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ysobelleYou know, I'm not a demanding person. I'm not an evil person. I don't wish anyone harm. Okay, a few people, yes. I'll admit that: there are a couple of bodies I wouldn't mind seeing roast slowly over an open fire. But none of them are currently riding in the Tour de France. So while the race is certainly exciting and keeps me glued to the set, I'm getting a little tired of watching my favourite riders go down in a hail of broken chains, broken bikes, and broken bones.
I remember the horrific injuries at last year's Giro d'Italia, when the peloton actually came to a full stop in Milan to protest the insane conditions under which they were working-- and yes, this is a job to these men, and they take it dead serious. The day before had seen the near-death of Pedro Horrillo, who crashed into a ravine coming down a mountain. It took them 20 minutes just to retrieve his smashed body. He never raced again.
So when these men say a race is dangerous, I know they're not whining. They mean it. These are guys who race with broken jaws, broken wrists, broken ribs, broken collarbones. This, for example, is from an article about the first full day of this year's Tour:
"195 riders rolled off the start this sunny morning after both Matias Frank (BMC) and Manuel Cardoso (Footon) were forced to abandon following injuries sustained in separate crashes in yesterday’s prologue. Frank has a broken right thumb, a torn muscle in his left thigh, and a severe cut on his lip. Manuel Cardoso (Footon) suffered a broken jaw and shoulder blade." (http://www.bikeworldnews.com/2010/07/04/2010-tour-de-france-stage-1-results/)
What they don't explicitly say here is these guys got back on their bikes and finished the prologue. Cardoso crossed the line with blood pouring down his face and legs and spattered all over his kit-- a pretty scary sight. (http://www.theepochtimes.com/n2/content/view/38574/) But he finished. That's all these guys want. They want to ride a good race, and they want to ride it well. They're not looking to be pampered and coddled: they know the odds when they ride are pretty good they they're going to come back with a few layers of skin missing. They're fine with that.
So what's the deal, ASO? What's up, Giro folks? I'm used to movies and TV getting more sensationalised every year, but cycling? We all want to see a good race, but we want to see our favourite riders race, not crash. I want to watch them contesting at speed on the straightaways and coming down the mountains. If I want to watch for the thrill of anticipating the next bloody crunch, I'll watch "Famous Lion Hunts of the Serengeti." So yes. In case you haven't guessed: today's stage was, again, utter carnage. This time, however, most of the teams saw it coming. Months ago.
There's a French race that happens every spring called Paris-Roubaix. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paris–Roubaix) It's what's called a Classic: a one-day race. This one is also called "The Hell of the North." This is because it's in the far north of France, almost in Belgium, and because much of the course is over cobblestones. Cobblestones. Literally. As in those things you don't even want to walk across, much less drive over without top-notch, brand-new shocks. They're annoying in a car; they're flippin' murder on a bike.
But there are some riders who train hard for Paris-Roubaix, and excel there. They know precisely what to expect, and are ready for it. They choose to go ride a race that's all about cobblestones. The Tour de France is not supposed to be all about cobblestones. That's just what ASO chose for this year. So mix in teams of professional riders with little experience on this type of road-- pavé, they call it-- with early-race jitters, and it's a recipe for disaster.
Seven men including Garmin's Ryder Hesjedal took off from the 11km mark, and stayed away for most of the day. They fought hard, but by the end of the day, only Ryder remained. The rest of the peloton was decimated by the terrain: Maillot Jaune Sylvain Chavanel suffered through not one, not two, but at least three bike changes, the pavé destroying his ride, and his chance at maintaining the lead. One particularly nasty crash took out several contenders, the worst of whom was Frank Schleck, big brother to SaxoBank's great hope, Andy. Cameras caught the horrible sight of Frank sprawled immobile in the grass, a team doctor holding his head. It was determined that he had-- say it with me-- broken his collarbone, and would have to abandon.
Further on, the chaos split the field into many groups. Lance Armstrong was going strong and looked well-placed until suddenly cameras caught him all but alone with a single teammate, Yaroslav Popovich, both struggling to get back to the leaders. Armstrong had flatted a tire, and was fighting hard. Finally, he dropped Popo and tried to bride the gap up to the leaders himself. It was a great effort, but he dropped from the top five to eighteenth place. Alberto Contador, on the other hand, would have finished even better than he did had he, too, not suffered a flat just before the finish. He's now in ninth.
Fabian Cancellara roasted himself today, keeping up a grueling pace and pulling teammate Andy Schleck safely along. Much like yesterday, he knew a teammate was in trouble behind him, but this time, he knew Frank was not getting up, and there was no point in trying to hold the field for him. Cancellara regains yellow from Chavanel.
