Open thread: Tour de France

[andydreisch]

Yes, it's that time of year again. Leaving the drug issue aside, the Tour de France is really a spectacle. We see it here in the States on the Versus channel with the venerable commentators Phil Liggett and Paul Sherwin. Bob Roll and his "Tour de Frants" quips are always a hit.

Yesterday I saw Robbie McEwan, the Aussie sprinter extraordinaire, somehow weave his way through the peleton and bolt to a really wild sprint finish.

Over the years I've grown to enjoy the sprints more and more. I used to wait in earnest for the mountain stages, and I still do, but the sprints are really, really cool.

Today I left for work before the rains came down in earnest so I'm anxious to see the race tonight on TiVo.

Andy

[susiewilliams]

I won't spoil your Tivo experience for you, but it was quite a finish...

I enjoy watching the Tour almost as much for the scenery as for the cycling. It's like one long travel guide, with all the neat shots of castles and houses (and steam trains! at least yesterday) with the cyclists zooming by.

[andydreisch]

There's a lot of scenery brought out by the sport itself.

It's all begins with the peleton, which flows along like some huge swarm of bees, full of color, spread out at times and bunched together at others, masking the incredible athletic achievements underway at any given moment. The TdF brings us dangerously mad sprint finishes, spectacular climbs, beautifully choreographed team trials, and the reassuring sounds of Phil and Paul speaking of "traffic furniture" to avoid and of riders being in a "spot of bother".

Then there's the enormous tour caravan and crowds that line the entire route (thousands of miles!). What other sport allows such open crowd participation? You have feeding stations, the leadouts, the teamwork, and kids that run after discarded water bottles. The TdF brings us races within races, with green, yellow, white and polka dot jerseys at stake, and each stage a separate race in its own right.

Nearly 3 weeks of this. While there are other grand tours and the Spring Classics are awesome, there's nothing quite like the TdF.

Andy

[Angel]

Fun thread.

I used to follow it quite a bit, but more so in the Miguel Indurain and Pedro Delgado days. I still remember watching them on TV climb up the mountains and the mayhem that would ensue everytime they won a stage.

I remember a Colombian rider won a stage (can't remember his name) one particular year, and all the Colombian folks I knew were partying like they had just won the lottery. It was great.

All the doping and other sillyness somewhat put me off though, so I haven't followed it much in recent years.

In any case, nothing beats the Football World Cup!

[susiewilliams]

Angel,

A Colombian won the stage again a few days ago, and has a pretty good lock on the polka dot jersey. I'm pretty disgusted by the drugs and cheating, especially on this tour when things looked so promising, only to have the favorite rider make a stupid decision to try to press his luck. I still do enjoy the scenery, though, and am heading to Europe for some much-needed vacation later this summer, hopefully traversing some of the same roads.

[andydreisch]

Is Barry Bonds in the Tour this year?

Andy

[Angel]

Yeah, but he rode the course so fast, he is already in Paris.

LOL

[andydreisch]

Well, as much as I despise the dishonesty underlying the sport, I really do enjoy the spectacle. And I'll be watching again tonight, same as before.

I may be the only one, though!!

Andy