tour de france

[sperminator]

does anyo one know when this event starts? thanks

[JoeTruth]

Power of the internet...




Running from Saturday July 5th to Sunday July 27th 2008, the 95th Tour de France will be made up of 21 stages and will cover a total distance of 3,500 kilometres.
These 21 stages have the following profiles:

• 10 flat stages,
• 5 mountain stages,
• 4 medium mountain stages,
• 2 individual time-trial stages.

Distinctive aspects of the race

• 4 mountain finishes,
• 2 rest days,
• 82 kilometres of individual time-trials,
• 17 Category 1, Category 2 and highest level passes will be climbed.

10 new stop-over towns

Auray, Aigurande, Brioude, Prato Nevoso (Italy), Cuneo (Italy), Jausiers, Embrun, Roanne, Cérilly, Étampes.

[sperminator]

yah but lazyness trumps the power anyday but thanks for the post.

[schleppp]

AHH THE TOUR!!! My favorite sporting event! HANDS DOWN!!!

[Pain Freak]

+1

[schleppp]

Nothing on TV is worth getting up that early for except Bob Roll butchering both the French and English languages... Often in the same breath!! He kills me!

[jakethecake]

gotta free up some TiVo space this time of year...cant miss the Tour.

[allison]

http://www.fatcyclist.com/2008/06/30...our-de-france/

[katonk]

Bob Roll is pretty much the only thing professional cycling has going for it right now.

[ODB]

Originally Posted by katonk

Bob Roll is pretty much the only thing professional cycling has going for it right now.

Tour DAY France!

[DBD]

Originally Posted by katonk

Bob Roll is pretty much the only thing professional cycling has going for it right now.

Somewhat true, but if you listen to Phill L he comes up with some funny, off the wall statements from time to time. There were a few times last year I had to rewind the race just to hear exactly what he said.

[JoeTruth]

Bob is indeed a Roll. The French must love the way he butchers their language. His hand gestures are almost more entertaining though.
Now I need to make sure my cable company is carrying Le Tour.

Originally Posted by ODB

Tour DAY France!

[ubermensch]

lmao that video was awesome!! "hey, what have you got for THIS?!"

So what's the latest on those race radios? I haven't been keeping up with the websites and message boards, but a few months ago I remember hearing that they were going to experiment with not allowing race radios on certain stages of the tour this year.

[Abui]

Originally Posted by allison

http://www.fatcyclist.com/2008/06/30...our-de-france/

Lots of thanks. I didn't know about the changes!

[katonk]

Originally Posted by ODB

Tour DAY France!

I love the fact that he does that expressly to annoy French people. It's a response to the generally bad treatment he received while we was in the Tour.

http://www.esquire.com/the-side/opinion/bobroll070907

[allison]

Originally Posted by Abui

Lots of thanks. I didn't know about the changes!

I didn't either, and Elden hit the nail on the head. Should be loads of "fun" this year

I'm still watching either way.

[JoeTruth]

Your statement is full of holes. It took you more time and energy to create this post then to type in "Tour De France" in any search engine box. So much for your lazy logic. I'm just sayin'!

Originally Posted by sperminator

yah but lazyness trumps the power anyday but thanks for the post.

[Pho'dUp]

Originally Posted by allison

I didn't either, and Elden hit the nail on the head. Should be loads of "fun" this year

I'm still watching either way.

No radios I think would be pretty awesome to see. Changes the strategy a lot I would think. And really sucks for the Domestiques as they'll have to drop back more to talk to the team cars to find out what's going on with breaks, attacks, etc. and ride up to tell their team leader eh?

Here's the changes everyone was talking about from Fat Cyclist Blog.

What You’ve Done Right
Before I get to my suggestions, Mr. Prudhomme, I want to make it perfectly clear that I recognize and applaud the efforts you have made thus far.
I shall enumerate.

• No prologue. The prologue is a ridiculous spectacle that does nothing more than introduce us to racers we may not be familiar with, lets us see how our favorites are doing, and gives us a preview as to who brought their A-game and who has not. Why would anyone want any of those things? The prologue is a stupid tradition.
• No time bonuses. In times past, I’ve seen racers duke it out at the top of a brutal climbing stage because finishing a quarter second ahead had a huge strategic benefit: a significant time bonus that could change race standings. Sure, it was exciting and a massive motivational tool to make contending racers really give it their all, but it sent the wrong message to the kids. You can’t give people time. Once a moment’s passed, it’s gone forever. Live with it.
• Shorter stages. Your thinking on this is brilliant. As everyone knows, the reason pro cyclists have been doping is because the stages are so punishing. Now that the stages are shorter, there’s no reason to dope. No reason at all. In fact, I’ll bet that the people who have been doping have stopped doping, because now they know they can finish the race without that illegal boost. That’s awesome!
• No team time trials. These stages showed the potential for elegance and beauty in cycling, rewarded teams that don’t have riders drop out, and emphasized the importance of a balanced team roster. What a stupid idea. I’m glad you got rid of those.
• Fewer mountain stages. I’ve always thought that mountain stages are too dramatic and disorderly. Plus, they’re not fair to people who don’t climb well. I’m glad to see that you’ve cut these stages back. Let’s keep the riders together. Nice and orderly please. Single-file when possible.