A lot of cycling junkies, myself included, are blogging about the Tour de France. Here are some interesting posts I've come across recently.
The first is from a cyclist. I don't know the origin of this picture at the Bobby Julich blog. It's cool to see two of the decade's top American cyclists — competing on different teams — marking an historic event in cycling.
These are two of the peloton's workhorses over the years. Hincapie is racing his 11th Tour de France; Julich his 9th.
A pro since 1992, 34-year-old Julich (Team CSC) has the distinction of being one of only three Americans to finish on the Tour de France podium when he finished 3rd in 1998 (Greg LeMond and Lance Armstrong are the other two).
Hincapie (Discovery), 33, achieved a milestone of his own on Sunday by becoming the 4th American ever to wear the yellow jersey (LeMond, Armstrong and Dave Zabriskie are the others).
Smithers Minneapolis is concerned about too many teams trying to get their across for a sprint win:
“It sounds like there are a number of teams without sprinters that are putting riders into the scrum at the end of each stage. Now, I can understand the pull of the Tour de France and the fact that winning a stage in the Tour will set a rider up for the rest of his life. But these sprint finishes are serious business and teams like Milram, Davitamon-Lotto and Quick•Step have a sole focus on setting their riders up for the sprint. Teams without a contender for the Green Jersey really should just stay out of the way.
“We saw a crash in the final 3km of the race today and I am convinced that it's because riders were putting themselves in a place where they had no business.”
Michael Dugard has covered quite a few Tours. In this post, he tells tourists what to expect:
“People have been emailing me, asking for Tour travel tips. I've got a few good ones, but the most important is to be flexible and have a good attitude. You will get lost. You will get frustrated. You will be honked at by an angry Frenchman when you inadvertently run a red light (or, as one TV crew did yesterday, nearly run him over). But there's a feeling of accomplishment, for lack of a better word, that comes with figuring things out (especially in a place where you don't speak the language) that actually makes the experience rewarding. ”
Operation Gadget noticed Polar and SRM are providing heart rate monitor telemetry from cyclists to OLN during the Tour de France broadcasts. He reviews the top heart monitor and power meter technologies and products, tells how they work and how much they cost.
Masi Guy is amazed at Norwegian cyclist Thor Hushovd.
“Apparently losing a few gallons of blood has no impact on the Norwegian warrior Hushovd. Thor sprinted to third… while coming out of his pedal in the closing seconds of the sprint to the finish… and with the additional time bonuses he collected during the day, he was able to retake the yellow jersey from Hincapie.”
Recent Comments