Watching it, it was hard to believe that there was all that fuss in the Giro about a neutralised (or not) descent in weather which was nowhere near as bad as that on the pass. I know that our eyes can often see more than the camera can, and I know that these guys are professionals, but blimey, I couldn't make out who was who, or where the road was going. No wonder there is no footage of the crash!
At one point LLB and I were both lunging forward out of our seats, screaming "nooooooo!" as two riders slid towards the barrier - as though we could do anything about it! - and luckily neither of them went over it, but phew, it was a close call. It rather brought back memories of this Tour in 2008, (was it that long ago?) when Frankie flipped over the barrier on a bend, and for a short time it looked as though he'd never be seen again, although on that occasion he reappeared, unharmed, and continued.
According to news reports, there were a lot of shunts in the fog: Andy went down, but not badly, and indeed he had a pretty good day, he was up there with the front of the peloton, looking very comfortable indeed in 5th or 6th place (good positioning - safe, but not in the wind) on the big climbs.
However, Frankie went down hard, and although he bravely finished the race, he was taken off to hospital and has now been pulled out of the race with concussion.
Obviously we send him lots of Schleckland hugs, and wishes for a speedy recovery.
Alas, I don't have a pic of Andy in action, but here's one of JVS:
What is is with JVS and tucking up his sleeves? His arms are probably six inches longer than anyone else, so it's not as though the white band makes the sleeve uncomfortably long.
Does anyone know if he has a twitter account? Can we ask him? Perhaps I could ask Fran Miller to ask her brother about it?
Leaving JVS aside and returning to Andy for a moment, there's a not-very-pleasant news report out this morning which reports that his team manager has stated that if he is selected for the Tour, he won't be going for GC as he's just not good enough, and that he is going to have to prove that he has some form now, in the Tour de Suisse, otherwise he won't even be selected.
Oh, that's nice, tell the whole world, why not! What happened to managers having a quiet word with the person concerned? Warning, Schlecklanders, don't read the comments at the bottom of the report, they will only make you cross. I don't really see the point of issuing this sort of statement: Andy himself already knows that he has to perform or he won't be selected, so why tell the journalists, and add even more pressure to the guy?
Or is that the idea? Pro riders have to be incredible athletes, made of steel, and they also have to be able to take the pressure of uninformed, biased idiots making stupid comments about them.
I do hope that Andy doesn't read these reports... TinkerJil! Don't let him read them! Make him look at some Lolcats or something, instead!
Hi Coug.
ReplyDeleteYou're right, I shouldn't have read those comments - but I did. People are so nasty, downright mean, or maybe just cynical. Such negativity must be unpleasant to live with. It was good to see Andy in the front, but unfortunately it didn't last long. I hope he is able to regain his form, but it has been 2 years since his accident.
Too bad about Frankie. I did see that race, but as you say, didn't actually "see" much of it.
We've been getting better TV coverage lately. I watched the Giro and the Dauphinee but I haven't been watching the Tour de Suisse much since the Tour is not far away. Don't want to completely alienate my husband. I enjoyed the Dauphinee; it had a surprise ending!
emjay