Author Topic: Tour de France 2012  (Read 143084 times)

Re: Tour de France 2012
« Reply #525 on: 14 July, 2012, 11:03:58 am »
BBC 5 Live have been giving it decent coverage in their breakfast show - talking about it enthusiastically, if not exactly knowledgeably. But it's been a pleasant surprise to wake up to people on mainstream radio discussing something I'm actually interested in. And I have a feeling the level of press coverage will increase over the next week or so too.

On the subject of newspapers, does anyone know where in London I can buy L'Equipe? I really wanted to get the issue the other day with the front page pic of Wiggo drinking from his Union Jack mug of tea. The issue for Monday 23 July is going to be a bit of a collectors' item.

d.

They usually have it at Clapham Junction; otherwise in the paper shop in Long Acre near Leicester Sq tube; or try St Pancras Station..
The journey is always more important than the destination

Re: Tour de France 2012
« Reply #526 on: 14 July, 2012, 11:15:45 am »
It's not the worst example of switching I've ever seen (go and watch an average 3rds-and-juniors road race for the full going-home-in-a-meat-wagon experience).  I think it was obstruction rather than endangerment.

On the subject of kit, the one with the brown shorts and blue-and-white top is just  :sick:

Yes, Roger, I had obviously made an effort to blank that out!

Re: Tour de France 2012
« Reply #527 on: 14 July, 2012, 11:21:49 am »
It's not the worst example of switching I've ever seen (go and watch an average 3rds-and-juniors road race for the full going-home-in-a-meat-wagon experience).  I think it was obstruction rather than endangerment.

On the subject of kit, the one with the brown shorts and blue-and-white top is just  :sick:

Yes, Roger, I had obviously made an effort to blank that out!

I've always thought the UCI should have a rule that all riders' shorts should be black, apart from the logos. And as for the orange Euskaltel bum-patch... Wouldn't just a Basque flag look better?
The journey is always more important than the destination

Redlight

  • Enjoying life in the slow lane
Re: Tour de France 2012
« Reply #528 on: 14 July, 2012, 11:31:18 am »
Funniest dimwit media comment I've heard so far was the BBC yesterday commenting that Wiggins was still in the lead but had Chris Froome "snapping at his heels"

(It's almost up there with the BBC TdF competition in which the question was "what colour jersey does each day's stage winner get to wear the next day?"  And the winning answer was, of course, Yellow.)
Why should anybody steal a watch when they can steal a bicycle?

rogerzilla

  • When n+1 gets out of hand
Re: Tour de France 2012
« Reply #529 on: 14 July, 2012, 12:27:58 pm »
http://www.cycling-wear.com/2011-ag2r-mondiale-kuota-short-sleeve-cycling-jersey-and-cycling-short-kit.html

The only advantage I can see is that the shorts won't show any embarrassing stains if you have a near-death experience on a mountain descent.
Hard work sometimes pays off in the end, but laziness ALWAYS pays off NOW.

citoyen

  • Occasionally rides a bike
Tour de France 2012
« Reply #530 on: 14 July, 2012, 12:56:34 pm »
If I can manage to get hold of one in Paris, I'll bring it back for you.

That would be truly wonderful of you! (Buy an armful - as mattc hints, you could probably sell them on at a huge profit.)

d.
"The future's all yours, you lousy bicycles."

citoyen

  • Occasionally rides a bike
Tour de France 2012
« Reply #531 on: 14 July, 2012, 12:58:00 pm »


Swapping their finishing positions seemed like sensible justice but the 30 point penalty for Goss seems excessive to me. What do you think?

Definitely too harsh - I have Goss in my fantasy team.

d.
"The future's all yours, you lousy bicycles."

citoyen

  • Occasionally rides a bike
Tour de France 2012
« Reply #532 on: 14 July, 2012, 01:00:46 pm »
They usually have it at Clapham Junction; otherwise in the paper shop in Long Acre near Leicester Sq tube; or try St Pancras Station..

