Tour de France
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Category: Topics not related to music
Forum Name: General Polls
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Printed Date: November 26 2024 at 15:18
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Topic: Tour de France
Posted By: suitkees
Subject: Tour de France
Date Posted: June 26 2021 at 04:25
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They just started!
Any cycling fans here on PA? I am, both actively (although nowadays not
that fanatic anymore as 15, 20, 30 years ago) and passively. They just
started in the 108th edition of the Tour de France. I love watching it,
especially the mountain stages, because I know most of the mountains
they climb for having climbed them myself too, so I recognize the roads,
the cols and know when it really becomes difficult. I also like to see the landscapes and monuments... What do you think of it? And are you going to follow it? (multiple votes allowed and please, comment!) ------------- The razamataz is a pain in the bum |
Replies:
Posted By: Guldbamsen
Date Posted: June 26 2021 at 06:05
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I’ve been following Le Tour de France ever since I can remember. It’s some of the first memories I have of watching sports on tv with my mom and dad. I think the very first rider I rooted for was Claudio Chiappucci..and then a couple of years later the ‘Bjarne Riis years’ started, and Denmark experienced something of a cycling renaissance that has been going strong ever since. Especially in later years our small country has sported quite the number of pro riders. All of our newly found succes though is based upon what happened back in the mid 90s, regardless of drugs and whatnot. During the last 10 years or so I always have some faves to start out with - simply interesting riders that generally have a tendency to take matters into their own hands. That’s why I absolutely love Pogacar. He won the Tour almost entirely by himself, by sheer will and heart. The fact that he also comes across as a sympathetic guy only adds to my respect for him. Conversely, I have a hard time with the guys that merely sit back and latch onto their team-mates like some human bicycle-trailer…and then at the last minute eats up 20 seconds during the final kilometer of the last mountain. When cycling gets to be too calculated I distance myself from the individual/team. One thing is good team-work…another thing entirely is what you sometimes get in modern cycling, where this often materialises during stages which are supposed to be a brilliant battle for the top spots in mountanous terrain…and you end up with one team effectively taking charge of everything. Only remedy? Guys like Pogacar. It used to be the likes of Valverde and Nibali that managed to slice through the mindnumbingly boring control exerted by the bigger teams. I love me a bit of chaos. It often shows the real quality of the riders…which in turn makes it all the more easier to pick out faves. Also..I’m probably the only 39 year old man in Jutland that doesn’t own a driver’s license. I’ve always used my bike…which is why cycling on tv is very relatable. If you’ve ever tried going up a hill with an increase of over 15%, you know full well what is going down when the race hits the mountains. I can very much imagine the pain. I’ve always been a bear of a man but have managed to be somewhat nimble when the terrain goes upwards..but then again, I’ve never tried going upwards for several kilometers straight  No wonder most of the top guys look more like concentration camp survivors than actual top athletes. If you met a Tour de France winner on the beach and you had no knowledge of him nor the sport, you’d most likely offer him a cheeseburger or 5. ------------- “The Guide says there is an art to flying or rather a knack. The knack lies in learning how to throw yourself at the ground and miss.” - Douglas Adams |
Posted By: nick_h_nz
Date Posted: June 26 2021 at 06:11
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I’m a cyclist, but would rather be cycling than watching cycling. I like a lot of French cheeses, but I’m not sure I’ve ever had any French wine (apart from the odd glass of champagne that has been offered to me at, eg, weddings). ------------- https://tinyurl.com/nickhnz-tpa" rel="nofollow - Reviewer for The Progressive Aspect |
Posted By: Shadowyzard
Date Posted: June 26 2021 at 06:36
| I think it is fun, but I've watched such "tours" only a couple of times. I like watching sports with very few exceptions and cycling is not one of them. |
Posted By: suitkees
Date Posted: June 26 2021 at 06:54
This really made me laugh! But it's very true. But you can easily recognize that they are cyclist by the sharp sun tan borders on their skin (as if they're still wearing a shirt and shorts).The mountains are my preferred terrain: once you're on top of a "col" the adrenaline is rushing everywhere it can - no need for drugs anymore! BTW, this year they will be riding through my village, on the 9th of July... ------------- The razamataz is a pain in the bum |
Guldbamsen wrote:Posted By: ExittheLemming
Date Posted: June 26 2021 at 06:55
Scotland's most successful road racing cyclist started life as Robert Miller but has now gender transitioned to become Philippa York. I'm also a cyclist but my body represents cruelty to Lycra with an arse larger than a drug cheat's medicine cabinet. Being taciturn and uncooperative are the only traits I have in common with the King/Queen of the Mountains who finished 4th in the Tour de France 1984.  ------------- 
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Posted By: Nogbad_The_Bad
Date Posted: June 26 2021 at 07:00
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Love it, we'll be watching every day ------------- Ian Host of the Post-Avant Jazzcore Happy Hour on Progrock.com https://podcasts.progrock.com/post-avant-jazzcore-happy-hour/ |
Posted By: someone_else
Date Posted: June 26 2021 at 10:56
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I like it, not because I am an avid sports fan, far from that, but La Grande Boucle has some added value somehow. There is also some good camerawork to admire, especially in the stages where mountains are involved. And yes, I like wine, preferring red in general over white. So options #7 and #9 for me.
