Grand Tour question from a casual fan



Jet wrote:
>> Yet this year's Tour is being ridden at speeds that are unprecedented.


Ewoud Dronkert wrote:
> Everyone says that, and it may even be true, but Erik Dekker said: this
> Tour is exactly like the other 10 I rode, fast and tiring.


He looked pretty tired and ****** off with life after missing the winning
break yesterday. I wonder if he would have been able to match Savoldelli
and Arvesen if he had made the break though.
 
On Thu, 21 Jul 2005 13:03:03 +0200, Donald Munro wrote:
> [Dekker] looked pretty tired and ****** off with life after missing the winning
> break yesterday. I wonder if he would have been able to match Savoldelli
> and Arvesen if he had made the break though.


I don't think so, the climb was a little too far probably. You're right
that he was rather ****** off. From erikdekker.nl:

"Boy oh boy oh boy. There should have been rather more in it for me today.
Winning maybe not, but contend for the win way longer. This morning before
the start it begun already. Eight (!) tv stations wanted to know how I
would pull it off today. I was expected today. The course was very tough
and a lot happened at the opening stages. My first attempt immediately
stuck. I joined two escaped riders and a few kilometres along another 13
(!) riders joined. With 16 is pretty cosy if there's 240 km to put behind
you, but there's also 15 competitors in the final. We didn't have to ride
extremely fast to get our gap so I gathered the legs were good. With 50 km
to go I tried to surprise the riders. Didn't happen. On the contrary.
Eight of them rode away without Dekkertje [ed: fond diminutive]. I wasn't
*that* bad. So i am disappointed. 14th out of 16! Well done! I'm quite fed
up. And that's it."

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On Wed, 20 Jul 2005 20:35:14 -0700, Howard Kveck
<[email protected]> wrote:

>In article <[email protected]>,
> Robert Crim <[email protected]> wrote:
>
>> On Thu, 21 Jul 2005 00:56:18 GMT, RonSonic <[email protected]>
>> wrote:
>>
>> >
>> >It certainly has been detrimental to the regard in which LA is held.
>> >
>> >He know how to win the TdF. Over and over.
>> >
>> >The great riders could win the other races as well.
>> >
>> >Ron

>>
>> Just curious, but ....did Indurain, Hinault, or Le Mond win any of
>> those other races to which you refer?
>>
>> Robert

>
> You decide.
>
>http://www.trap-friis.dk/cykling/hof/spanien.Indurain.htm
>
>http://www.memoire-du-cyclisme.net/palmares/hinault_bernard.php
>
>http://www.memoire-du-cyclisme.net/palmares/lemond_greg.php


Thanks for the links. Hinault was one heck of a rider, eh?

Robert
 
On Wed, 20 Jul 2005 17:42:57 -0400, Alex Rodriguez <[email protected]>
wrote:

>In article <[email protected]>,
>[email protected] says...
>>
>>
>>I've never paid attention to any cycling events but the three "Grand
>>Tours", so please excuse me if I'm completely off base here...but that
>>said:
>>
>>It seems to me that since Lance won the Tour in '99, the Giro and
>>Vuelta have become less and less significant. This seems to be
>>evidenced by the fact that no serious TDF contender has won either
>>race since that year's Vuelta. Am I mistaken here, or has LA's
>>exclusive focus on winning the TDF dealt a detrimental blow to these
>>two tours?

>
>You have obviously been influenced from watching OLN. They are the only idiots
>who think the other two tours don't deserve decent TV coverage. We really
>don't need to have each TDF stage repeated 20 times a day. At the very least
>they did not try the iditotic fan show they had last year. They should cut
>some of the daily TDF repeats and give us better Giro and Vuelta coverage.
>---------------
>Alex
>


Yea, if only we could go back to the excellent Grand Tour bike race
coverage the we, in the USA, enjoyed before OLN.....

No Giro, No Vuelta, and total of 3 one hour "wrap ups" (mostly packed
with sappy Human Interest Drivel instead of actually racing) on Sunday
afternoon. Ahhh the good old days.....

BTW, I'm no TV exec, and I'm not sticking up for their decision to no
longer broadcast the other Tours, but repeating stage coverage
throughout the day doesn't cost OLN a cent. More likely, they actually
make more money from it than their normal programming. But it
certainly doesn't have anything to do with why they decided not to
cover the other Tours (hint: No Lance = No Advertisers = No Profit).
 
