#1
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TDF understanding
This is the first year im taking more than the usual notice of the TDF as
both my boys (13 & 11yrs) have taken up cycling (Midland Club, WA) Im trying to make sense of it all. How do the sprints work in each stage . does every body stop & do standing starts or do the sprinters somehow make it to the front of the 200 strong peleton & do a rolling sprint ????????? If only they telecast it live as there is **** all on during the early hours which i think is when it would be on, (tape it) Im sure even a non cyclist would rather watch it than paid advertising/crap & more people would be the wise to how it works & cycling would grow in Oz......... Mil |
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#2
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TDF understanding
Milton wrote:
This is the first year im taking more than the usual notice of the TDF as both my boys (13 & 11yrs) have taken up cycling (Midland Club, WA) Im trying to make sense of it all. How do the sprints work in each stage . does every body stop & do standing starts or do the sprinters somehow make it to the front of the 200 strong peleton & do a rolling sprint ????????? G'day Milton, No-one does standing starts nor waits for anyone (unless its an important team mate), its first over the line and nothing else to it. Yes, sprinters just make sure they're at the pointy end on the bunch when the time comes. If they aren't, tough. Stuart O'Grady says he makes sure he starts making his way to the front with 40km to go. McEwen just stays near the front most the race - he has the intermediate sprints to worry about. It is a very tactical sport. There are intermediate sprints at various points along the course, with time bonuses, 6,4 and 2 seconds for 1st,2nd,3rd (& goes towards Green jersey points). The riders know where they are and the fast guys start jockeying for position as they approach. Infact McGee lost the yellow jersey today because some Frenchman (Nazon) accrued 8 or 10 seconds going for those intermediates... If only they telecast it live as there is **** all on during the early hours which i think is when it would be on, (tape it) Im sure even a non cyclist would rather watch it than paid advertising/crap & more people would be the wise to how it works & cycling would grow in Oz......... Mil Actually, each stage is over by 11pm WA time. Live would suit us here. There is an FAQ on the Tour he http://www.cyclingnews.com/road/2003...d=features/FAQ Hope this helps GK |
#3
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TDF understanding
Milton wrote:
This is the first year im taking more than the usual notice of the TDF as both my boys (13 & 11yrs) have taken up cycling (Midland Club, WA) Im trying to make sense of it all. How do the sprints work in each stage . does every body stop & do standing starts or do the sprinters somehow make it to the front of the 200 strong peleton & do a rolling sprint ????????? If only they telecast it live as there is **** all on during the early hours which i think is when it would be on, (tape it) Im sure even a non cyclist would rather watch it than paid advertising/crap & more people would be the wise to how it works & cycling would grow in Oz......... Mil Milton, Each Sunday night, SBS is telecasting entire stages live in Sydney from 10:50pm EST. If they have it over your way, you won't even have to stay up late to watch it !!! Check out your TV guide. I'm planning to have the indoor trainer set up and get a good 2 hr session in each week !! Regards, Harrow. -- -------------------------- Posted via cyclingforums.com http://www.cyclingforums.com |
#4
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TDF understanding
There is an FAQ on the Tour he
http://www.cyclingnews.com/road/2003...d=features/FAQ That is a great FAQ as far as it goes, but I'd also like to know: - why are the green, white, and polka-dot jerseys coloured that way (the explanation for yellow being widely known)? - why do Phil and Paul (the commentators) say "there's no breeze to cool the riders today" when the peloton is going 50 km/h and therefore generating their own apparent wind? (or even more absurdly, if there were a strong tailwind, the riders would feel little or no relative breeze at all, so P&P's comment makes little apparent sense) - what kind of gearing do the top sprinters use for the flat stages? I'm pretty sure the top gear on my road bike (52 x 14) would be useless (i.e. way too low) at the 70km/h quoted for these guys in the finish straight. - when a rider qualifies for several jerseys on one day, is he actually given one of each of those jerseys to keep? And the next day, when the lesser jerseys for which he qualifies can be worn by the riders coming second in those categories, do those riders get to keep those jerseys even though they weren't leading that competition at the time? And how do they decide which jersey is "lesser", e.g. what if a rider held both the green and the KOM? - when finishing a time trial, why don't all the riders sprint for the last few 100 metres (thus using up their alactic reserves, of which you only have 30 seconds or so)? I'm talking about the real TT contenders, not the guys saving themselves for later stages. And if they've given everything they've got, why don't you see them throwing up afterwards like real human beings? :-) - I've heard that many riders dislike the rest days because they disrupt the daily routine of racing - is this for real? (me, I dislike the rest days because SBS just rehashes the nightly coverage I've already seen) - why in the flat-out sprint that Cookey won (Stage 2) are almost all the riders still in the saddle (see http://www.sportal.com.au/photos/wal...0114img800.jpg)? That sprint was really close, and Cookey's just crossed the line, so it's not because they have sat up already. Phew, that's enough for now - anyone know any answers please? TIA, &roo |
#5
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TDF understanding
Andrew Swan wrote:
There is an FAQ on the Tour he http://www.cyclingnews.com/road/2003...d=features/FAQ That is a great FAQ as far as it goes, but I'd also like to know: - why are the green, white, and polka-dot jerseys coloured that way (the explanation for yellow being widely known)? snip TIA, &roo No answers, but I'd like to know who makes all the jerseys and how many do they make? eg. there are the 'fake' jerseys used on the podium which zip all the way up the back, but on the following day, the riders will wear a 'real' yellow/green/ white/polka dot jersey with their team logos on it. So, do the teams make their own jerseys and hope that they actually win the right to wear them? And then there are the riders who wear the full kit, like Brad McGee wearing the yellow jersey and yellow knicks. Anyone? -- Nick |
#6
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TDF understanding
- why do Phil and Paul (the commentators) say "there's no breeze to cool
the riders today" when the peloton is going 50 km/h and therefore generating their own apparent wind? (or even more absurdly, if there were a strong tailwind, the riders would feel little or no relative breeze at all, so P&P's comment makes little apparent sense) Dunno. Slipstreaming? - when a rider qualifies for several jerseys on one day, is he actually given one of each of those jerseys to keep? And the next day, when the lesser jerseys for which he qualifies can be worn by the riders coming second in those categories, do those riders get to keep those jerseys even though they weren't leading that competition at the time? And how do they decide which jersey is "lesser", e.g. what if a rider held both the green and the KOM? If a rider holds more than one jersey, the official ranking order for wearing them is yellow, green, polka dot, white. Check out www.letour.fr for more info on the jerseys & how they are awarded. |
#7
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TDF understanding
Here's my answers to some of your questions:
Q. Why do Phil and Paul (the commentators) say "there's no breeze to cool the riders today" when the peloton is going 50 km/h and therefore generating their own apparent wind? R. They're really saying that the air is still and hence hot, whereas if the weather is hot but a cool breeze is there (eg. riding along a coast line), it feels much cooler. S. What kind of gearing do the top sprinters use for the flat stages? I'm pretty sure the top gear on my road bike (52 x 14) would be useless (S.a. way too low) at the 70km/h quoted for these guys in the finish straight. T. Unless you can spin really fast, a 52 x 14 might not even win a D grade bunch sprint. They're using 53x11 to 55x11 type gears, with cadences in the 100-130 range. U. When finishing a time trial, why don't all the riders sprint for the last few 100 metres (thus using up their alactic reserves, of which you only have 30 seconds or so)? I'm talking about the real TT contenders, not the guys saving themselves for later stages. And if they've given everything they've got, why don't you see them throwing up afterwards like real human beings? :-) V. Did you see McGee after the time trial? He was practically delirious and couldnt stand up. They use every last bit of strength, but its hard to sprint when you've just ridden 6km at closeto your maximum. W. Why in the flat-out sprint that Cookey won (Stage 2) are almost all the riders still in the saddle (see http://www.sportal.com.au/photos- /wallpaper/000114img800.jpg)?http://www.sportal.com.au/photos/wallpa- per/000114img800.jpg)? That sprint was really close, and Cookey's just crossed the line, so it's not because they have sat up already. X. Try spinning above about 120 in the saddle. Very hard. Hence, you always see track riders sprint out of the saddle to jump away, then sit down once the cadence gets high. (Our track coach makes us do 400 metre flat out efforts out of the saddle, and towards the end it becomes close to impossible unless you are in a huge gear). And BTW, Cookie won by about almost a metre, which is not particularly close. Hence, he had time to sit up for the photo on the line. -- -------------------------- Posted via cyclingforums.com http://www.cyclingforums.com |
#8
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TDF understanding
It seems to me the only guys who have a chance are the sprinters.
Everyone drafts in the peleton all day, and then the sprinters blast away and get the glory. Why do the other guys even bother turning up? Harrow. -- -------------------------- Posted via cyclingforums.com http://www.cyclingforums.com |
#9
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TDF understanding
"Harrow" wrote in message ... It seems to me the only guys who have a chance are the sprinters. Everyone drafts in the peleton all day, and then the sprinters blast away and get the glory. Why do the other guys even bother turning up? The Tour is, and has almost always been, a teams event ie. riders ride to support and assist the rider in their team who has the best chance of a victory (stage or overall). As for the sprinters, in France they have these things called the Alps. Watch the sprinters die once they get there. I recall one of Lance Armstrongs wins last year in the Pyrenees IIRC. He was riding with a couple of other riders (one may have been Virenque?) leading them up the climb, with the peleton a little way back. After a good distance up the climb, but 5km or so to go to the finish, Lance just stood on the pedals and kept going. The distraught look on the face of the rider behind him was very telling. The pace on the climb just burnt them out. Cheers Peter Cheers Peter |
#10
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TDF understanding
Harrow wrote:
It seems to me the only guys who have a chance are the sprinters. Everyone drafts in the peleton all day, and then the sprinters blast away and get the glory. Why do the other guys even bother turning up? Harrow. Because sprinters are only good on flat stages, it is their only chance for glory. The others are biding their time for the TT and the mountains. A chance for non-sprinters (in flat stages) is to break away and solo for 100 to 200km to the finish which guys have tried to do the last few days without success. But over the years, some have succeeded. Sprinters usually aren't any good at 100km+ solos. They can't win overall either. GK |
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