Ooh, the Long Acre one is a good shout - not far from work. St Pancras definitely worth a look too.

I think the WH Smith at Victoria will probably have it but I've not had a chance to call in there recently.

d.
"The future's all yours, you lousy bicycles."

mmmmartin

  • BPB 1/1: PBP 0/1
    • FNRttC
Re: Tour de France 2012
« Reply #533 on: 14 July, 2012, 01:14:24 pm »
Four British stage winners on a single Tour. British World Champion. British yellow jersey. Unbelievable.

d.

& as ever there's nary a shout in the British press ::-)

The Grauniad, Independent and Torygraph coverage is good. Haven't seen The Times coz it belongs to Rupert, or any tabloids.

OTOH there's bugger-all (well, 100 words a day hidden at the bottom of an LH page five from the back) in the London Evening Standard, despite Wiggo sometimes being described as a Londoner and having cut his track teeth at Herne Hill.
ahem, it is at the top of the front page of today's FT, with a big photograph as well. You just read the wrong papers.
Besides, it wouldn't be audacious if success were guaranteed.

Re: Tour de France 2012
« Reply #534 on: 14 July, 2012, 01:59:40 pm »
Working my way up to inferior.

Re: Tour de France 2012
« Reply #535 on: 14 July, 2012, 02:43:08 pm »
... the 30 point penalty for Goss seems excessive to me. What do you think?

It's the 13 points for the position at the final sprint, and 17 points for wearing a beard.  :demon:

Regarding broadsheet coverage, it's a two-page spread in the Times today, with a good piece on why Sky are doing so well - it's because the money is being spent on the coaching and sports scientists, rather than on rider salaries. It's what Dave Brailsford is calling "Intellectual doping".
"He who fights monsters should see to it that he himself does not become a monster. And if you gaze for long into an abyss, the abyss gazes also into you." ~ Freidrich Neitzsche

citoyen

  • Occasionally rides a bike
Tour de France 2012
« Reply #536 on: 14 July, 2012, 03:14:58 pm »
Lovely piece in - of all things - the Sun today about family man Cav. More a celebrity lifestyle piece than anything to do with the sport, but that just shows how the public profile of cycling is changing...
http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/features/4428660/Tour-de-France-hero-Mark-Cavendish-talks-about-the-road-to-London-2012.html

Rather unsubtle but nonetheless welcome shoehorning in of Cav's reaction to the Di Gregorio arrest too (suspect Fran Millar is behind this - no coincidence that it comes a day after Brad's Guardian blog).

d.
"The future's all yours, you lousy bicycles."

Re: Tour de France 2012
« Reply #537 on: 14 July, 2012, 04:07:42 pm »
Lovely piece in - of all things - the Sun today about family man Cav. More a celebrity lifestyle piece than anything to do with the sport, but that just shows how the public profile of cycling is changing...

Interestingly, nothing about red lights, pavements, road tax etc etc ad nauseam in the Comments.



Yet.
The journey is always more important than the destination

Re: Tour de France 2012
« Reply #538 on: 14 July, 2012, 04:17:27 pm »
Lovely piece in - of all things - the Sun today about family man Cav. More a celebrity lifestyle piece than anything to do with the sport, but that just shows how the public profile of cycling is changing...

Interestingly, nothing about red lights, pavements, road tax etc etc ad nauseam in the Comments.
Yet.

Prolly because RLJs and pavement riders have Sun reader mentality. If the article had been in the Wail......
Working my way up to inferior.