Tomorrow, they say, will be a mostly calm stage, and a fairly flat one. I think everyone could use it.*
*Especially Jens Voight, devastated over the injury of his friend and teammate, Frank. Have a look at what the angry German had to say from his bike today. If you remember, this is a man who broke his face on a descent in last year's Tour-- he knows whereof he speaks.
http://velonews.competitor.com/2010/07/news/jens-voigt-says-tour-de-france-organizers-owe-the-peloton-an-apology-for-stage-3_126507
I remember the horrific injuries at last year's Giro d'Italia, when the peloton actually came to a full stop in Milan to protest the insane conditions under which they were working-- and yes, this is a job to these men, and they take it dead serious. The day before had seen the near-death of Pedro Horrillo, who crashed into a ravine coming down a mountain. It took them 20 minutes just to retrieve his smashed body. He never raced again.
So when these men say a race is dangerous, I know they're not whining. They mean it. These are guys who race with broken jaws, broken wrists, broken ribs, broken collarbones. This, for example, is from an article about the first full day of this year's Tour:
"195 riders rolled off the start this sunny morning after both Matias Frank (BMC) and Manuel Cardoso (Footon) were forced to abandon following injuries sustained in separate crashes in yesterday’s prologue. Frank has a broken right thumb, a torn muscle in his left thigh, and a severe cut on his lip. Manuel Cardoso (Footon) suffered a broken jaw and shoulder blade." (http://www.bikeworldnews.com/2010/07/04/2010-tour-de-france-stage-1-results/)
What they don't explicitly say here is these guys got back on their bikes and finished the prologue. Cardoso crossed the line with blood pouring down his face and legs and spattered all over his kit-- a pretty scary sight. (http://www.theepochtimes.com/n2/content/view/38574/) But he finished. That's all these guys want. They want to ride a good race, and they want to ride it well. They're not looking to be pampered and coddled: they know the odds when they ride are pretty good they they're going to come back with a few layers of skin missing. They're fine with that.
So what's the deal, ASO? What's up, Giro folks? I'm used to movies and TV getting more sensationalised every year, but cycling? We all want to see a good race, but we want to see our favourite riders race, not crash. I want to watch them contesting at speed on the straightaways and coming down the mountains. If I want to watch for the thrill of anticipating the next bloody crunch, I'll watch "Famous Lion Hunts of the Serengeti." So yes. In case you haven't guessed: today's stage was, again, utter carnage. This time, however, most of the teams saw it coming. Months ago.
There's a French race that happens every spring called Paris-Roubaix. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paris–Roubaix) It's what's called a Classic: a one-day race. This one is also called "The Hell of the North." This is because it's in the far north of France, almost in Belgium, and because much of the course is over cobblestones. Cobblestones. Literally. As in those things you don't even want to walk across, much less drive over without top-notch, brand-new shocks. They're annoying in a car; they're flippin' murder on a bike.
But there are some riders who train hard for Paris-Roubaix, and excel there. They know precisely what to expect, and are ready for it. They choose to go ride a race that's all about cobblestones. The Tour de France is not supposed to be all about cobblestones. That's just what ASO chose for this year. So mix in teams of professional riders with little experience on this type of road-- pavé, they call it-- with early-race jitters, and it's a recipe for disaster.
Seven men including Garmin's Ryder Hesjedal took off from the 11km mark, and stayed away for most of the day. They fought hard, but by the end of the day, only Ryder remained. The rest of the peloton was decimated by the terrain: Maillot Jaune Sylvain Chavanel suffered through not one, not two, but at least three bike changes, the pavé destroying his ride, and his chance at maintaining the lead. One particularly nasty crash took out several contenders, the worst of whom was Frank Schleck, big brother to SaxoBank's great hope, Andy. Cameras caught the horrible sight of Frank sprawled immobile in the grass, a team doctor holding his head. It was determined that he had-- say it with me-- broken his collarbone, and would have to abandon.
Further on, the chaos split the field into many groups. Lance Armstrong was going strong and looked well-placed until suddenly cameras caught him all but alone with a single teammate, Yaroslav Popovich, both struggling to get back to the leaders. Armstrong had flatted a tire, and was fighting hard. Finally, he dropped Popo and tried to bride the gap up to the leaders himself. It was a great effort, but he dropped from the top five to eighteenth place. Alberto Contador, on the other hand, would have finished even better than he did had he, too, not suffered a flat just before the finish. He's now in ninth.
Fabian Cancellara roasted himself today, keeping up a grueling pace and pulling teammate Andy Schleck safely along. Much like yesterday, he knew a teammate was in trouble behind him, but this time, he knew Frank was not getting up, and there was no point in trying to hold the field for him. Cancellara regains yellow from Chavanel.
Tomorrow, they say, will be a mostly calm stage, and a fairly flat one. I think everyone could use it.*
*Especially Jens Voight, devastated over the injury of his friend and teammate, Frank. Have a look at what the angry German had to say from his bike today. If you remember, this is a man who broke his face on a descent in last year's Tour-- he knows whereof he speaks.
http://velonews.competitor.com/2010/07/news/jens-voigt-says-tour-de-france-organizers-owe-the-peloton-an-apology-for-stage-3_126507