Instead, I just tell you about the odd things that have caught my eye... and from yesterday's stage I'd like to share this new concept in Aerodynamic Nose-Cones:
Comments that come to mind:
1) It was raining, the roads were very slippery, they're going downhill, he's eating his sarney, and yet he chooses to adopt the madly-dangerous aero position. Kiddies, don't try this at home.
2) He's holding a tin-foil wrapped package between his teeth? Hmm, no fillings, then.
Secondly, Johny Hoogerland won the Polka Dot Jersey: but what on earth are the poor podium girls wearing?
We have laughed in the past about the terrible Polka Dot podium frocks - you remember, those ones with the huge skirts that looked like the result of an after-midnight, one-too-many-tequilas meeting between a lampshade and an upside down umbrella.
But at least they were memorable. Those ones look like - well, I don't really know WHAT they look like! Raincoats? "Frumpy" isn't the word.....
So, you think being a podium girl is all glamorous and lovely, huh?
How's this for a tasteful changing room?
I'm glad to see I'm not the only one to be shocked by those polka dots dresses!
ReplyDeleteSeriously, the Tour de France needs a new stylist.
I just want to know what the h-e-double hockey sticks is that THANG they're making them wear in their hair??
ReplyDeleteTo me, the dresses look like they exploded a lava lamp onto a blank canvas. Or, a child's construction paper cutout project, run amok. Fun with scissors!
ReplyDeleteI've never thought it was glamorous to be ogled at like a prize. It reminds me of the "Funeral Games for Patrolus" in Book XXIII of The Iliad, where the prize for one of the victors was a tripod, and the loser's prize, quote "a female slave, priced at 4 oxen".
I wonder how many oxen I'd be worth? And how much would that be in Euros?
Yeah, I don't like those dresses either.. and podium girls have to follow lots of rules; doesn't seem like a fun job at all.
ReplyDeleteApparently it's not the Tour, it's the sponsors. Carrefour sponsor the Polka dot jersey (hence the appearance of their name behind the podium there) so they get to choose the girls, and the frocks.
ReplyDeleteOh boy, do they need some stylists!
Virtkitty, I hadn't noticed the hair ornament! Is it a crazily huge bow? (*incredulous voice*)
Ripley, you astound me with your classical allusions, I can't even remember the last time I read the Iliad, it must have been decades ago. I couldn't quote a single line from it.
But I think I'd be worth quite a few oxen, as I'm pretty sturdy!
Marleen, I think the only fun part about being a podium girl is that you get to meet and greet the cyclists and their entourage, so you become one step better than the mass of fans. So, if you wanted to catch the eye of a particular cyclist, you are in a better position to do so than all of us mere fans. Other than that - no, it doesn't seem to be a fun job.
Well, I say that, but I have to say that going to Events of all sorts is generally a lot of fun, no matter what you are doing. I spent one entire day at a Nissan event with my face painted like a tiger, washing baboon poo off of my cars. Loved every minute!
Right, it's Friday, it's nearly time to meet up with LLB, and we plan to spend the whole weekend watching TdF footage and weeping quietly for poor Bradley Wiggins, Sky leader, who broke his collarbone about 20 minutes ago.
Catch up next week!
Coug
What a brutal day! Boonan, Bradley, probably Horner...and all the one's we haven't heard about.
ReplyDeleteIs the sport getting too dangerous with the technology and the speeds?
I am so grateful the LT is SO together! I am just so sad for Radio Shack. Gotta hurt. Mountains begin tomorrow - now the game changes!
Jakob got fined today for peeing in public...I mean - what is he supposed to do when nature calls and the roads are packed with people on all sides?
Go Andy Go! You too Frank. But, please be SAFE~
BolderEl
Hey BolderE there has been quite a few close encounters of nearly showing riders having a wee. But it would be just about impossible to not do it in front of a few people. Seems like another stupid decision by the organisers/UCI again.
ReplyDeleteSuch a shame about Boonen, Wiggins and co. Its strange how some teams/ riders just have all the bad luck and others have none. LT (touch wood) have had a great start and avoided all accidents
It makes me laugh when Phil says they all must stick to the front to avoid accidents and protect their leaders, and Paul quietly points out that they can't all be at the front. Ive never noticed before how much Phil/Paul repeat themselves and love,love love certain riders. I miss Harmon, Kelly and co. Cindy
P.S where the heck were you Cougs when you encountered baboon poo? Is there a secret jungle in the UK we haven't heard of?
Very glad to hear Chris Horner is doing better. That was a fairly horrifying scence when he arrived at the finish yesterday. It was certainly looking dicey with his levels of confusion.
ReplyDeleteBolderEl
Well, Vinokourov, Jurgen Van Den Broeck, and David Zabriskie are out...
ReplyDeleteAnd, the psycho killer driver of a French TV car, thought it was a better idea to sideswipe a defenseless human being, than crash into a tree. This idiot needs to be sent to a gaol, under a yoke, and his driver's license revoked forever. The sight of Hoogerland's body flying into the air, has to be one of the scariest things I have ever seen.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tWT8yeHGA0U
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And have you see the photo's? That crash with the French auto was so horrible. Hurting bodies.
ReplyDeleteDo you thinks Conti got deliberately taken out in his crash? Seems to be some scuttle regarding that.
Radio Shack is certainly having a sucky time. Kloden off to the hospital as well. Sheesh!
