TdF Question

Paul Cassel said:

The commentators today said that Floyd had won the TdF, but isn't there
a race part tomorrow or is it over and tomorrow only a procession?

It should be a procession as far as the yellow jersey is concerned if
gentlemanly tradition is observed, and as the American is not the one in
second place that is quite likely. What is unlikely is him ever being
allowed to make a break from the peloton with 5 alps to go again. That
sort of thing gets you respect.

Quoted message said:

I'm new to cycling and to watching the TdF. The commentators here in the
US don't seem to supply much information.

Suspicions confirmed dept. no 1.

--

JimP

" " - John Cage

in message <[email hidden]>, Paul Cassel

(') said:

The commentators today said that Floyd had won the TdF, but isn't there
a race part tomorrow or is it over and tomorrow only a procession?

He hasn't won, but the chances of a successful breakaway tomorrow
including any of the other contenders are fairly remote. Mind you, a
number of things have happened this year the chances of which were
remote, so...

--
[email hidden] (Simon Brooke) http://www.jasmine.org.uk/~simon/

;; 'I think we should trust our president in every decision
;; that he makes and we should just support that'
;; Britney Spears of George W Bush, CNN 04:09:03

Paul Cassel said:

The commentators today said that Floyd had won the TdF, but isn't there a
race part tomorrow or is it over and tomorrow only a procession?

Not so much a procession, more a triumphal parade. The stage is
relatively short, it ends with several laps of the Champs Elysees that
are a sprinter's benefit, and the two or three protagonists are not on
their own this time, they have their teams of domestiques working for them.

If there were a /real/ needle-match it might just happen that someone
would try to fight, but pretty much only if they had a full squad of
domestiques against their rival's depleted squad -- and they had bought
off all the other teams (yes, that's how it works, either money or favours
to be repaid in future races).

It's true that Greg Lemond took first place away from Laurent Fignon on
the last stage in 1989, but it was a time trial, not a bunch start as this
and most years.

Quoted message said:

I'm new to cycling and to watching the TdF. The commentators here in the
US don't seem to supply much information.

Try the online commentaries next year, http://www.cyclingnews.com/ is the
one I follow.

Mike

"Paul Cassel" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
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Quoted message said:

The commentators today said that Floyd had won the TdF, but isn't there a
race part tomorrow or is it over and tomorrow only a procession?

I'm new to cycling and to watching the TdF. The commentators here in the
US don't seem to supply much information.

Thx.

It's an £80 question. Well, there's still a chance he'll fall off/get a
p*nct*re. But it's slim. And I'll lose a 120/1 £2 bet. And an earlier one at
16/1.

So, I hope he has a fall. But it won't happen, probably.

Unless he's wearing B*bsh*rts.

Mike Causer said:

The stage is relatively short

And more importantly, the final stage is near enough pan flat. The
only time the GC is shaken up overall is over big mountains and in the
time trials. (And when inept team tactics allow a 66-1 pre-race
favourite a 30-minute freebie to get himself back into contention!).

Basically, the route of the final stage is simply not hard enough for
any significant time gaps to open, because on the flat, the bunch can
consistently ride at 30-35mph while a lone rider would be doing very
well to average much over 25-30mph.

Therefore the last stage is normally a procession into Paris, as the
time gaps on GC are too large to be able to be made up. Would have
been interesting if Landis or Pereiro only had 10-20 secs advantage
going into the last stage as the first over the line time bonus of 20
secs could have come into play.

Cheers
Bronzie

Paul Cassel said:

The commentators today said that Floyd had won the TdF, but isn't there
a race part tomorrow or is it over and tomorrow only a procession?

I'm new to cycling and to watching the TdF. The commentators here in the
US don't seem to supply much information.

Thx.

Thanks all for your clarifications and link to that site where I can get
better information than our US TV.

I had a bit of a laugh at the US TV when Landis made that amazing ride.
Toward the end, the commentators were so stunned that there were many
gaps of silence where they'd run out of ways to express their surprise
at his accomplishment.

-paul

"Paul Cassel" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
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Quoted message said:

Paul Cassel said:

The commentators today said that Floyd had won the TdF, but isn't there a
race part tomorrow or is it over and tomorrow only a procession?

I'm new to cycling and to watching the TdF. The commentators here in the
US don't seem to supply much information.

Thx.

Thanks all for your clarifications and link to that site where I can get
better information than our US TV.

I had a bit of a laugh at the US TV when Landis made that amazing ride.
Toward the end, the commentators were so stunned that there were many gaps
of silence where they'd run out of ways to express their surprise at his
accomplishment.

-paul

One would also think that one of the USian commentators would have learned
by now how to pronounce the most basic of French words - "Tour day France"
indeed!

graham said:

One would also think that one of the USian commentators would have learned
by now how to pronounce the most basic of French words - "Tour day France"
indeed!

That grates on me too. I think he's making a statement that he doesn't
like France or the French by mocking the language.

I think it has no place in a TV broadcast. If his politics or race
hatred are such, then he can keep them to himself when on the air.

-paul

"Paul Cassel" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
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Quoted message said:

graham said:

One would also think that one of the USian commentators would have
learned by now how to pronounce the most basic of French words - "Tour
day France" indeed!

That grates on me too. I think he's making a statement that he doesn't
like France or the French by mocking the language.

I think it has no place in a TV broadcast. If his politics or race hatred
are such, then he can keep them to himself when on the air.

-paul

I've just remembered the occasion when Céline Dion was on "Rosie", or some
similar talk show.
The host said something like: "What a fantastic singer - and you speak
French too!"
Graham