For help, advice and discussion about stuff not related to aviation. Play nice: no religion, no politics and no axe grinding please.
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By Rob P
#1856340
It is absolutely amazing.

Mark Cavendish, the 36 year old British sprinter whose top line career everyone thought was over, not being selected to ride the Tour de France since 2017, got a place this year almost by default through injuries to other riders.

Not a huge amount was expected of him, but already he has won two stages, now holds the green jersey and is closing in on Eddy Merckx's absolute record of 34 stage wins.

It is gripping stuff

Rob P
By ROG
#1856352
Hi Rob--i"m following it.
Did 12 years racing before an accident finished it.
I did mainly time trials.
Fantastic riding from Cavandish--after being virtually written off as a top rider he wins 2 stages.
I can understand how he had a mini breakdown--what an achievement.
I particularly enjoy the mountain stages--really testing.
Even if you"re not/weren"t a cyclist the countryside is enjoyable and the descents are heart stopping.
Quit a few contenders for a tour win which makes it more interesting.
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By Rob P
#1856354
Yes, I was a times trialler also, desperately trying to break the hour for a 25 and never made it :(

These days I just bimble round Thetford Forest on a hardtail.

If Cav can win a couple more stages, ideally on the Champs Elysee, I couldn't care less about the overall winner.

Rob P
By ROG
#1856362
Rob--believe the 25 record now 45m 35secs or thereabouts. I did 1hour 1 for 25 --preferred 50. Did one 12 hour--215 miles . If your brain had totally gone the 24 hour was a challenge.
With modern materials technical improvements I expect under the hour is now pretty routine.
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By Rob P
#1856365
Hah! Beat you! On the day when everything was going well and I was convinced I'd broken the hour I came in at one hour and some seconds (fewer than sixty)

I was so peeved that I never rode another, but did ride the JoGLe back in '87.

Rob P
By ROG
#1856373
Well done. Time trials used to take place on mainish roads. Where do they hold them now. ?
I think having done racing it has helped in fitness as you get older.
Didn"t know many cyclists who smoked or drank.
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By Propwash
#1856382
I was holidaying in a gite in SW France back in the 1980s and drove into the local quiet village for some bread for breakfast. It was as if a circus had arrived with hordes of people, jugglers, fire-eaters, acrobats and stilt-walkers all over the place. It had been like a graveyard the previous evening when I left the only bar. I bought my bread and asked what was going on and was told the Tour de France was coming through later. I knew little about it but had heard of it so decided to stay and watch.

Several hours passed and the circus acts continued. I ate the dry bread. A lot of cheering made me look up - whoosh, a bunch of cyclists, complete with police outriders and camera cars flashed by. I think, but am not wholly sure, that I might have glimpsed one of the cyclists at the back. Everybody started to move away, the circus moved on, and I returned to my gite a sadder and wiser person.

I haven’t watched it since. :wink:

PW
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By PeteSpencer
FLYER Club Member  FLYER Club Member
#1856384
First day we ever had Sky installed I remember switching on at 11 pm and finding a live cycle race coming from Chile .

Couldn’t believe it and watched it till way past midnight round the mountain roads and passes …….
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By Rob P
#1856400
The Tour is definitely a sport made for TV

I too have seen the Tour pass 'live' and it is truly underwhelming.

Rob P
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By TopCat
FLYER Club Member  FLYER Club Member
#1856410
seanxair wrote:Just quite a large proportion of drug cheats on bikes. Hardly inspiring and certainly not worth watching...?

Are we back in 1998 all of a sudden? :roll: I'm sure there's some PED usage still but it's nothing like it was.

I love the Tour. I haven't had as much time to watch it this year as the last few but it's been good to see Cav back, despite having been pretty much written off.

I became a born-again roadie in 2012 after watching it during the Olympics, and when my OH bought me a bike for my 50th my fate was sealed. Two Ride Londons followed but I can't do much in the way of really long rides at the moment due to some niggling injuries.

And even apart from that, after what I'm pretty sure was Covid in March 2020 I've never been able to regain my previous level of fitness, so although it was pretty mild, I suspect some very slight long term damage was done.
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By Pete L
FLYER Club Member  FLYER Club Member
#1856411
Flyin'Dutch' wrote:There is a special Tour the France radio show on the Dutch Radio.

Love it as Radio Tour de France = Summer and especially when there are some decent duchies in the running it is great.

I guess because le continent drives on the right you pass the dutchie on the left hand side.

It is great telly - same gentle quality as Test Match cricket on the radio and Golf.
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By PeteSpencer
FLYER Club Member  FLYER Club Member
#1856416
Pete L wrote:
It is great telly - same gentle quality as Test Match cricket on the radio and Golf.


Especially when one spectator in a Hi Viz vest can bat forty of 'em down with one swing of her placard.................. :roll:

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Last edited by PeteSpencer on Sat Jul 03, 2021 12:56 pm, edited 1 time in total.