Tour de France blogging?

by Jerome a Paris Sun Jul 3rd, 2005 at 10:03:40 AM EST

Are there enough Tour de France fans amongst this site readers to make it worthwhile to have a daily thread to follow the action of the day and/or comment on the previous day?

I'll be the first to admit that I am not very knowledgeable about cyclism, but I do follow the Tour de France with pleasure each summer, especially the mountain days, with their amazing effort requirements and the absolutely stunning performances of the cyclists. The most crowded places, with the cheering public literally centimeters away from the bikers make for riveting drama.

Anyway, the best site to follow the Tour is the official site (with the English version here).

Armstrong finished an impressive second in yesterday's "contre la montre" prologue, behind another American, David Zabriskie (pic. below). Can we expect him to win again for an - even more - unprecedented seventh consecutive win?

Poll

Votes: 11
Results	\|	Other Polls

Tour de France blogging? | 21 comments (21 topical, 0 editorial, 0 hidden)

Another good site to follow the race (none / 0)

and the standings is that of the French TV that follows the tour:`

http://tour-de-france.france2.fr/classements/index-fr.php

In the long run, we're all dead. John Maynard Keynes

by Jerome a Paris (etg@eurotrib.com) on Sun Jul 3rd, 2005 at 10:06:04 AM EST

Prediction: A European will win. (none / 0)

Over here the big news is that the French organizers, after passing every competitor through the drug tests on Thursday, confronted Armstrong with another surprize test just before the race started.
http://msnbc.msn.com/id/8444995/

Message: France is ill-tempered because she can't win her own premier bicycle event. Will this year's Tour de France be a fair race?

Or will it go down in history as a replay of the 1962 Le Mans auto race? History reminder: French organizers warp the rules at the last minute to disqualify Lotus, allowing Panhard & Levassor (who?) and Automobiles René Bonnet (who?) to win their classes.
http://www.utahlotusmuseum.com/id105.htm

Or will it be a replay of the 1966 Monte Carlo rally? History reminder: French organizers warp the rules in the middle of the event to disqualify Mini, allowing Citroen win.
http://www.smithmaps.fsnet.co.uk/montetext.htm

That's the sort of action that is expected... :-(

by asdf on Sun Jul 3rd, 2005 at 10:28:45 AM EST

Re: Prediction: A European will win. (none / 1)

No French amongst the possible winners, so why should we care?

Armstrong's already got his own very special place with last year's victory, why bother about this year, which will be less significant (even if it puts the bar even higher)...

Blame the freedoms (er, I mean, blame the French)!

In the long run, we're all dead. John Maynard Keynes

by Jerome a Paris (etg@eurotrib.com) on Sun Jul 3rd, 2005 at 11:04:55 AM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Prediction: A European will win. (none / 1)

Blame the French? Sounds like a solution that (almost) everybody will be happy with! :-)

by asdf on Sun Jul 3rd, 2005 at 12:08:19 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Indeed (none / 0)

I wouldn't say that we encourage this, but almost...
There is no such thing as bad publicity... anything that proves that we still exist and matter is bien!

In the long run, we're all dead. John Maynard Keynes

by Jerome a Paris (etg@eurotrib.com) on Sun Jul 3rd, 2005 at 12:38:44 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Tour de France blogging? (none / 0)

Keep a daily thread on this!

by Hausfrau on Sun Jul 3rd, 2005 at 12:13:02 PM EST

Tour de France for newbies? (none / 0)

My mom and I started watching the Tour de France last year. I admit we were mainly doing it because we wanted to see the scenery of la belle France. However of course we could not help getting involved with the race. :-)

We watched the second stage today live on OLN and didn't understand what was being raced for, exactly. It seems there are many individual sorts of competitions going on in this massive race, not just the overall race. Can someone do a run-down of what these individual competitions are all about?

BTW we're rooting for Thomas Voekler who was so great last year.

by NYCO on Sun Jul 3rd, 2005 at 12:32:56 PM EST

Re: Tour de France for newbies? (none / 0)

I remember neither the title nor the author, but there is a silly book by a Brit who set out to cycle the entire route of the Tour before the race itself, a few years ago. In between the travelogue and humour, he manages to tell lots of great stories about the Tour and its history, as well as explaining a good deal about the strategy of the race and the various mini-prizes with their differently coloured jerseys.

I'll see if I can find the author and title . . .

Pogo: We have met the enemy, and he is us.

by d52boy on Sun Jul 3rd, 2005 at 02:11:24 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Got it! (none / 0)

French Revolutions: Cycling the Tour De France, by Tim Moore

Paperback 288 pages (March 2002)
Publisher: Vintage
Language: English
ISBN: 0099433826

Maybe your local library will have it.