"Yet this year's Tour is being ridden at speeds that are unprecedented.
I
suspect this year's Giro was also ridden at higher speeds than years
past."

Brian will tell you the orange juice and the actovegan are spiked with
some
secret, undetectable doping product. Otherwise, how else?! could the
average speeds be so high? Tail winds? In fact, since DSC is doing
ALL
of the pulling they are the only ones with the spiked OJ and AV cream,
he might say.

-Ken (I have read the first 3.5 chapters of Coyle's book and wish I
were half the villain Lance is)
 
In article <[email protected]>,
Robert Crim <[email protected]> wrote:


> Thanks for the links. Hinault was one heck of a rider, eh?
>
> Robert


Oh, he was ok... (heh) Seriously, there aren't many guys (besides Eddie
Merckx) with a greater desire to win every time he got on a bike than
Bernard Hinault, no matter what the race was.

--
tanx,
Howard

Butter is love.

remove YOUR SHOES to reply, ok?
 
Nev Shea wrote:
> Alex Rodriguez <[email protected]> wrote in
> news:[email protected]:
>
>
>>You have obviously been influenced from watching OLN. They are the
>>only idiots who think the other two tours don't deserve decent TV
>>coverage. We really don't need to have each TDF stage repeated 20
>>times a day. At the very least they did not try the iditotic fan show
>>they had last year. They should cut some of the daily TDF repeats and
>>give us better Giro and Vuelta coverage. ---------------

>
>
> These are REALLY stupid ideas. If you were an executive at OLN you would
> do exactly the same thing or else you'd get FIRED! They're in business to
> make money, not to cater to the viewing interests of some sliver of the
> population. All the *****ing about the other grand tours from folks like
> you is matched by folks who are *****ing about missing their fix of bull
> riding in July. Boo hoo.
>
> Where the hell were you when OLN did carry the Vuelta and Giro Live?
> Obviously they would have continued doing it if there were enough viewers
> so they could sell it to advertisers. Same with live coverage of Paris-
> Roubaix.
>
> But it is what it is, and it is still lightyears ahead of where it was
> only a few years ago when we got 1/2 hour nightly coverage of the Tour on
> ESPN. Only a complete idiot would complain about it now.


Agreed. Somewhere, somebody at OLN who pushed for those live Vuelta and
Giro broadcasts is kicking him/herself, saying "those %#@! ungrateful
bikers[1] are never satisfied!"

[1] I doubt it would be "cyclists", but maybe.

Mark
 
On Wed, 20 Jul 2005 17:42:57 -0400, Alex Rodriguez <[email protected]>
wrote:

>In article <[email protected]>,
>[email protected] says...
>>
>>
>>I've never paid attention to any cycling events but the three "Grand
>>Tours", so please excuse me if I'm completely off base here...but that
>>said:
>>
>>It seems to me that since Lance won the Tour in '99, the Giro and
>>Vuelta have become less and less significant. This seems to be
>>evidenced by the fact that no serious TDF contender has won either
>>race since that year's Vuelta. Am I mistaken here, or has LA's
>>exclusive focus on winning the TDF dealt a detrimental blow to these
>>two tours?

>
>You have obviously been influenced from watching OLN. They are the only idiots
>who think the other two tours don't deserve decent TV coverage. We really
>don't need to have each TDF stage repeated 20 times a day. At the very least
>they did not try the iditotic fan show they had last year. They should cut
>some of the daily TDF repeats and give us better Giro and Vuelta coverage.
>---------------
>Alex
>


I agree with this...I love the other tours just as much...actually the
Giro even more so...but seriously...can you name a Giro/Vuelta winner
since Jan that has shown true potential to win in July? And please
don't say Heras...he ain't got it.
 
On Sat, 23 Jul 2005 01:33:24 GMT, Krusty wrote:
> but seriously...can you name a Giro/Vuelta winner
> since Jan that has shown true potential to win in July?


Only winners, and only since Jan? There are not many to begin with, then
who competed in the Tour (to win). Best Tour showing in brackets.
Giro: Garzelli (14th 2001), Simoni (17th 2004), Savoldelli (33th 1996),
Cunego (no part.).
Vuelta: Heras (5th 2000), Casero (5th 1999), Gonzalez (45th 2004).

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