Author Topic: Tour de France 2018  (Read 133888 times)

robgul

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Re: Tour de France 2018
« Reply #75 on: 02 July, 2018, 02:35:11 pm »
The fact that a Frenchman hasn't won le Tour for over 30 years must be making ASO wonder why they continue with it ..... the original concept to stage the event to sell newspapers seems to have run its course as l'Equipe (effectively the successor paper) survives on football coverage.

Just perhaps if Froome doesn't/didn't start they may get a French winner ...

Rob

T42

  • Apprentice geezer
Re: Tour de France 2018
« Reply #76 on: 02 July, 2018, 02:42:16 pm »
I don't think Amaury care who wins as long as they don't have another doped winner to explain away: bad for sale of broadcasting rights/advertising revenues.  After the Armstrong thing it all felt very hollow for a few years.
I've dusted off all those old bottles and set them up straight

mattc

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Re: Tour de France 2018
« Reply #77 on: 02 July, 2018, 02:47:09 pm »
Possibly, but they could easily have told Sky 6 months ago that Froome would be denied a place if the case was unresolved. Doing so less than a week before the start smacks of deliberate malice.
Is it possible that they knew they could force a decision out of the UCI? If so, all's well that ends well!
Has never ridden RAAM
---------
No.11  Because of the great host of those who dislike the least appearance of "swank " when they travel the roads and lanes. - From Kuklos' 39 Articles

Re: Tour de France 2018
« Reply #78 on: 02 July, 2018, 02:51:02 pm »
The fact that a Frenchman hasn't won le Tour for over 30 years must be making ASO wonder why they continue with it ..... the original concept to stage the event to sell newspapers seems to have run its course as l'Equipe (effectively the successor paper) survives on football coverage.

Just perhaps if Froome doesn't/didn't start they may get a French winner ...

Rob

The most likely winner without Froome is Italian.

quixoticgeek

  • Mostly Harmless
Re: Tour de France 2018
« Reply #79 on: 02 July, 2018, 02:56:41 pm »
The most likely winner without Froome is Italian.

Really? You don't think that if Froome wasn't allowed to play, that Sky wouldn't pull out all the stops, throw everything at it, and try like hell to make sure it was a Welsh rider wearing Yellow in Paris?

J
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Re: Tour de France 2018
« Reply #80 on: 02 July, 2018, 03:03:38 pm »
They might try, but I dont think Thomas is good enough. For one thing he struggles to stay upright.

quixoticgeek

  • Mostly Harmless
Re: Tour de France 2018
« Reply #81 on: 02 July, 2018, 03:15:09 pm »
They might try, but I dint think Thomas is good enough. For one thing he struggles to stay upright.

So does Froome... and many of the other guys known for riding at the pointy end...

J
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Beer, bikes, and backpacking
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Re: Tour de France 2018
« Reply #82 on: 02 July, 2018, 03:33:13 pm »
No, Thomas is an expert.

But anyway, no. I don't think he has what it takes to win.

Re: Tour de France 2018
« Reply #83 on: 02 July, 2018, 04:28:51 pm »
Is it actually that 'ridiculously' zero to hero though?

wiki
Quote
2009...2012

Errr....Yes.


Well the early part of his career was in Africa, which is not your typical route to the yellow jersey (AFAIA), but he clearly had talent prior to the SKY era.  Perhaps for Froome everything simply 'coalesced' at the right time, seems to have done.    :P   


Anyway...
Cycle and recycle.   SS Wilson

mattc

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Re: Tour de France 2018
« Reply #84 on: 02 July, 2018, 04:41:25 pm »
Anyway, as I've said before, the Salbutamol is a red-herring. It doesn't account for his ridiculous transformation from zero to greatest rider of his generation.
this is starting to sound very like your assault on dear Sir Bradley. You assured us he was going down, despite no one finding him guilty of anything. How is that working out?

Did you miss the DCMS hearing Matt?
Sadly I could not attend. I take it you were there? Should I expect imminent updates to this:
https://dataride.uci.ch/iframe/EventResults/120460?competitionId=42784&disciplineId=10
Has never ridden RAAM
---------
No.11  Because of the great host of those who dislike the least appearance of "swank " when they travel the roads and lanes. - From Kuklos' 39 Articles

LittleWheelsandBig

  • Whimsy Rider
Re: Tour de France 2018
« Reply #85 on: 02 July, 2018, 04:43:39 pm »
Even the lanterne rouge at the Tour de France is a one in a million cyclist. That doesn't make them the best cyclist in the world.

Froome was a lanterne rouge type. His outstanding results appeared when Sky employed a doping doctor. Pure coincidence, of course.
Wheel meet again, don't know where, don't know when...

Re: Tour de France 2018
« Reply #86 on: 02 July, 2018, 04:53:07 pm »
The UCI/WADA had better have a very acceptable (to the general public) reason and had better publish it quickly and widely or Froome still presents a major risk to public order and safety during the Tour, which may well be a good reason for ASO to exclude him.

Re a french rider winning, that isn(t important at all. What is important is that there are french riders who make a show and do heroic failing-type things; they will get more airtime and make better publicity for ASO than anything Froome does. Also there has to be pretty or grandiose scnery for  Polo to commentate. That's more important to  some viewers (in UK you don't have all the "all around the tour" stuff and the "célébration du terroire" which probably makes as much tele viewing as the racing itself). Of course if a french rider is "en jaune" that's a good enough reason for the country to stop dead in its tracks! (i think I'm starting to think like a frenchman, must have been here too long  ;D )

Re: Tour de France 2018
« Reply #87 on: 02 July, 2018, 04:54:55 pm »
The UCI/WADA had better have a very acceptable (to the general public) reason and had better publish it quickly and widely or Froome still presents a major risk to public order and safety during the Tour, which may well be a good reason for ASO to exclude him.
...

