Outside of Pinball cycling is my favorite hobby, and this is my absolute favorite time of year - Le Tour!

Yesterday's (stage 4) MC/PS finish was exhilarating and extremely controversial. Made me wonder if any others shared my cycling interest, and I am glued to every minute of the tour (on DVR, of course). Also made me wonder if there are any cycling themed pins out there. I'm sure nothing recent, but maybe some EM's that show off the glory of the great event. I can easily envision a modern tour themed pin, but I'm probably in the extreme minority.

Glad to see some response. I've haven't missed a minute of the tour, and now we have 4 riders within 30 seconds after Froome gave up the yellow jersey yesterday (haven't watched today's race yet).

I'm the oldest, fattest, and one of the tallest in my cycling club (49, 235+, 6'3"), but still love it - plan on doing 40 in the am. I ride a highly modified Trek Madone 4.5, and my philosophy is that if I'm going to be the last one up the hill, then I should at least look good doing it, right?

Also, if you havn't moved to electronic shifting, you don't know what you are missing. Upgraded 2 seasons ago with Shimano Ultegra Di2, and absolutely love it! When weather is bad and I get out the old Trek 1.5 with 105 groupset, I end up complaining the entire ride (I know . . . first world problem).

Well, friends have dubbed me/my ride as "Shamu" due to the black & white, but I prefer "Orca" - just seems a little more aggressive to me
IMG_0033.JPG

That is definitely a dream and a bucket list item for me to make it to France during La Tour one day - very envious.

Added over 7 years ago: "Le Tour" . . . bonehead!

Can't remember, but I thought they did air the final stage. Universal & NBC Sports seem to be the two cycling channels (at least in my TV package). I also really enjoy the California & Utah tours, but outside of the grands my favorite has to be the Criterium du Dauphine.

Kittle is superb, but I honestly think things would have been different if Sagan & Cav were still in the tour. I think that Cav still had a chance to outsprint him, and Sagan probably had the chance to outwit him. Don't get me wrong, Kittle still would win his fair share, just don't think we would be dominating every single flat stage like he has. BTW what is going on with Greipel? I think he may be done as a top sprinter, or maybe he wasn't clean in the past? Also, could not believe that Froome broke yesterday - man that 20% looked ominous!

Everyone post pics of your bikes. I love seeing everyone's ride and how unique each bike is to its rider.

Very cool velodrome/track themes. Thanks for posting!

Classy Italian style - very nice!

Agreed. Not only was he not at fault, IMO after watching the reply countless times, but what other sport would eject their most popular athlete like that - not good for business, and seems to taint some of Kittle's victories (by no fault of his own) in my mind.

I've done several 100K rides, but never a true century. Big event in my area (Texas) is "Hotter than Hell" in Wichita Falls. I have several buddies who ride and keep trying to talk me into it, but so far they have not been persuasive enough.

Now that's funny. I know that Lance was/is a complete horses behind for many reasons, but I don't understand the stripping away of titles when literally every leading rider was dirty. He was on top before I was into cycling, but I've gone back and watched some of his stages, and he was incredible. Heck, even today the announcers all seem to adore and root for Contador, and he was stripped of 2 TDF titles for doping. Not advocating doping here, but seems incredibly hypocritical of how the UCI runs its sport at times.

I understand that in the US, cycling is way down the totem pole when it comes to sports. However, if you take the time to learn it, it is quite fascinating to watch. The teamwork, the strategy, the endurance, the personalities, the risks, and the incredible speeds are all captivating to me. I don't think many people can appreciate what it means going 50-60+ mph down a winding mountain on a bike, riding a bike up a 15-20% grade for a half a mile or more, or the ability of an athlete to generate 45mph in a sprint using nothing but his own legs. Anyway, talking to the choir here in this thread. I'm off to watch today's stage, but keep up the conversation.

Thanks for noticing my typo (fixed in topic header) - I do know correct spelling, so no idea what I was thinking when I typed it (looks like I made the mistake more than once). Not sure my college French professor would be very proud of me right now. BTW, I did make an A in the class, but pure bribery. I probably deserved a low B or maybe even a high C, but at the time I was an RA in the dorm and I came up with the idea of hosting "A taste of France" night as one of my dorm events. I had my prof help with recipe ideas, and also had him come and speak to the group along with presenting slides from his time living in France. It was a nice evening, and we never said anything about it beyond then to each other. However, when semester grades were posted - voila, to my surprise I made an A in the class (I could not speak a lick of French)! After that experience I coined the saying that "There's more than one way to make an A." . . . a lesson that has stuck with me well into my adulthood and professional career.

