Posted on 07/01/2011 7:58:26 PM PDT by Ready4Freddy
In 1926, on the Aubisque stage, only 47 riders reached the finish town before midnight. Suddenly a dozen or so riders surged into town together. At the same moment an angry man approached the Tour General Secretary "It's a scandal, the shame. I took them in my bus and they haven't paid me."
The Tour official quietly paid him.
* First cycled in 1910, Aubisque is the second most climbed Col in TdF history (72nd time) after Tourmalet (77th time).
* Two time Tour champion, the Italian Ottavio Bottechia -- or The Butcher of Frioul (he also liked to sing while pedaling) -- was first over the col three times but abandoned on Aubisque in '26.
* During his career, The Eagle of Toledo, Frederico Bahamontes, crossed Aubisque in front a record four times.
* In 1969, the great Eddie Merckx while in yellow had a 12 minute lead at the foot of Aubisque, He suffered a rare défaillance, but still managed a seven minute victory on the way his first Tour victory.
* Sean Kelly wore yellow only once in the Tour. In 1983, he wore it and lost it during the Aubisque stage.
* The only mountain top finishes at Aubisque were won by Stephen Roche in 1985, and the Danish ballroom dancer Rasmussen, in 2007.
lol, not a doping scandal, a bussing scandal!
Or busing, rather.
Will he wear a Yellow Jersey with World Champion stripes on the sleeve tomorrow?
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A classic story from the early years of the Tour. Eugene Christophe is perhaps one of the unluckiest riders ever. At the start of the 6th stage of Tour de France 1913, in the Pyrenees from Bayonne to Lucon passing 4 cols (Aubisque, Tourmalet, Aspin, Peyresourde,total 326km!). Odiel Defraye is the leader 5 min. before Eugène Christophe. On the Tourmalet Eugene Christophe passes the top as second after the Belgian Philippe Thys. In the descent he hits a car and breaks his fork. So poor Christophe had to walk 14 km down a mountain to the little village of Sainte Marie-de-Campan where he went to the village blacksmith and beat out a makeshift repair. So strict were the rules in those days that every rider had to solve his technical problems without getting any help. Having a boy pump the bellows cost him a penalty of 1 minute! 4 hours later he continues and 'Cri-cri' finished the stage 3h50' after Philippe Thys. Under the circumstances his final seventh place 14h from Philippe Thys at the Paris finish was something of a miracle.
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All through the war Eugene Christophe plotted his revenge. Come 1919 he was ready. Midway through the race he went into the lead. It was on the stage to Grenoble that Desgrange got yet another promotional brainstorm. The next morning Christophe left town wearing the first "maillot jaune", the famous yellow jersey signifying the race leader. Yellow, because that was the color of the pages of Desgrange's newspaper.
Christophe rode an inspired race; nothing could stop his now. Nothing, that is, until another broken fork two days from Paris. Once again there was the walk to the forge and the catastrophic drop in placings. It was the last time he would ever be a contender. The little stone blacksmith shop where Christophe hammered his fork back into one piece is today a national historic site.
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And today, they throw their bike into the ditch and are handed another one.
Times sure have changed.
Whoaaaaaaaaaa, Thor! Ride 'em Norski cowboy! Yæï -Håø, Yïppië-kây-yåï-yö!
Most fun stage so far this year. What would you call what he just did there? Cuz it sure wasn't cycling. More like ...er, Saddle Schüssing?
Whatever, it looks like TdF needs a new jersey competition for King of the Slalom. Who knew that boy was such a hotdogger?
And perfect timing for a daredevil stage win like this, too, since he's in negotiations this very weekend for a team to call home next year. Give that man a raise, Garmin!
I can’t believe those guys used to ride those mountains on fixed gear bikes over dirt roads. Amazing.
Stop at the top, flip the back wheel around for a taller gear, and haul ass. I like fixed gear, I ride mine when I can, but I cannot imagine driving one up those big mountains. That was when men were men. They had squat for support, carried a spare tubular around their shoulders, and did what they could.
Assassins. They called the Tour organizers that for sending mere men over godly mountains. Some of them never came back alive, but some found glory in their legs and made history.
People make fun of me when I have my spandex bike panties on. I am not such a man to win a race over the Alps or the Pyrenees, but I’m good with that. I like to ride my bike, and I have the sense of history that makes my heart beat out a proud recollection of men gone by. Christophe, Campagnolo, Bottecchia, Coppi, Anquetil, Fignon, Merckx, Hinault, even Lemond and Indurain and Armstrong. Even Contador. I am bound by my honor to respect and remember the men of the Tour. They did things I can only dream about.
