Anyone else watching the Tour de France

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velobard

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Lance is gone, but it's a pretty exciting race this year. There was a major drug scandal the day before the race that took out several top riders, so the field is relatively wide open. American Floyd Landis has been in the yellow jersey for several days, but only by 8 seconds now. Tuesday looks to be a killer with some nasty climbs, including a finish sprint up the infamous L'Alpe d'Huez. Oh, and Landis said a few days ago he expects to have hip replacement surgery after the tour, his hip joint is just about done for, so he must be riding with an impressive amount of pain. I can't imagine what it takes to be out there doing 100+ miles most days at a race pace, day after day for 3 weeks. And every day riders are being injured or eliminated in crashes. A couple days ago I saw one rider who got back on his bike riding beside a doctor in a convertible, leaning out of the car to dress the guy's road rash on the fly. Even the fans can be a major obstacle. They showed out-takes of crashes today including one where a fan came out on the road and body-slammed a guy right off his bike.
 
I actually hate watching the climbs because of the spectators. I used to race myself and there was enough to worry about without worrying about people, motorcycles, and cars in the road. It just adds that much more respect for the amazing stuff these guys do.



Coverage is boring, though. OLN does as good as they can, but I wish a big network would pick it up and give it a bit more life.
 
Just before the end of yesterdays stage the race officials sent out notice to the riders to take it easy because the asphalt on the downhill side of the mountain was starting to melt in the heat. In areas the pavement looked wet with melted tar.



I usually only have a chance to watch the last several miles of each stage when I run home at lunch. It works out pretty well, it's an exciting part of the race and they show highlights of the part I missed.



I still think it's funny (and frustrating) that ESPN carries poker, but not cycling. Which one is actually a sport? Ah well, everyone knows it so much more thrilling to watch other guys play a game of cards, lol.
 
I saw where OLN is either going to become Versus or a new network is going to start carrying the cycling events... I'm not sure. Perhaps I should look it up now.
 
OLN changes it's name to Versus this fall. They carry the TdF and some other cycling events now, that's where I'm watching it. I'm guessing they decided to give up the "outdoor" theme when they picked up NHL games and other indoor stuff.
 
It's funny but I usually hate all the special effects and sizzle of sports broadcasting, but in this case cycling could really use it. I think viewership would follow if they did it right.
 
The reason cycling isn't and never will be on my radar screen...it can mess up your Johnson. NOT worth it. I'll stick with running and just not be able to walk a little sooner.
 
Tasty said:
The reason cycling isn't and never will be on my radar screen...it can mess up your Johnson. NOT worth it. I'll stick with running and just not be able to walk a little sooner.
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They have bike saddles specifically designed to deal with that. Some of the worst offenders are the soft, overly-padded ones that when you sit on them shove that padding firmly into every nook and crevice on your seat. You want a saddle that is a little firmer but has give in the body of the saddle and is properly sized and shaped for your anatomy. This subject hasn't been ignored by cyclists and there are some new designs out there to provide options on avoiding this problem. Besides, this isn't a problem for the average, casual cyclist, only for those who spend extended amounts of time in the saddle on a regular basis. I'm not claiming that Specialized is at the very forefront of this, but there list of MTB seats shows they're addressing the issue: http://www.specialized.com/bc/SBCEqSection.jsp?sid=EquipSaddlesMTB



I've always preferred cycling, but running isn't even much of an option for me. I have arthritis in my feet and have already had to have surgery on one of them. The non-weightbearing, non-impact aspect of cycling, especially with stiff bike shoes that largely avoid flex is perfect for me.
 
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