Posted on 06/30/2017 5:24:21 PM PDT by Baynative
On Saturday, 198 of the world's best cyclists will start the Tour de France. Only four have a realistic shot at winning.
That's according to the highest-ranked American bike racer at the Tour, Andrew Talansky, in a recent interview with Business Insider.
(Excerpt) Read more at businessinsider.com ...
worst thing I’ve ever seen is the car clipping Johnny Hoogerlund into the barbed wire fence on the side of the road...ouch...
Man I used to race, and you’re giving nightmares!
That one was pure pain, for sure. I'd put it in a dead heat with Wilfred Nillison and Laurent Jalabert hitting the cop in a 40 mph sprint
Maybe TJ can win one or more too! Hope so...
it will be won by whichever rider dopes best without getting caught or killing himself in the process.
thanks for participating...
I give the edge to Froome over Porte because he has the slightly stronger team. There are 6 hours of coverage on NBCSN tomorrow to cover a mere 13.4 km TT. I’m not complaining.
Maybe TJ can win one or more too! Hope so...
not this year...Van Garderen isn’t riding the TDF...
“Like every Tour de Pharmacy from 1981 onward, it will be won by whichever rider dopes best without getting caught or killing himself in the process.”
It’s been going on for a lot longer than that:
Les Forçats de la Route (The Convicts of the Road)
Was an article on Tour doping written in 1924.
For decades, it literally was NOT illegal and EXPECTED that doping should take place.
I think if a supplement can be bought in a store on a shelf, they should be able to use it. I also think blood doping with your own blood should be allowed if you want to do it to increase o2 performance. It is good against dehydration as well.
I’d like to see Porte win. Cavendish probably won’t have a shot at Merckx’s stage record after his earlier injury, but he’s still fun to watch in a sprint.
I used to race bikes (semi-pro) and it’s the toughest sport evah.
It’s pure suffering.
I didn’t use any drugs, and frustratingly, got beat by many who did. But the sport is so incredibly hard, I can see why riders dope.
If it was all equalized somehow, (i.e. everyone gets to blood dope, but nothing else, etc) so everyone gets the same doping, then it would a be practical compromise.
I vote for Eddie Merckx...
Open wheeled racing is dangerous...
Looking at that makes me dizzy.
I don't think there should be any rules. Sport is entertainment. Fans pay to see people do fantastic things. Entertainers supplant physical attributes to attract fans in theater, music, and other endeavors, so what's teh big deal.
After people get bored with watching steroid educed performances a "clean league" would probably emerge driven by the capitalistic nature of filling the void for reality over fantasy.
Though I’m still so disappointed in Armstrong for what he did, I love how he once described what a bike crash feels like at the high speeds they travel: “Climb into a car in your underwear, tie your ankles together, have the driver get the car up to 35 or 40mph, then open the door and jump out!”
Sounds about right, judging from my least favorite crash, and I was only going about 20mph or so. Thankfully no major injuries, just painful. We’ve all had crashes, but I am amazed at the guts of these incredibly tough young riders, getting back up right after a huge crash!
Never cared much for bike racing & previously never really “got it” (teams supporting one rider, etc.) but something majorly clicked with me & bike racing two years ago & now I’m addicted to the Tour. I get up early every morning to watch the racing & I’m bummed when they’ve got a day off. Really “good stuff” the last two years. Sagan is probably my favorite (he won the World Championship in my home town 2015) - always looking for that green jersey to show up at the end of the stage going for the finish line, but the others you mentioned are stars in their own right. Really looking forward to seeing who emerges this year as the front runner.
I am an avid cyclist, Baynative, but to your video clips I just say “DAMN!”
Hoogerlund escaped from that with remarkably less damage than it looked like at first. That was definitely ugly!
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