Yeah, it's been more difficult than I thought it'd be. But all the streams have been in HD, so I've just watched one or two a night on the XB1. I must say, I find it pretty annoying that you rarely get to see the break take shape. That's one of my favorite parts.
why do you find that interesting? i mean the break aways you dont see form arent that important on at least 2/3 stages. just curious here. the TdF will have more stages with tv coverage all day.
I think the contested breaks are interesting and the ones where it's just a couple of guys. I got spoiled watching the '14 TdF on YouTube where the first 10 stages or so had full coverage of the break. Observations as someone new to the sport: 1. The difference between what the commentators want to talk about and what's shown on the video feeds is hilarious. 2. I dislike that participation in these races by top guys varies so greatly, especially compared to other sports that have "main" tournaments. 3. The sport is so much more complex than I realized and I love it. Edit: And since I've yet to develop a rooting interest outside of Sagan, rooting for guys to outlast the Peloton is my favorite part.
2. is simply because its way too hard to be in everything. these guys season is planned down to a t. Its all about the fitness and you gotta top at the right moment. you cant really top more than once a year.
1. depends on what commentators you're listening to. most are decent, but there are a few who are outstanding. think about their job though, they have to talk and talk and talk for hours while nothing is happening. 2. this is a popular idea amongst reformists right now. Oleg Tinkov, owner of Tinkoff-Saxo, wants to reform cycling so that all big named riders ride all the big races. His ideas involve slashing half of the races on the calendar and essentially making it more of a series or season instead of a bunch of one day races and stage races. I like the idea, its just going to be tough to pull off with all of the traditionalists in the sport, running the sport, and the big money of the ASO (folks who own the Tour and a bunch of other races). 3. it is an incredibly complex sport. it takes a while to learn all the nuances but it sounds like you're on the fast track to learning the sport quickly. congrats on the Sagan win today...
Hope you guys watched the Dauphine. Tejay looks/looked damn fuckin' good. Getting on the podium in this years tour is going to be tough though. Quintana, Froome, Contador and Nibali will all be there. The first week of the Tour this year is going to be fucking insane. It starts in Utrecht and will be ravaged by crosswinds for the first 2-3 stages. Then, they finish one race on the top of the Mur de Huy (finishing climb of Fleche Wallonne). Then... there are cobbles. One or more of the riders listed above will not make it out of week 1.
If you guys can't get enough of this lovely sport, I strongly recommend listening to the guys over at The Cycling Podcast. The broadcasters are 3 journalists from England/Scotland who know their shit (Daniel Friebe, Richard Moore, Lionel Birnie). They get big name guests all the time and do an incredible job breaking down races. http://thecyclingpodcast.com/ I'm a Friend of the podcast. I donated ~$7 or so and it gives me access to limited release podcasts where they give away some juicy bits of intel. Well worth it imo... Since you're just starting the learn the ropes MA, I thought you might like it .
Finished the Dauphine. That Bardet descent on Stage 5. Full stages of the Suisse aren't up yet. So that blows.
Whispers today say Sagan might go to QuickStep next year. Cavendish, Boonen and Kwiatkowski are all out of contracts at the end of the year.
i love that kid. the rivalry between him and Pinot is going to be amazing for years to come. I just hope they clean up the sport a bit...
from what little i've read abou the 2, i am In Pinot's corner in this rivalry. Should make for some good theatrics in the years to come though.
goheels10 Jean-Ralphio a.tramp Can you recommend a race to watch that's most likely on youtube? Watched this year's tour of Flanders last night.
Is Pinot still scared of descending? Or has he somehow overcome that now. Either way, you'd never see him pull off what Bardet did in the dauphine.
idk if Pinot has overcome his fear of descents. i also don't know if you could count the amount of riders on one hand that would descend like Bardet did. i was basing my opinion of the 2 riders on likeability from an interview in Peloton the mag. Bardet comes off as brash and cocky where Pinot comes off ass laid back and humble. Both are badasses though for sure.
Pinot spent time before last years TdF working on his fear of descents. He not only focused on descending in the months leading up to the race, but he spent a ton of hours riding as a passenger in Formula1 race cars around tracks. The purpose was to simulate cornering at speed and to focus on approaching corners. His manager, i think, also wanted to scare him shitless. It looks like it may have worked. He'll never be an ace descender (i.e. Samuel Sanchez, Cadel Evans, Sagan) but as long as he isn't the Schleck bros, he'll be okay. All it takes is one incident/scare to reset things though. Thats my fear with Pinot.
^^ the results of today's stage of the TdS and Bardet last week are pretty fucking exciting for the TdF.