Pogo: We have met the enemy, and he is us.

by d52boy on Sun Jul 3rd, 2005 at 02:14:57 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Tour de France for newbies? (none / 0)

Try this link:
Wikipedia Entry

Other links that might be helpful:
Bicycling Magazine's Coverage (horribly Armstrong-centric).
Official Site (English version).

And finally: Go Jan!!

I'd rather own books that I don't read than clothes I don't wear." -- Jonathan Safran Foer

by mlr701 (mlr701atgmaildotcom) on Sun Jul 3rd, 2005 at 09:16:09 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Silly me. (none / 0)

I would have thought that Armstrong had earned some respect and even affection in France by now. He even speaks French when he gives interviews (although, given how little he says, it's purely a question of the gesture).

Surely, given that he won't be around to torment everyone else next year, it's time for a little tenderness? He is, after all, a great, great champion, an incredible athlete. Give him some credit!

My prediction? Armstrong. He is maniacally disciplined, well-prepared, and determined. His physical and mental toughness and preparation are unmatched. Barring a fall in which he is injured and/or loses a lot of time, he should win.

Pogo: We have met the enemy, and he is us.

by d52boy on Sun Jul 3rd, 2005 at 01:08:47 PM EST

Re: Silly me. (none / 1)

Well, there is grudging respect for the performance (and in recent years, for his efforts to speak in French, which he did not do in his early years of victories), but some things still grate:

his professionalism in his preparations is probably a negative. There is the myth of the "amateur" cyclist who through sheer effort and will during the tour, makes it.
there is also the sympathy for "Poulidor" - the also-ran in the 60s and early 70s against Jacques Anquetil, who loses but provides worthy opposition to the utlimatre winner. Armstrong probably suffers from not having had a great adversary against him
one thing that really handicaps him in France is that pretty much the only race he participates to in Europe is the Tour de France. People are saying, "sure he won the Tout de France, but could he have done it after racing Liège-Bastogne-Liège, Paris-Nice, Paris-Roubaix and all the other "classics"?" His single-minded focus on the Tour makes him look like he's cherry-picking.
finally, the professionalism thing also implies that he's been very professional about his doping as well. There's been a lot of effort to clean up the sport (not altogether successful, but it worked to some extent), and he is seen as taking advantage of this "cleaner"" context with superior management of "the thing".

Hey, I report, you decide.

In the long run, we're all dead. John Maynard Keynes

by Jerome a Paris (etg@eurotrib.com) on Sun Jul 3rd, 2005 at 01:37:15 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Silly me. (none / 0)

Jerome, everything you say makes perfect sense.

I myself vacillate between horror and admiration when I consider Armstrong's obsessive attention to training, etc. He is a kind of freak, as well as a kind of hero. But then, one could say the same of Achilles, and most of us prefer the more human Hector.

I really doubt, though, that he has been doping all these years, under such intense scrutiny, without being caught. I just think he a) is gifted, and b) works much harder than everyone else. What in the world he will do with his life after retirement, I can't imagine.

Pogo: We have met the enemy, and he is us.

by d52boy on Sun Jul 3rd, 2005 at 02:07:37 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Silly me. (none / 0)

I am of similar mind about Armstrong, except the last argument about doping. If Armstrong does it, as implied, 'professionally', or, like a number of other US athletes, with tailor-made drugs undetectable by/not yet known to the controllers, he could very well have evaded exposure for this long.

_{*Lunatic*, n.

One whose delusions are out of fashion.}

by DoDo on Sun Jul 3rd, 2005 at 05:35:25 PM EST
[ Parent ]

doping (none / 0)

Yes, well . . . To me the more likely explanation of Armstrong's success is his maniacal devotion, and as Jerome pointed out, his single-minded focus on the Tour.

I find it hard to believe that any 'tailor-made drugs' could remain undectable long enough for Armstrong to both gain an advantage and not get caught.

Pogo: We have met the enemy, and he is us.

by d52boy on Mon Jul 4th, 2005 at 05:27:31 AM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Silly me. (4.00 / 2)

I like Armstrong because he is the only American (celebrity) that I know of that admits he is an atheist. I long for the past when it was considered rude to ask a person about their religion. I just want to vomit every time I see an American Program (eg. Larry King) when they ask a famous athlete, actor/actress, etc. some guided question to reveal what faith they practise. (I am an American btw, that is why I complain so much about the media).

I don't keep up with sports but it appears to be that the best athletes are the ones that keep their steroid use hidden. I like John Stewart's idea of just letting them take all the drugs they want. You want to run faster and look like a freak - go for it. You want to grow bigger and stronger and have testicles the size of tiny grapes (that goes for women too) - go for it.