I've watche a lot of Tours in my day - and never seen one that has this much damage in the first 7 days.. What's going on? Too fast? New Tour riders? Sabotage?
BE
From what I gather from Phil Liggett, MBE, Contador's crash seems to have involved Vladimir Karpets. Apparently his bike handles were caught in the saddle of Karpets' bike (I see you stirring in the naughty corner, folks. I've tried to phrase that in a such a way that cannot be exploited / misinterpreted. Have fun trying anway :P)
ReplyDeletehttp://in.reuters.com/article/2011/07/10/idINIndia-58182120110710
http://velonews.competitor.com/2011/07/news/the-livestream-diaries-entry-10-a-gut-wrenching-stage_183136
In fact, the spectator(s) Contador ran into, seem to have been caught unawares:
http://www.seattlepi.com/sports/article/Spain-s-Contador-crashes-at-Tour-but-recovers-1459832.php
Really, it's like an invisible hand is whacking these guys with a fuzzy mallet... you know, like those games you see at a fair, where you whack something for a stuffed animal:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D0n8N98mpes
Hey Gang,
ReplyDeleteWhat an exciting weekend! I was howling "no!" when Bradley was broken, laughing hysterically when Conti "fell off" the road (apparently Karpets has now admitted that he might have pushed Conti a bit, ha ha), speechless at the mighty crash that took out Vino et al, and spitting mad at French TV.
I mean, all cyclists know that there is a good chance that at some stage you will be run down by a car, but not during a cycle race!!!
As of today - Monday morning - the French TV car and driver have been thrown off the race, which was rightly described as the "minimum sanction" and Team Sky and Vaconsoleil have said that they will wait until today before announcing what they are going to do.
"Sue the a**e off them" comes to mind.
At the very least, the driver should be prosecuted for the French equivalent of driving without due care or attention, or preferably dangerous driving.
If this had happened on a training run, I would expect the team to sue the driver for loss of earnings, damage to career etc as well. I hope that they do the same in this case, and I hope that Flecha and Hoogerland are properly compensated.
(*makes furious hissing and spitting noise at French TV*)
There have been some rumblings about there being too many non-essential vehicles in the cavalcade, and I think the organisers might finally get the message.
Team cars, Commissiares cars (2), medical car(s), neutral service cars. That's all we need, isn't it? Add in camera bikes, neutral service bikes, several medical bikes, yellow bike with chalkboard, then sack the rest. The helicopter footage is now so excellent that I don't see the need for as many on-the-road live footage bikes, and I would like to see fewer stills camera bikes as well.
The Contador one was pretty funny, though, wasn't it? I thought he was just too close to the edge of the road and had slid sideways off a white line. Even LLB laughed uproariously when Conti hit the deck, and he normally tells me off for making "pokey finger" motions when Conti or Vino come on the screen - you know, pretending to just push them over a bit.
First reactions were that Karpets seemed to be prepared to take a bit of the blame: "yes, yes, he hit me with his wrist" he complained to Matt Rendell immediately after the stage. The suggestion being that in return for this vicious attack, Karpets bumped him with his shoulder. However, Contador later said that it wasn't deliberate, and that he got - as Figgy said, above - his handlebars caught in Karpets' saddle. (*puzzled face - how could anyone twist that innocent phrase to get something rude?*)
And why is this all happening? Well, the first week of the Tour is always twitchy and nervous, but usually there is a Prologue which splits everyone up, timewise, and established who wears the yellow jersey before the race starts. And usually the first week is flat stages, dull as ditchwater.
The organisers are actively trying to make it more "interesting" to watch, and they failed to have a Prologue this year.
I think that it's the combination of those two points that has lead to the over-exciting action of this first week.
Oh, and a possible third contributory factor: there does seem to be a reduction in the "nice guy" element of cycling, doesn't there? Hitting each other with bike wheels (last year)? Playing tactical races and not making friends in the peloton? It's all getting a bit cut-throat.
cont....
...
ReplyDeleteAnd I'm not at all sure about the quality of marshalling, as mentioned earlier: one rider did comment that Carnage Corner was not adequately marked... and the haybales wrapped in plastic are clearly nowhere near good enough to warn riders about themselves, and to protect them from injury if they should hit them. What happened to all the marshalls with yellow flags? There used to be hundreds of them, in previous years. Now, every time we go through any road furniture, I find that I am trying to spot the occasional marshall...
Now, going back to my predictions for Contador: a) swallow a bee (oops, sorry Frankie) b) break a collarbone (oops, sorry Bradley) and c) nasty intestinal upset - we wait with bated breath.
Memo to self: stop making these suggestions, they are rebounding on the wrong people!
Coug
(Who has finally found the limit for length of comments....)
Well Coug, we've got your "c) nasty intestinal upset":
ReplyDelete"Bad day today upset stomach and was doing little cat spews for the last 60km of the stage, shame I couldn't help cav..."
Can we tell Matt Goss to blame you?
Nooooooooooo! (*howls*)
ReplyDelete(*slumps with head down on the desk*) "little cat spews" eeeeuuuuuw! (*laughs while banging head on desk*)
Thanks Emily, I was going to write a new post, but now I don't think I should!
At least it wasn't Andy who was doing the (*slumps over desk again*) "little cat spews". (*laughs - I know I shouldn't, it's disgusting, but it is sort of funny, isn't it?*)
Coug
(*hangs head in shame at all my predictions occurring, but to the wrong people*)
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ReplyDelete