Any Paris-Roubaix and any Tour of Flanders are givens... Others: * Strade Bianche - here's the 2014 edition. A one-day race in Tuscany that goes on white gravel roads and ends with a monster climb up the wall to Siena. Its fucking spectacular. You should be able find other versions as well. * Any Liege-Bastogne-Liege. * The 2014 Dauphine * Stage 7 of the 2010 Giro. Link here in Italian. * The entire 2012 Giro. * Any World Championship Road Race. They're pretty heavily policed on Youtube though, so you might not have much luck. * Tirreno-Adriatico - link. * Stage 9 of the 2013 TdF. One of the most insane days i've ever watched. It was one of the days where the entire day was fully televised and, off the bat, Garmin laid down the hammer. If you can find it.... watch it. * Stage 18 of the 2011 TdF. 3 hours of footage here... * E3 Harelbeke. 2015 version here. * Gent Wevelgem
Also: Milan San Remo Giro di Lombardia Amstel Gold San Sebastian Tour of Yorkshire - new race that is getting a lot of attention. could be really big in a few years. Avoid: Tour of Dubai Tour of Qatar Fleche Wallonne - its a Spring Classic with one of the best finishes of any race (climb of Mur de Huy), but the race is really boring except for that final climb. Only the last 5 km are worth a watch.
holy shit did you see that rider get bitch slapped off his bike by a tree branch in stage 4 of the Suisse? &
I'm slowly working my way through this list, but I gotta say, it's much harder to watch these non-HD/non-English races. 2 hours of grainy video in Polish is not easy.
i hear ya. so you weren't able to find most of those races in English? i guess it shouldn't surprise me that much.... broadcasters have been cracking down on open distribution of HD streams for the past few seasons. English broadcasts for those races do exist though. I watch them each one of them live.
My current laptop can't handle streaming video, so I'm having to use youtube on XB1. That's limiting me some I think.
The Tour starts this weekend. Here's what you need to know... The Start List The favorites: Most folks think this is a race with 4 top-tier contenders. Alberto Contador (Tinkoff-Saxo) - he brings a super strong team of support riders with the only outlier being Sagan who will be aiming for stages and possibly the green jersey (although it will be tough for him to get it this year). Will he be tired from his Giro romp? Does he have any explosion in his legs to follow Froome's super-human accelerations? Chris Froome (Sky) - Fuck Froome. Fuck Sky. The team is stacked though. We're probably going to see their ugly asses on the front of the peloton for the entire last week. Can anyone match him when he attacks on the big climbs? Vincenzo Nibali (Astana) - Everybody was shocked when he blew up in the Dauphine, but watch out, word is he's flying. He just won the Italian national champs again last weekend. Of the top contenders, he's probably the ballsiest of the all. By that, I mean, he's known for going on insane attacks or descents that end up netting him next to nothing. He knows how to liven up the race. By far the best descender of the group. Nairo Quintana (Movistar) - Watch. The. Fuck. Out. Love this kid. One of the smoothest bike riders you will ever see. He always looks like he's floating on his bike but he's dishing out massive amounts of pain. My big fear is that he doesn't make it through the first week (cobbles, crosswinds, etc). After that though, there are a ton of second-tier riders who will be gunning it out for a top 5 finish or even a podium spot if there are any incidents that knock out the top contenders. Tejay Van Garderen (BMC) - he looked awesome in the Dauphine. The team is all-in for him this year and he's proved that he can match Froome. Romain Bardet (Ag2R) - Can he match his performance last year? I'm not so sure. He's been in good form for a while this year. Maybe he's peaked too early? A top-10 would not surprise, but a top 5 would imo.. J. Christophe Peraud (Ag2R) - Finished 2nd overall last year but he's 38 years old. Apparently he's not in great form either. Thibault Pinot (FDJ) - The other great French hope. I expect to see him challenging for a top-5. Joaquim Rodriguez (Katusha) - who knows. He's getting old. I expect to see him pip a stage or two or go for the KoM jersey but not contend for the overall. Andrew Talansky (Cannondale-Garmin) - Can he stay upright? If so, a top 10 is possible. Dan Martin (Cannondale-Garmin) - See Talansky. If he drops down the GC early on, expect to see him go for stages. He's a really savvy rider. Ryder Hejesdal (Cannondale-Garmin) - had an amazing ride at the Giro. Is he here for support for Talansky and Dan Martin, or is he the leader? Bauke Mollema (Trek) - Steady. I expect to see him in the top 10 of the final GC. Wilco Keldermann (Lotto-Jumbo) - Every year I say he's one to watch for the future and every year he fails to live up to it. Will this be the year. Rui Costa (Lampre) - will go for stage wins. Richie Porte (Sky) - Here as a lieutenant for Froome but will be his backup if something happens to him. Michal Kwiatkowski (Quick-Step) Rigoberto Uran (Quick-Step) - had a shitty Giro. Was on everyones list as a top-5 rider before the race. Is he on better form now?
would love to see Quintana or Pinot in yellow when it's all said and done. also, when was the last time a relative unknown won the Tour? I guess what I am asking is that when was the last time that one of the supporting cast stole the show due to injuries, wrecks, peaking at the right time, etc?
