I thought a great advert for Malaysian tourism.
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Tour of britain starting tomorrow..so how come the the Spanish tour is still going on?....are they all gonna be seconds..in the tour of brit?
I'm not about to call either Geraint Thomas or Mark Cavendish seconds. It all depends on season goals, not everyone is a G.C. contender, there are plenty of classics riders and recovering injured or maybe prepping for the world champs riders in there!
It's not so much the riders being seconds, it's the Tour of Britain that's very much a second rating event.
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An older thread but resurrected today.
CAV has become the greatest sprinter of all time with an equalling 34th TDF victory to equal that of Eddie Mercx, still time for one more and maybe the final in to the Champs Elysee.
SPOTY 2021 he certainly deserves it for an enduring 15 years career and a chance for the record tour wins.
CAV has become the greatest sprinter of all time with an equalling 34th TDF victory to equal that of Eddie Mercx, still time for one more and maybe the final in to the Champs Elysee.
SPOTY 2021 he certainly deserves it for an enduring 15 years career and a chance for the record tour wins.