Phil's comments preceding Beloki's crash

In article <[email hidden]>, Nev Shea

Quoted message said:

Pretty impressive how he called it. The camera was following Vino, and Phil comments how the sun
is melting the tar making it "very slick indeed" (I think) . . . then Vino went around one corner
that Phil calls "dodgy" . . . and that is the one where Beloki crashed.

Why they held a race on roads that can melt in July is beyond me. WTF were they thinking. Here is a
clue; pave the raod with actual asphalt or cement!

It was a sad loss and now I swear I will never use sewups.

Tony

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

Pretty impressive how he called it. The camera was following Vino, and Phil comments how the sun
is melting the tar making it "very slick indeed" (I think) . . . then Vino went around one corner
that Phil calls "dodgy" . . . and that is the one where Beloki crashed.

Why they held a race on roads that can melt in July is beyond me. WTF were they thinking. Here is a
clue; pave the raod with actual asphalt or cement!

Well judging by the number of crashes, i.e.1, it wasn't too much of a gamble. It was actually
"refreshing" to see them ride roads that didn't look like motorways. That's what the Alpe d'Huez
used to look like you know!

Quoted message said:

It was a sad loss and now I swear I will never use sewups.

Tony

Tony Austn _screw_spam said:

In article <[email hidden]>, Nev Shea
<[email hidden]> wrote:

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

Pretty impressive how he called it. The camera was following Vino, and Phil comments how the sun
is melting the tar making it "very slick indeed" (I think) . . . then Vino went around one corner
that Phil calls "dodgy" . . . and that is the one where Beloki crashed.

Quoted message said:

Why they held a race on roads that can melt in July is beyond me. WTF were they thinking. Here is
a clue; pave the raod with actual asphalt or cement!

Part of a road race is to deal with the conditions. Perhaps you have some improvements for Paris
Roubaix? Moab 24 hrs?

Quoted message said:

It was a sad loss and now I swear I will never use sewups.

It is a sad loss and one hopes he recuperates fully.

Quoted message said:

Tony

I think it was cyclingnews.com that ran a photo of a tanker truck spraying water on the road surface
a while before the cyclists came through, in order to reduce the melting.--Shayana Kadidal

Phil is so money it is scary how he predicts certains things

In article said:

[...] It was actually "refreshing" to see them ride roads that didn't look like motorways. That's
what the Alpe d'Huez used to look like you know!

I see your point about banged up roads but tar is so 3rd world for a western country
like France!

Tony

Tony Austn said:

In article said:

[...] It was actually "refreshing" to see them ride roads that didn't look like motorways. That's
what the Alpe d'Huez used to look like you know!

I see your point about banged up roads but tar is so 3rd world for a western country like
France!

Tony

Such roads are common in the Intermountain West, but ours must have different tar, because it gets
hotter here, and the roads usually don't get slick from melting.

--
--
Lynn Wallace xmission.com~lawallOpen ↗ "I'm not proud. We really haven't done everything we
could to protect our customers. Our products just aren't engineered for security." --Microsoft VP in
charge of Windows OS Development, Brian Valentine.

Nev Shea said:

Pretty impressive how he called it. The camera was following Vino, and Phil comments how the sun
is melting the tar making it "very slick indeed" (I think) . . . then Vino went around one corner
that Phil calls "dodgy" . . . and that is the one where Beloki crashed.

Remember, he also called the crash in stage 1.

David Ryan <[email hidden]> wrote in message news:<[email hidden]>...

Quoted message said:

Nev Shea said:

Pretty impressive how he called it. The camera was following Vino, and Phil comments how the sun
is melting the tar making it "very slick indeed" (I think) . . . then Vino went around one
corner that Phil calls "dodgy" . . . and that is the one where Beloki crashed.

Remember, he also called the crash in stage 1.

I also remember a stage several years ago where Phil "called" a crash. Pascal Lino had been on a
breakaway in rainy conditions. They were on a descent that passed through a village. I believe that
Stephen Roche was chasing. Anyway, Phil was going on and on about how Pascal Lino was throwing
caution to the wind in a bid for a stage victory. Upon emerging from the village, Stephen Roche was
nowhere to be seen. Phil made a point to comment about how fast Lino was descending ( in the rain )
because "Stephen Roche is no slouch when it comes to descending". Shortly after these comments Lino
whiped out and slid right in front of a camera cycle!

Tony Austn _screw_spam said:

In article <[email hidden]>, Keith <[email hidden]> wrote:

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

[...] It was actually "refreshing" to see them ride roads that didn't look like motorways. That's
what the Alpe d'Huez used to look like you know!

Quoted message said:

I see your point about banged up roads but tar is so 3rd world for a western country like
France!

Or Spain. Or Italy.

I'll bet Beloki has been down roads like that nearly every time he's been up in the mountains during
Spanish summers. This time he was pushing the envelope and it caught up with him.

The Tour has a century of history of bad roads. Coming down from the Lautaret to Bourg d'Oisans the
day before there are a number of tunnels. You go from bright sunlight to darkness, you can't see
[censored] and the road surface sucks. That's the way it was for Coppi, for Merckx, for Hinault, for
Indurain, for Armstrong. And for Beloki. The Giro and Vuelta are the same way.