There are always some that just don't accept acceptable reasons...
Cycle and recycle.   SS Wilson

mattc

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Re: Tour de France 2018
« Reply #88 on: 02 July, 2018, 04:56:02 pm »
...
 Also there has to be pretty or grandiose scnery for  Polo to commentate. That's more important to  some viewers (in UK you don't have all the "all around the tour" stuff and the "célébration du terroire" which probably makes as much tele viewing as the racing itself).

I'm pretty sure that most years there are more minutes of pretty scenery than of real action - even on the UK coverage!
Has never ridden RAAM
---------
No.11  Because of the great host of those who dislike the least appearance of "swank " when they travel the roads and lanes. - From Kuklos' 39 Articles

Re: Tour de France 2018
« Reply #89 on: 02 July, 2018, 05:17:13 pm »
Cycle racing is probably one of the most boring of spectator events unless seen on TV, if ever I am able to watch the TdF on TV it is the wonderful French countryside that grips my interest.

Re: Tour de France 2018
« Reply #90 on: 02 July, 2018, 05:22:31 pm »
Cycle racing is probably one of the most boring of spectator events unless seen on TV, if ever I am able to watch the TdF on TV it is the wonderful French countryside that grips my interest.

...
 Also there has to be pretty or grandiose scnery for  Polo to commentate. That's more important to  some viewers (in UK you don't have all the "all around the tour" stuff and the "célébration du terroire" which probably makes as much tele viewing as the racing itself).

I'm pretty sure that most years there are more minutes of pretty scenery than of real action - even on the UK coverage!

Yeah, bet you don't get the cookery classes, local specialities, music, song and dance that France3 puts out for at least a couple of hours a day that is outside the mainstream race coverage

Re: Tour de France 2018
« Reply #91 on: 02 July, 2018, 05:29:16 pm »
Is it actually that 'ridiculously' zero to hero though?

wiki
Quote
2009...2012

Errr....Yes.


Well the early part of his career was in Africa, which is not your typical route to the yellow jersey (AFAIA), but he clearly had talent prior to the SKY era.  Perhaps for Froome everything simply 'coalesced' at the right time, seems to have done.    :P   


Anyway...

Pick another multi-GT winner, any of them.

Go and look at their palmares from teenage years. Compare to Froome. Then reconsider. There is literally nothing there of note prior to nearly winning the Vuelta in 2011.

Auntie Helen

  • 6 Wheels in Germany
Re: Tour de France 2018
« Reply #92 on: 02 July, 2018, 05:31:27 pm »
So why did they bother doping him up? Surely it would be more effective to dope a better rider than the Laterne Rouge.
My blog on cycling in Germany and eating German cake – http://www.auntiehelen.co.uk


LittleWheelsandBig

  • Whimsy Rider
Re: Tour de France 2018
« Reply #93 on: 02 July, 2018, 05:35:55 pm »
Some riders are 'super-responders' to doping (Armstrong) and some dope more heavily than others (Mr 60%, Bjarne Riis).
Wheel meet again, don't know where, don't know when...

Re: Tour de France 2018
« Reply #94 on: 02 July, 2018, 05:37:08 pm »
So why did they bother doping him up? Surely it would be more effective to dope a better rider than the Laterne Rouge.

Why do you assume "they" doped him.

Could he not have arranged it himself? From what we know team wide programmes are a thing of the past and doping is done at an individual level. His contract with Sky was coming to an end. Sky didn't want to keep him. They were trying to offload him to a minor team that wasn't even world tour level.

He wasn't a rising star...He was going down.

Then all of a sudden he is a few seconds from winning a Grand Tour.

Re: Tour de France 2018
« Reply #95 on: 02 July, 2018, 05:47:43 pm »
Never expected to find the cyber equivalent of a lynch mob on YACF.

Pretty repulsed by some of the views expressed on here, regardless of what might or might not be the truth of the matter.

Re: Tour de France 2018
« Reply #96 on: 02 July, 2018, 06:08:31 pm »
Which views do you find repulsive?

Torslanda

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Re: Tour de France 2018
« Reply #97 on: 02 July, 2018, 06:16:22 pm »
Just about all of them I should think... #justsaying

VELOMANCER

Well that's the more blunt way of putting it but as usual he's dead right.

Re: Tour de France 2018
« Reply #98 on: 02 July, 2018, 06:28:55 pm »
Anyway, as I've said before, the Salbutamol is a red-herring. It doesn't account for his ridiculous transformation from zero to greatest rider of his generation.
this is starting to sound very like your assault on dear Sir Bradley. You assured us he was going down, despite no one finding him guilty of anything. How is that working out?

Did you miss the DCMS hearing Matt?
Sadly I could not attend. I take it you were there? Should I expect imminent updates to this:
https://dataride.uci.ch/iframe/EventResults/120460?competitionId=42784&disciplineId=10

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/cycling/43280081

There you go, Matt. I already know which line you will quote and totally fail to understand the contextual events, and in particular the issue surrounding the Jiffybag and why UKAD were unable to confirm it's contents. (Sky obstructed UKAD investigation and the only copy of the medical records were on a laptop that was conveniently stolen in a hotel in Greece)


mattc

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Re: Tour de France 2018
« Reply #99 on: 02 July, 2018, 07:33:52 pm »
As you say, I am pretty poor at reading comprehension, so help me out:

which bit tells me the race results that he has lost due to these "contextual events" you speak of?
Is he likely to remain Sir Bradley?
Has never ridden RAAM
---------
No.11  Because of the great host of those who dislike the least appearance of "swank " when they travel the roads and lanes. - From Kuklos' 39 Articles