A Cycling & bikes forum. CycleBanter.com

Go Back   Home » CycleBanter.com forum » Regional Cycling » Australia
Site Map Home Register Authors List Search Today's Posts Mark Forums Read Web Partners

TDF understanding



 
 
Thread Tools Display Modes
  #1  
Old July 8th 03, 05:39 PM
Milton
external usenet poster
 
Posts: n/a
Default 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


Ads
  #2  
Old July 8th 03, 06:42 PM
g
external usenet poster
 
Posts: n/a
Default 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  
Old July 9th 03, 12:10 AM
Harrow
external usenet poster
 
Posts: n/a
Default 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  
Old July 9th 03, 10:23 AM
Andrew Swan
external usenet poster
 
Posts: n/a
Default 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  
Old July 9th 03, 11:49 AM
NickZX6R
external usenet poster
 
Posts: n/a
Default 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  
Old July 9th 03, 12:25 PM
Justin Mansfield
external usenet poster
 
Posts: n/a
Default 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  
Old July 10th 03, 03:40 AM
Shabby
external usenet poster
 
Posts: n/a
Default 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  
Old July 10th 03, 03:40 AM
Harrow
external usenet poster
 
Posts: n/a
Default 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  
Old July 10th 03, 04:34 AM
Peter Signorini
external usenet poster
 
Posts: n/a
Default 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  
Old July 10th 03, 04:55 AM
g
external usenet poster
 
Posts: n/a
Default 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
 




Thread Tools
Display Modes

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

vB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off
Forum Jump

Similar Threads
Thread Thread Starter Forum Replies Last Post
funny things to do on a bike jake jamison General 518 June 11th 04 03:22 AM
Why they hate us, was ( funny things to do on a bike) Pete Techniques 90 May 28th 04 02:11 AM
First road bike: braking? Alan Hoyle General 47 September 28th 03 11:40 PM


All times are GMT +1. The time now is 03:44 PM.


Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.6.4
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, Jelsoft Enterprises Ltd.
Copyright ©2004-2024 CycleBanter.com.
The comments are property of their posters.