Who to root for.... Don't know who to pull for, here's a guide. The Favorites: Go for Quintana. He's the youngest and the only one to not win a TdF. His team has 1/5 the budget of the teams of the other 3 contenders. The Long-Shots with a chance to make some noise: Tejay Van Garderen Andrew Talansky Dan Martin Thibault Pinot Romain Bardet The Americans: Tejay Van Garderen Andrew Talansky Tyler Farrar aka Ginger Balls (MTN-Qhubeka)... - he's washed up, but eh, why not? The Teams: MTN-Qhubeka - the South African outfit comes with two Eritreans and three South Africans. The team has gone from a feel good story to a legit squad pretty quickly. Expect to see their Black and White striped jerseys (think Juventus) in almost every break and on every climbing stage. Cannondale-Garmin - they always go for broke and that's why I love them. One of only two American teams in the race (BMC is the other, although they are based in Switzerland). Random riders: Adam Hansen (Lotto-Soudal) - he's riding his 12th Grand Tour in a row. Insane. He's an awesome guy too who will stop for pictures with fans, grab beers from folks on the really hard stages, etc. He's also brilliant.. he makes his own bike shoes and writes computer programs in his free time. Svein Tuft (Orica GreenEdge) - I post this every year and every year its worth a re-read. Ramunus Navardauskus (Cannondale-Garmin) - considered to be the nicest guy in the peloton. Also, considered to have the biggest engine in the peloton, but he just does't have the killer instinct. Ever now and then, thought, he turns things on and destroys people... see his stage win in last years tour. Sam Bennett (Bora-Argon) - he's probably Bora Argon's biggest hope for glory in the TdF. He's a sprinter and he's Irish.. gotta pull for this guy to pull an upset. Rafal Majka (Tinkoff Saxo) - such an awesome rider. Could probably podium in this race if he weren't supporting Contador. Love to see what he can do.
Some would say Carlos Sastre back in 2008 with CSC, but I don't think that really counts as he was known as a solid GC rider. He definitely wasn't a top favorite though... Going farther back, the Lance years kinda fuck everything up. I'd guess you'd probably have to go all the way back to Greg LeMond's first win back in 86.. he wasn't an unknown though.
Awesome article here from inrng about the Green Jersey contenders: http://inrng.com/2015/06/tour-points-competition-preview/#more-25424
Well i'm sure i dont need to tell you who i'm rooting for. Team Cult energy are reaching out to Riis btw.
Gotta be Oscar Pereiro Sio i mean he only won because Floyd Landis pumped himself up on doping to a level that even a 5 year old knew what was wrong, so i geuss you could discredit OPS. Sastre is a good answer too but he only one because everybody worth a damn got pulled. He was on CSC so i wasnt too mad though the tour that year was p shitty.
its a hard and fuzzy question to answer. I'm betting some of the old-timer folks I know who follow the sport for decades would probably say the last true surprise to win the tour was some dude back in the 60s or 70s...
I saw that Cult was in trouble financially. There were a few whispers earlier this week that a few Italian sponsors were reaching out to Riis too. Do you think he'd be more interested to come back in the sport with a Danish squad, or would he rather cut ties and distance himself from the federation/country?
well OPS won only because he was no thread at all and got like 20 minutes on everybody else on like stage 2 or something. he was never even close. but yea idk he only came in second until Landis tests got him. man that was the most ridiculous doping stunt ever. lose 10 minutes one day, come back the next day and fucking CRUSH everyone.
Lars Boom (Astana) has cortisol issues (not sure if low or high) and will not be able to start the TdF tomorrow. This is because Astana is part of the MPCC (Movement for Credible Cycling). Their rules state that if you have low or high cortisol values, you have to sit out for a week, or something like that. Apparently Astana has named a replacement, but they're not sure if the rider will be allowed to participate. Their workaround? Leave the MPCC and let Boom start anyway. Bitches.
yea. its was a romantic idea, but its a joke if there is no enforcement mechanisms. teams were basically on the honor system. it will be interesting to see if the UCI adopts some of the MPCCs rules for next season.
I doubt they will. then again UCI are always laughable so they might. Kreuziger got so screwed, they spent 3 years saying he was on doping then they just dropped all charges. another thing Vino wants to be allowed to replace Boom with Vanotti. if he isnt allowed to do that he'll start boom and drop out of the MPCC later on.
did you read what Vaughters had to say in Velonews about the Kreuziger case? I thought it was an interesting perspective.