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Posted By: suitkees
Date Posted: June 26 2021 at 11:08
Robert Millar was a great cyclist! He was offensive and he always seemed to me a sympathetic guy. Read about his transition; hope she is happy now, but I guess the character hasn't changed, which would be a good thing. Otherwise, I sympathize with your Lycra... ------------- The razamataz is a pain in the bum |
Posted By: suitkees
Date Posted: June 26 2021 at 11:13
Red is also my preferred colour for wines! And it's true that, compared to other coverage of cycling events, the Tour de France is generally wonderfully filmed (but well, they - French Television - put the means into it). ------------- The razamataz is a pain in the bum |
Posted By: Nogbad_The_Bad
Date Posted: June 26 2021 at 11:20
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What a horrendous crash with the fan leaning into the road to get a sign on camera ------------- Ian Host of the Post-Avant Jazzcore Happy Hour on Progrock.com https://podcasts.progrock.com/post-avant-jazzcore-happy-hour/ |
Posted By: suitkees
Date Posted: June 26 2021 at 12:02
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^ Yes, indeed, that was a very awful bunch crash caused by someone who thinks that the cameras are more important than the reason why the cameras are there. Sütterlin had to abandon the race because of it and maybe some others will not be able to continue. The unconsciousness of some spectators can cause major damage to cyclists... There was a second major crash, but this time not caused by a spectator, leading to more abandons. ------------- The razamataz is a pain in the bum |
Posted By: The Dark Elf
Date Posted: June 26 2021 at 12:42
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------------- ...a vigorous circular motion hitherto unknown to the people of this area, but destined to take the place of the mud shark in your mythology... |
Posted By: suitkees
Date Posted: June 26 2021 at 13:39
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It was actually an impressive stage win by Alaphilippe. I don't think he's a contender for the overall win, as some of the (French) media think he might, but he will be there again tomorrow, in another uphill stage final for punchers. ------------- The razamataz is a pain in the bum |
Posted By: Nogbad_The_Bad
Date Posted: June 26 2021 at 14:50
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Alaphilippe is rapidly becoming a favorite, brutal to see Froome injured after 2 years out. ------------- Ian Host of the Post-Avant Jazzcore Happy Hour on Progrock.com https://podcasts.progrock.com/post-avant-jazzcore-happy-hour/ |
Posted By: suitkees
Date Posted: June 27 2021 at 11:08
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Impressive stage win today, full of power, by Mathieu van der Poel. And very emotional at the same time: a nice homage to his grand father Raymond Poulidor. Fortunately no major crashes today... ------------- The razamataz is a pain in the bum |
Posted By: JD
Date Posted: June 27 2021 at 16:09
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I only watch for the crashes. HOLY 5HIT !! DID YOU SEE THAT??? God I love that sport !  ------------- Thank you for supporting independently produced music |
Posted By: Man With Hat
Date Posted: June 29 2021 at 02:16
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I'm a fan as well. I hope they catch that idiot with the sign. Apparently she has fled the country . ------------- Dig me...But don't...Bury me I'm running still, I shall until, one day, I hope that I'll arrive Warning: Listening to jazz excessively can cause a laxative effect. |
Posted By: Nogbad_The_Bad
Date Posted: June 29 2021 at 04:50
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I hope they have a few less crashes, yesterday was ridiculous ------------- Ian Host of the Post-Avant Jazzcore Happy Hour on Progrock.com https://podcasts.progrock.com/post-avant-jazzcore-happy-hour/ |
Posted By: Sean Trane
Date Posted: June 29 2021 at 06:05
Cycling is the only sport I will actually watch et every occasion I get, but let's face it, it's an open road sport that will soon or later disappear. Yeah, wet roads can be treacherous like dumb fans on the roadside can be. But society requires safer roads and therefore install obstacles to limit the speed and then you organize speed races on these roads.  But I wonder if riders are not taking more risks every year. In the fall in the sprint of yesterday, it's clearly the two riders who are at fault. In all of the big falls, it wasn't road obstacles that provoked the collective falls, though the smaller winding roads may not be adapted for a big pack riding for victory. But had the pack been broken into pieces, probably nothing would've happened. ------------- let's just stay above the moral melee prefer the sink to the gutter keep our sand-castle virtues content to be a doer as well as a thinker, prefer lifting our pen rather than un-sheath our sword |
Posted By: Lewian
Date Posted: June 29 2021 at 06:25
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"I'm a cyclist, too" is surely the right answer. I don't own a driver's licence either, or rather, I had one, it was in a wallet that was stolen, and living in a different country from the one where I did the licence, I never made the quite considerable effort to get it back. Haven't driven a car in some 5 years, and cycle every day. Re Tour de France, sorry, I can get interested but have to be selective with my time when the football is on at the same time. When not, I follow it occasionally.
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