Wasn’t that awesome. I feel bad for Roy, he gave it everything he had but the God of Thunder was not to be denied. You could see the disappointment on Roy’s face as he crossed the line. He was crying. The French wanted a stage, but they haven’t had it yet this year. Still, their man is in the yellow, and the race gets even more brutal for the next week or so.
I am so humbled by what I saw today. Pain is temporary, glory is forever.
Never argue with the God of Thunder. Roy was not “caught”, he was caught by a lightening bolt.
BTW.
Anyone here do a Watts test? I can “apparently” outsprint Hushovd for like 10 seconds:P
And they are rolling in the neutral zone.
Cav needs to get than sprint.
Stage 14 - Saint-Gaudens > > > Plateau de Beille - 168.5 km
Saturday, July 16, 2011
Km 26.5 - Col de Portet-d'Aspet (1 069 m) - 4.3 km climb to 9.7 % - Category 2
Km 62.5 - Col de la Core (1 395 m) - 14.1 km climb to 5.7 % - Category 1
Km 94.0 - Col de Latrape (1 110 m) - 5.6 km climb to 7.2 % - Category 2
Km 109.0 - Col d'Agnes (1 570 m) - 10.0 km climb to 8.2 % - Category 1
Km 118.0 - Port de Lers (1 517 m) - 3.8 km climb to 5.5 % - Category 3
Km 168.5 - Plateau de Beille - 15.8 km climb to 7.9 % - Category HC
Stage 14 - Saint-Gaudens > > > Plateau de Beille - 168.5 km
Saturday, July 16, 2011
High Mountains - A sporting perspective
JEAN-FRANÇOIS PESCHEUX’S ANALYSIS: Will the champion emerge?
“This is the last of the big Pyrenean stages. There are six tough tests: the Col de Portet-d’Aspet, the Col de la Core, the Col de Latrape, the Col d’Agnes, the Port de Lers and the finish at the Plateau de Beille. These climbs don’t have the same notoriety as the Aubisque and Tourmalet, but the cumulative amount of climbing will make for a great stage. At 168km, it’s short, but there will be attacks right from the start. It is no secret that the big guns will show what they are made of on a stage like this. Note also, that every rider who has previously won at Plateau de Beille has gone on to the win the Tour that same year…”
I expect to see the Schlecks go after it today. With an HC climb to finish they should be looking to take the 2 minutes they need away from Voekler and break Contador in the process. If it turned out that they can get a gap on Evans, things will get very interesting for the rest of the mountain stages.
But I think in all the commotion yesterday maybe the God of Thunder must have gotten a couple of his consonants confused, because he sure looked to me like the God of Plunder raiding down the Col d'Ausbique to snatch the spoils of victory right outta the hands of the French natives.
So Euro, since it's a local number for you, maybe you should call that Viking Ship Museum in Oslo & tell 'em they need to update their exhibit. Because even though those cool longships used to get the job done pretty well back in the day, the preferred mode of transportation for invading Norsemen these days seems to be a Cervelo S5.
Thomas Voekler has the heart of a lion. He reminds me of Gilbert Duclous LaSalle, a small man who would never give up, never let go, never allow someone to defeat him mentally.
I can't believe it's been 15 years since Fabio Casartelli's death.
Tour de France director Christian Prudhomme lays down a bunch of flowers on the monument built in memory of Fabio Casartelli on the Col de Portet d'Aspet, where the Italian rider died in 1995. Photograph: Lionel Bonaventure/AFP/Getty Images
An interesting finish today. None of the main contenders could bust away. Andy took some digs, Frank a couple more, Cadel once and Basso leading on and off.
Top of the GC remains pretty much the same.
Agree.
There were some jabs, but no monster accelerations.
Don’t know if Andy just wanted to show I’ve got something special, or just wanted the few seconds he gained.
Tomorrow will be a shot for sprinters before the brutal Alps decide the race ... or will they?
The peloton will not let a potential winner escape during this down hill stage, so the strateegy will be to stay out of trouble while holding back any movement on the clock by Evans or Voekler.
The Alps will have to be where hopefuls like Schleck(s), Contador, Basso or Sanchez. Maybe someone a bit further down could get away for a big time jump, but it's doubtful after watching the group cover each other today.
Ironically, this could all come down to the ITT in Grenoble. Shades of LeMond and Fignon?
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