Re: Tour de France 2012
« Reply #539 on: 14 July, 2012, 04:38:55 pm »
In case anyone was wondering where

"Edited out Image of The Devil"

is this year, 

http://road.cc/content/news/61234-didi-devil-misses-tour-he-recuperates-brain-surgery

I hadn't realised he was missing, until you mentioned it.  He has been shown on the coverage most years, often either being explicitly mentioned, or shown in a montage at the end of the days show.  Hopefully he'll be back, being a nutter, next year. :thumbsup:

Today's finish was quite exciting.  The front couple of riders being caught, and leaving a sprint finish, that Greipel just took from Sagan.  I though it a little amusing that Wiggins acted as a lead out for Boasson Hagen, who failed to quite make good, only coming in third behind the others.  Wiggins came in tenth, wisely staying out of the very front, where nastiness can happen, but far enough up to make sure no time gaps appeared.

Wiggins can clearly put a bit of speed on when he needs to.  The wind looked somewhat punishing, although the speeds being done for the final hour or so would be impressive for me over a much shorter distance, with a stronger wind behind me!  When they're averaging 35mph, which I can achieve on the flat for a short while, you realise what a phenomenal achievement it is, doing this day after day for three weeks.
Actually, it is rocket science.
 

Re: Tour de France 2012
« Reply #540 on: 14 July, 2012, 05:19:41 pm »
Working my way up to inferior.

simonp

Re: Tour de France 2012
« Reply #541 on: 14 July, 2012, 05:48:29 pm »
Was nice to see Sète featured, stayed there in 2007 when sailing in the Med with family.

Re: Tour de France 2012
« Reply #542 on: 14 July, 2012, 06:29:48 pm »
Here's a Simon Brotherton tweet from earlier today:

Quote
BTW, road signs imply there's a nudie village at Cap D'Agde. French TV need to take care with those aerial chopper shots today.

I see what you did there...  ;D
"He who fights monsters should see to it that he himself does not become a monster. And if you gaze for long into an abyss, the abyss gazes also into you." ~ Freidrich Neitzsche

mmmmartin

  • BPB 1/1: PBP 0/1
    • FNRttC
Re: Tour de France 2012
« Reply #543 on: 14 July, 2012, 06:57:26 pm »
Lovely piece in - of all things - the MURDOCH OWNED Sun today about family man Cav WITH A GOOD PIC OF HIM WEARING THE KIT SHOWING HE IS SPONSORED BY MURDOCH OWNED SKY
it's a two-page spread in the MURDOCH OWNED Times today, with a good piece on why Sky, THE TEAM SPONSORED BY MURDOCH OWNED SKY are doing so well
I venture to suggest that if the Sky team was at the back there would be hardly any coverage in the Murdoch press.  And it is really interesting to see the Murdoch owned Times going out of its way to show that the team the Murdoch owned Sky is sponsoring is doing really well without using drugs. And I am sure they are not (there is some quite closely argued stuff I have seen recently looking at power output and saying they are not using drugs this year), because if they were found out, that would be yet another nail in the public relations for the Murdochs. It is good to see the sport getting good coverage, but there is a hidden agenda in this for some publishers.
Besides, it wouldn't be audacious if success were guaranteed.

TimC

  • Old blerk sometimes onabike.
Re: Tour de France 2012
« Reply #544 on: 14 July, 2012, 07:29:18 pm »
Is the Times contriving coverage of an event no-one's invested in? No. Fer chrissakes, we've been complaining for years that cycle racing gets a bum deal from the mainstream press. Now they're flavour of the month, we're going to complain because a Murdoch paper gives a Murdoch-sponsored team some space? Are the other papers ignoring the Tour because they don't like a competitor's team doing the winning? No, of course they aren't. Enjoy it while it lasts, no doubt we'll be back to obscurity soon enough.

TimC

  • Old blerk sometimes onabike.
Re: Tour de France 2012
« Reply #545 on: 14 July, 2012, 07:55:16 pm »
In case anyone was wondering where

"Edited out Image of The Devil"

is this year, 

http://road.cc/content/news/61234-didi-devil-misses-tour-he-recuperates-brain-surgery

I hadn't realised he was missing, until you mentioned it.  He has been shown on the coverage most years, often either being explicitly mentioned, or shown in a montage at the end of the days show.  Hopefully he'll be back, being a nutter, next year. :thumbsup:

Today's finish was quite exciting.  The front couple of riders being caught, and leaving a sprint finish, that Greipel just took from Sagan.  I though it a little amusing that Wiggins acted as a lead out for Boasson Hagen, who failed to quite make good, only coming in third behind the others.  Wiggins came in tenth, wisely staying out of the very front, where nastiness can happen, but far enough up to make sure no time gaps appeared.

