There’s been a lot of criticism about this year’s Tour de France being “Le Tour Feminine” coming into today’s anticipated “regular” flat stage. Riders have have expressed frustration and even anger over the atypical courses used early on in this year’s race. [if you’re having trouble viewing this, maybe try right-click/save file as… – if…
Month: July 2010
Yo Dawg, Heard You Like Neutral Finishes
(click through for something resembling an explanation)
A Veteran Win On A Nervous Day
When the early stretches of today’s Stage 1 passed without incident—save the practically obligatory errant canine—some commentators seemed to settle into the notion that the long-anticipated crashes on the always thrilling (and extremely crowded) Dutch and Belgian roadways would not materialize. But beyond the calm facade were warning signs of the carnage to come. A…
A Prologue Of Couldnts
That’s what today’s stage—at least from the recaps, reports and clips through which I experienced it—seemed like to me. In the rain, many contenders couldn’t take risks. With no time bonuses in the coming days, sprinters couldn’t really justify a run for yellow. Over a pancake-flat parcours, climbers couldn’t make any statements. And with all…
How The Race Was Won – Rules of the Group Sprint
A little TdF preview for you, since the action in the early going is driven largely by the sprinters, and we be especially tightly scrutinized after the tremendous crash at the Tour de Suisse. The UCI’s rules on what it is and isn’t ok to do in a sprint are both poorly-written, and enforced in…