In the end, I think Lance Armstrong had good competition last year but his competitors had some bad luck. Jan Ullrich did really well but crashed on that slippery curve when it rained. There were a lot of crashes actually. Armstrong also cheated when he cut across the grass when ?Mayo crashed in front of him. I think it was Mayo, can't remember. Actually, I am not even sure if that was last year. The races are starting to blend in on my brain and I can't differentiate the races.

by Hausfrau on Sun Jul 3rd, 2005 at 04:39:26 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Silly me. (none / 1)

Agree about last years' Ullrich & fellow bad luck cyclists. But this year, Ulle seems to be back into the unmotivated mode. Since he has a special personality, and he showed his best when he was in the Bianchi team where that was respected, I blame his team.

_{*Lunatic*, n.

One whose delusions are out of fashion.}

by DoDo on Sun Jul 3rd, 2005 at 05:47:46 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Tour de France blogging? (4.00 / 2)

Definitely, definitely, definitely. The Tour de France is also a quintessential European sporting event. I look forward to watchng this unfold...grat idea!

"Once in awhile we get shown the light, in the strangest of places, if we look at it right" - Hunter/Garcia

by whataboutbob on Sun Jul 3rd, 2005 at 04:18:59 PM EST

Re: Tour de France blogging? (4.00 / 2)

Watch it, post on it, definitely!

I caught on (after some chance watching in the years before) just in 1997, when Ullrich won. Even more than Ullrich, Vasseur impressed me in that year (the big escape all alone), so I'm pleased that after police was exposed to having faked doping evidence against him, he is back (unfortunately, in the last 25 after two days...)

Tough now I'm familiar with the name of perhaps four dozen racers, and am interested in the outcome, the main attraction for me is still the landscape - when I have time watching live, I always have an 1:200000 Michelin map in front of me.

_{*Lunatic*, n.

One whose delusions are out of fashion.}

by DoDo on Sun Jul 3rd, 2005 at 05:43:14 PM EST

Please keep it (none / 1)

As EVERYONE knows, the most beautiful sports arena in the world is Wrigley Field. God, in her infinite wisdom, has recreated Wrigley Field (without the lights) in heaven. Yes, they don't play baseball in heaven in an Iowa cornfield.

However, the next most beautiful sports venue is the entire country of France for the Tour de France.

It was Lemond who brought the importance, and beauty of the Tour, to us USAmericans.

I just read on the Spiegel's story about the race that T-Mobil has a Plan B (is that actually comprehensible German?) if Ullrich really can't challenge Armstrong: Vinokurov.

I'm so glad that we USAmericans can follow the Tour live on a cable channel, and when the important mountains stages come, I don't have to be anywhere.

Ein Land ist nicht nur das, was es tut -- es ist auch das, was es verträgt, was es duldet.

by MoDem on Sun Jul 3rd, 2005 at 06:43:43 PM EST

Re: Tour de France blogging? (4.00 / 2)

BTW, I'm an apatriot and he said in interviews he feels like a Frenchman despite the Hungarian flag he cycles under, but I guess it falls on me to note that László Bodrogi, who was fifth in the individual run on Saturday, moved up two places to third with the bonus time he gained at the intermediates he won when in the breakaway on Sunday. (OTÍOH he'll fall back on the mountains.)

_{*Lunatic*, n.

One whose delusions are out of fashion.}

by DoDo on Mon Jul 4th, 2005 at 05:27:36 AM EST

Tour de France blogging? | 21 comments (21 topical, 0 editorial, 0 hidden)

Go to: [ European Tribune Homepage : Top of page : Top of comments ]

Tour de France blogging?

Top Diaries

2024 end of year review and the prospects for 2025

More Status Quo please - for now

Bethlehem Lies In Palestine

Full Circle from Baghdad to Damascus

The Really Hard Work Starts Now

Energy (and Other) Events Monthly - 2024

The Irish general election draws near

Recent Diaries

M.A.D. -- Seconds Before Midnight

Leader of War Terrorists

Assembly: ICC The Hague Under Duress

2024 end of year review and the prospects for 2025

Ukrainian and Al Qaeda Terror Joined in Syria

Bethlehem Lies In Palestine

Full Circle from Baghdad to Damascus

Turks and Sauds to Install Sunni Terror in Damascus, Syria -...

More Back-Stabbing in the New Middle East

#WeAreNATO v Rest of the World

The Really Hard Work Starts Now

US Syrian Quagmire - A Second Life

More Status Quo please - for now

The Arab States Are Faced with Virulent Zionism in Israel

December 2024

Next Step An Integrated, Sovereign Europe

Making the Europe and BreXit Trump Proof ...

Energy (and Other) Events Monthly - 2024

Not A Permanent Ceasefire Lebanon-Israel

Clash of Empires - Crossroads @ Middle East