Bob Schwartz [email hidden]

Bob Schwartz said:

Tony Austn _screw_spam said:

In article <[email hidden]>, Keith <[email hidden]> wrote:

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

[...] It was actually "refreshing" to see them ride roads that didn't look like motorways.
That's what the Alpe d'Huez used to look like you know!

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

I see your point about banged up roads but tar is so 3rd world for a western country like
France!

Quoted message said:

Or Spain. Or Italy.

Or US: Colorado and Utah roads are just like this. And I know of quite a few in the Bloomington IN
area just like that. What happened was terrible, but road conditions are part of the course, as are
weather conditions.

Quoted message said:

I'll bet Beloki has been down roads like that nearly every time he's been up in the mountains
during Spanish summers. This time he was pushing the envelope and it caught up with him.

Quoted message said:

The Tour has a century of history of bad roads. Coming down from the Lautaret to Bourg d'Oisans
the day before there are a number of tunnels. You go from bright sunlight to darkness, you can't
see [censored] and the road surface sucks. That's the way it was for Coppi, for Merckx, for Hinault, for
Indurain, for Armstrong. And for Beloki. The Giro and Vuelta are the same way.

Quoted message said:

Bob Schwartz [email hidden]

Tony Austn <[email hidden]_screw_spam> wrote in message
news:<[email hidden]>...

Quoted message said:

Why they held a race on roads that can melt in July is beyond me. WTF were they thinking.

Because it's a ROAD race.

Several years ago a competitor in a criterium here in Tallahassee took me to task because she
thought the course was too dangerous. She was highly insulted when I suggested that perhaps she
should take up track racing if she couldn't handle the vagaries of the road.

Come to think of it, that was the same year I nearly came to blows with a competitor who was
incensed that the guy driving the wheel truck couldn't fix his STI shifters. That was also the year
I swore off working at races.

[censored] Durbin

Eddie said:

descending". Shortly after these comments Lino whiped out and slid right in front of a
camera cycle!

Did the camera bike run over him or did it just narrowly avoid him? I remember the crash and I think
he broke his leg but I don't recall if that was because he hit the barrier or if the bike hit him.

Tony Austn <[email hidden]_screw_spam> wrote in message
news:<[email hidden]>...

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

and that is the one where Beloki crashed.

Why they held a race on roads that can melt in July is beyond me. WTF were they thinking. Here is
a clue; pave the raod with actual asphalt or cement!

The road temperature on the Izoard was 51C, there is an unusual heatwave in France at the moment, 7C
above normal (probably caused by American's driving SUVs but that's another issue). The highways
department cooled the Izoard descent using water but was unable to do the same on the descent where
Beloki crashed as there was not enough time allowed between the passing of the publicity caravan and
the racers. Beloki could maybe take this up with the Tour organisation?

"David Off" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
"]news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Tony Austn <[email hidden]_screw_spam> wrote in message

news:<[email hidden]>...

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

and that is the one where Beloki crashed.

Why they held a race on roads that can melt in July is beyond me. WTF were they thinking. Here
is a clue; pave the raod with actual asphalt or cement!

The road temperature on the Izoard was 51C, there is an unusual heatwave in France at the moment,
7C above normal (probably caused by American's driving SUVs but that's another issue). The
highways department cooled the Izoard descent using water but was unable to do the same on the
descent where Beloki crashed as there was not enough time allowed between the passing of the
publicity caravan and the racers. Beloki could maybe take this up with the Tour organisation?

No.

Beloki's crash was his own fault. No one else crashed.

"Kurgan Gringioni" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:<[email hidden]>...

Quoted message said:

"David Off" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
"]news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Tony Austn <[email hidden]_screw_spam> wrote in message

news:<[email hidden]>...

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

> and that is the one where Beloki crashed.

Why they held a race on roads that can melt in July is beyond me. WTF were they thinking. Here
is a clue; pave the raod with actual asphalt or cement!

The road temperature on the Izoard was 51C, there is an unusual heatwave in France at the
moment, 7C above normal (probably caused by American's driving SUVs but that's another issue).
The highways department cooled the Izoard descent using water but was unable to do the same on
the descent where Beloki crashed as there was not enough time allowed between the passing of the
publicity caravan and the racers. Beloki could maybe take this up with the Tour organisation?

No.

Beloki's crash was his own fault. No one else crashed.

I know, I was just kidding. Still in some parts of the world it would be grounds to sue :-)

I wonder whether all the highway dept. efforts with their water truck were a waste of time? Coming
down a hill and finding the bend soaked with water would not be cool either.

David

I agree. He is one of the reasons I watch the tour. He contsatnly calls things -on the money-, from
crashes to strategy, etc.

James Cagney said:

Phil is so money it is scary how he predicts certains things

GC contenders crashing is a shame, but it adds to the excitement of the tour...Sketchy desents affect stategy and make the race more exciting.

Raptor said:

Tony Austn said:

In article said:

[...] It was actually "refreshing" to see them ride roads that didn't look like motorways.
That's what the Alpe d'Huez used to look like you know!

I see your point about banged up roads but tar is so 3rd world for a western country like
France!

Tony

Such roads are common in the Intermountain West, but ours must have different tar, because it gets
hotter here, and the roads usually don't get slick from melting.

yeah and we mix in gravel with the tar to make the surface taht much more appealing.... ;0