Wiggins can clearly put a bit of speed on when he needs to.  The wind looked somewhat punishing, although the speeds being done for the final hour or so would be impressive for me over a much shorter distance, with a stronger wind behind me!  When they're averaging 35mph, which I can achieve on the flat for a short while, you realise what a phenomenal achievement it is, doing this day after day for three weeks.

Stunning lead out by Wiggo! Shame EBH couldn't make it stick, but a great effort. But where was Cav? (I've only seen part of the highlights).

Auntie Helen

  • 6 Wheels in Germany
Re: Tour de France 2012
« Reply #546 on: 14 July, 2012, 07:58:12 pm »
He got dropped on that hill 25km before the end and no-one in the group he was dropped with had any desire to catch up. He clearly realised he couldn't do it alone and sat up.

I reckon if this were the Olympic Road Race then all of Sky would have hung back, let him keep going and dragged him up to the front for the sprint finish. At least, I'm hoping that's what'd happen!
My blog on cycling in Germany and eating German cake – http://www.auntiehelen.co.uk


welshwheels

  • stop eating cheeseburgers big boy!!!!
Re: Tour de France 2012
« Reply #547 on: 14 July, 2012, 08:10:43 pm »
I can not see cav staying with team sky after this contract ends however long it is ....... what a waste of talent being left on his own today and on the other sprint stage that he won he had no train !! he just jumped on gripel's wheel and done him as a true poacher cav is an exceptional sprinter who should have had more support of team sky today !!
struggling up hills since 1981 !!!

Dibdib

  • Fat'n'slow
Re: Tour de France 2012
« Reply #548 on: 14 July, 2012, 08:18:34 pm »
I was also a little disappointed that Team Sky didn't put more effort into putting Cav in a position to contest the sprint, considering he's been slaving away as a waterboy all week. But it'll flatten out again soon enough.


As for Cav staying with Sky, well... realistically it's going to have to be him or Wiggo but not both - the last couple of weeks have shown that you can't really push for the yellow jersey and the points win at the same time. The numbers just don't work, and Cav's almost had no-one but Eisel for company since they left Belgium.  I think what'll be more interesting to see is whether Chris Froome will stay at Sky if Wiggins stays, as he's proved that he could possibly be a GC contender in his own right.

Re: Tour de France 2012
« Reply #549 on: 14 July, 2012, 08:26:53 pm »
Cav missed the break in the Peloton, and once he was in that position, they would have needed quite a lot of the team to try and get him back to the front.  At the end of the day, whilst winning stages is important, it's not as important to any team as keeping the Yellow Jersey, quite possibly until the end, so Cav lost out to Wiggins, quite rightly.

Cav is never likely to win the Yellow Jersey on The Tour, he's not really enough of a climber.  Even if he has improved his performance on the hills, this Tour has shown that he's still not enough of an all rounder to keep the Yellow Jersey.  Wiggins on the other hand, can, and the Yellow Jersey has a lot more credibility for advertising than individual stages, and at the end of the day, the team has to keep it's profile high, so that it's advertisers get coverage, since that's basically what they're paying for.

The Tour de France is a team sport.  Whilst you need individuals who can independently do good things, and who can occasionally win stages or sprints independently of the team, generally you are very reliant on the other team members if you want to make a credible attempt on the GC.

I can also see Chris Froome moving on.  If he does lead the team for the Vuelta, it'll be his chance to shine.  If he does well enough, I suspect he'll be looking for another team to move onto very soon.
Actually, it is rocket science.