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2013 Tour De France the 100 tour

759 views 23 replies 11 participants last post by  Phil17108 
#1 ·
The 100th bike race starts on Saturday the 29 of June.
 
#6 ·
What a crazy finish!


Bus stuck under the finish line banner???


And they finally get it off the road with just minutes left before the bikes arrive, with a huge crash just moments before??


And everybody gets the same time??


The LIVE coverage very early in the morning (PDT) is always the most exciting and interesting, and not cluttered up with interviews and other filler.
 
#7 ·
No comments? Can it be that nobody else is watching, or interested??


These first three days in Corsica have been GORGEOUS!! Helicopter shots of everything have been unbelievable. Clear blue skies, bright sun, beautiful transparent turquoise water... just stunning.


Today's near-catastrophe excitement was when a little terrier dog ran out into the road that the frantic peloton was about 10 seconds away from (traveling at about 35 MPH). Unbelievably fightening when the dog's owner tried to run out to get the dog, and then realized he'd never make it and backed away, leaving the dog stranded in the middle of the road... looking at his owner. Somehow, like a bird or squirrel or fly that somehow senses (probably by air pressure) immediate danger, the dog suddenly sensed the oncoming crush of cyclists, turned around and then frantically scurried to the other side of the road making it out of the way just in time to avoid truly getting crushed and causing what would have been a horrendous accident with all of the lead riders right at the front of the pack. I mean this would have been a complete disaster, possibly with deaths and certainly multiple horrific injuries as they were really speeding. That it ended without any mishap was truly a miracle.


Wonderful TV coverage looking backwards from the lead motorcycle for the final winding descent and final few miles to the finish was unbelievable.


So far, I'm loving it. The early morning LIVE session could not be any more exciting. Four hours go by and you're sorry it's ending.
 
#8 ·
I have yet to turn on todays stage but that is the next thing I do. The guy that won for radio shack was just about out of gas at the line but It was nice to have a first time winner. I watched it a little behind the live and the way the country side is shown makes me fell a little like I am there.
 
#11 ·
What about the idiot in a speedo in stage 2 where he ran right at the two cyclists. It looked like if he hadn't dropped something behind him and went to pick it up, he would have crashed right into them. The racers seemed genuinely startled by the moron. Why do people think that running along side somebody, screaming and shoving a flag in front of his face will somehow give him inspiration?
 
#13 ·

Quote:
Originally Posted by Phil17108  /t/1479297/2013-tour-de-france-the-100-tour#post_23523153


Todays stage, the hi speed run in the wind was the best race stage I have seen in sometime, maybe more of the same coming up, a flat stage that is important to the GC and not just the Green jersey

It was a hard lesson for those that not that familiar with riding in an echelon and knowing to be up front when the winds start blowing. The Belgian riders are used to it. The sprints have been great this year.
 
#15 ·
I guess nobody watched this year!


Well I did... EVERY MINUTE!


It was particularly gorgeous this year, as there was only one brief period of rain. The rest of the time it was blue skies and green foliage, along with an amazing shot of some guy who'd apparently climbed to the top of Mont Blanc which was 100% covered with snow.


Sunday's TV helicopter coverage of Versailles and Paris was simply amazing to look at. And shutting down Paris for the closing ceremony with the Champs all lit up, well it was just beautiful.


And Marcel Kittel's pipping of Andre Greipel and Mark Cavendish at the line today in an unbelievable sprint on the cobbles was truly exciting to watch, as they had a TV motorcycle flying along at the exact same speed as the cyclists in a separate lane about 20 feet away, looking directly at them with the camera (sideways, as they all moved forward at 45 mph) as the whole group of three pedaled along like crazy at high speed and finally crossed the line... kind of like the sled-cam at the Olympics track events. This "sled-cam" perspective was actually more exciting to watch than the usual overhead helicopter coverage of the final sprint, with the chopper flying at the same speed as the riders with the camera looking directly down overhead. Much stronger sensation of motion and the speed the cyclists are moving at.


All in all, 23-year old Nairo Quintana was the probably real surprise standout in his first Tour appearance, winning both Polka Dot jersey and White jersey (as a result of his amazing stage win on the final climb in the Alps).


IT WAS GREAT!!! Fabulous TV coverage this year, starting with those 3 beautiful days on the island of Corsica.


Till next year...
 
#16 ·
I also watched most of the Tour.....great finale....not sure having it at twilight was best for TV viewers, might have been more spectaculr if you were there "live". A good race overall....hopefully Froome and Quintana prove to have ridden "clean"...cycling doesn't need any more doping scandals.
 
#17 ·
Great race and the TV coverage was great as usual. I think the reason that the bike race did not get a lot of play on the forum is bike people a more doers then watchers, that is watch the race in the AM and hit the bike, gym or what ever the rest of the day. The bike is a life style not just a TV show. Maybe next year one of the young Americans can push onto the top level of the podium. It was good to see Gregg LaMond there this year, he was always one of my favorites, and I had meet him a few times during the years that my life was the bike. I have always thought the shotgun wound kept him from winning 5 times, maybe more.
 
#18 ·
I'm not a bike rider, but I watched all of the prime time recaps, plus the final stage yesterday. I really enjoyed it. Great scenery and racing, it is amazing what these guys do. I saw a quote from Lance Armstrong before the Tour began to the effect that it is impossible to win the race clean. I hope he was wrong.

The only thing I did not like about the coverage were number of commercial breaks. It seemed like every two minutes they would break away for more ads. At least they did have some commercial free periods at the end of some stages.
 
#19 ·
I enjoy watching it also. I watched the final stage in my HT yesterday. The technical challenges to bringing the tour to live tv must be extraordinary to say the least. I don't ever remember there being an Emmy Nomination for live sports broadcast offered to the TDF, but I believe they deserve one. High Def on the move throughout Europe. Pretty impressive.
 
#20 ·

Quote:
Originally Posted by rkhopkins  /t/1479297/2013-tour-de-france-the-100-tour#post_23551627


The only thing I did not like about the coverage were number of commercial breaks. It seemed like every two minutes they would break away for more ads. At least they did have some commercial free periods at the end of some stages.

That is quite annoying, but I think they do balance out the frequent commercial breaks at the beginning with the extended periods at the end. Overall, you're seeing the same amount of ads.
 
#21 ·

Quote:
Originally Posted by rkhopkins  /t/1479297/2013-tour-de-france-the-100-tour#post_23551627


The only thing I did not like about the coverage were number of commercial breaks. It seemed like every two minutes they would break away for more ads. At least they did have some commercial free periods at the end of some stages.
They always have an extended "commercial-free" section at the end of the stage. And to make up for it they pepper the earlier relatively mundane racing with extra breaks.


For example yesterday the last three laps (3x7=21 miles) were commercial-free, right up to the finish.


Same with exciting climbs into the mountains. They usually have say the last 20-30 minutes commercial-free, just solid racing.


And you never miss anything even if something happens during a commercial, as they do immediately replay something important (e.g. a crash) which might have been missed while away.


I recorded all of the early morning extended full "live" coverage shows (adding an extra 1/2 hour to the Guide time) rather than the edited replays later, and then watched it later in the day or evening when I had time, doing my own "commercial-free" skipping as appropriate. Not a problem. And seeing "live" in the upper-right corner makes it more exciting for me.
 
#22 ·

Quote:
Originally Posted by Phil17108  /t/1479297/2013-tour-de-france-the-100-tour#post_23551323


Great race and the TV coverage was great as usual. I think the reason that the bike race did not get a lot of play on the forum is bike people a more doers then watchers, that is watch the race in the AM and hit the bike, gym or what ever the rest of the day. The bike is a life style not just a TV show. Maybe next year one of the young Americans can push onto the top level of the podium. It was good to see Gregg LaMond there this year, he was always one of my favorites, and I had meet him a few times during the years that my life was the bike. I have always thought the shotgun wound kept him from winning 5 times, maybe more.



It did affect him because of his stupid brother-in-law! I do find it interesting when he was saying that Lance was riding "dirty" years ago they said he was just bitter! He had to give away the 85 tour to Hinault which Le Mond would have clearly won. He could have won three at least maybe four? Dependent on the team around him.
 
#23 ·
I own Lance's last yellow jersey and Floyd's yellow jersey (still hanging in my exercise room) which I'm presuming are now worthless. Funny though both are involved in one of my best memories of the tour...

Lance Armstrong: How bad do you want to win a stage in the Tour de France?

Floyd Landis: Real bad.

Armstrong: How fast can you go down hill?

Landis: I go downhill real fast. Can I do it?

Armstrong: Sure you can do it ... run like you stole something Floyd.



Unfortunately, Ullrich caught him and Lance had to win the stage. Back in the day it was USA versus USSR in basketball. It was more important than the event itself. Nowadays it has returned to its cycling glory without a Yankee team you either love or hate. It seems the riders come and go so quickly you can't keep up... Wiggins, Cavendish, Schlecks, and even Contador... heck he was going to win 10 of them.


It's still a great show just not the experience it once was... at least for this fan. I haven't imported a jersey in years.
 
#24 ·

Quote:
Originally Posted by Sharp1080  /t/1479297/2013-tour-de-france-the-100-tour#post_23552461


It did affect him because of his stupid brother-in-law! I do find it interesting when he was saying that Lance was riding "dirty" years ago they said he was just bitter! He had to give away the 85 tour to Hinault which Le Mond would have clearly won. He could have won three at least maybe four? Dependent on the team around him.

He did win three tours and like you wrote he was stop from winning in 85 on team orders. I can easily see him winning in 87 and 88, he did win in 89 & 90. The 91 tour he was top 10 and in 92 after running near or on the front had to abandon. It was in at that time the disease from the lead was getting to him and thats when Gregg called it a day.

He also brought real money to the sport and helped every one in the peloton. I sure wish we had the TV coverage back then like during the last 15 years.

As for Lance, they were all doing it so he was the best of the time, and you can do all the performance enhancement you want but have to train like a mad man to have it help. Look at all the stuff that is available in the bike shops, health food stores all of is performance to help you go farther fast and recover quicker.
 
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