Yes, I have given up golf over the last 3 years or so in exchange for cycling. About the same amount of time investment, but I enjoy the road much better, get better exercise, and often spend time lone riding to release stress and take in nature. I don't believe anyone has ever "found their zen" playing golf!

That setup looks very sporty . . . wish I could bend down that far on the bars!

Okay, that has some "wow" factor to it. Very cool!

Haven't seen either one of these brands before. Cool to see so many different types of quality bikes. Also, you're a brave man using the roller trainer. I have a Kurt Kinetic Road Machine which offers sealed hydraulic resistance via strong magnets. I use it in the cold months (few around here), but wish I could be more disciplined and consistent with it.

Well, I just thought that Froome was vulnerable. What he did today was incredible not to lose any time on GC contenders. All in all, a great race weekend, and a well deserved off day tomorrow. Really sad that Porte crashed out and injured Martin in the process. Might have a completely different top 5 arrangement if they were all in. Then again, that's the Tour.

Been watching the Criterium du Dauphine in preparation for next month's TDF. Can hardly wait, but going to be a little confusing this year without BMC and Sky teams.

Oh man, great race yesterday. Peter got taken at the line, but I thought he led the sprint way too early. I kept thinking from the overhead shot, "where in the world is the finish line?".

Sagan owned the race today. That finish was amazing. Looking forward to tomorrow with a 200 meter 20% incline finish.

Pretty stoked about this year's tour after watching the Criterium du Douphine last week.

Froom is not looking himself (can't blame him after his injury), and I've not kept up with Sagan (my favorite rider) this year so looking forward to how well he does leading Bora-Hansgrohe.

Seems like there is going to be some new riders shine this year.

No, the 2021 Tour de France runs 6/26 - 7/18. That post was from last year.

2021 Route Map

For those of you who are not into or don't have any experience watching professional cycling, here are some stats to help you appreciate these athletes and the event:

Total Riding Distance | 3,383km / 2,202 miles
Ride Days | 21 with only 2 rest days in between after stages 9 and 15
Longest Ride Day | 249.1 km / 154.8 miles
Average speed across entire event | 40 kph / 25 mph
Top speed | 60+ MPH

Probably the most impressive/imposing metric to me is the amount of elevation gain during the race. Not only do the riders have to compete over amazing distances at high speeds, but they do so on steep climbs and overall significant elevation gain on many stages. I can't seem to find these metrics for the total race or even each of the stages, but I believe Stage 9 has the most climb this year of 4,400 meters / 14,435 feet.

tour-de-france-2021-full-route-map-parcours.pdf

I'm absolutely disgusted by the obliviot (oblivious idiot) fan who caused such a major wreck today.

The tour says they are going to file a suite against her, and they absolutely should.

Geez, an even more horrendous crash (at least this one was caused by the competitors themselves):

At least he was paying attention and watching the ball. This idiot was pimping herself for the camera with her back to the peloton.

Just to clarify, Cavindish took 8th in intermediate sprint behind the 6 riders in the breakaway and Elan at the line with the peloton.

Van Der Poel was a cut above on the final two climbs today. I’m always amazed when a rider dominates the competition in a given stage.

Tough couple of days for team Ineos. I like Geraint Thomas, but with dislocated shoulder after crash I'm not sure he's going to contend this year. Jumbo-Visma having serious rider issues too.

On a side note, if you've never crashed on bike at speed you have no idea the kind of damage it can do. I've been in a few crashes, but in the worst one I was riding 25 miles an hour in a group when the rider in front of me suddenly dropped pace and we crossed wheels (still my fault as I was the trailing rider). I hit the asphalt without any time to react, slammed my helmet on the pavement and broke it (I'm sure I had a minor concussion), then slid several feet and off onto the gravel shoulder, and of course was hit by a couple of riders directly behind me. Messed my bike up a little but was able to repair it, and fortunately I didn't break any bones. However, it took me a month to recover well enough to get back on the bike. Actually, I still have places around my elbows where I no longer can grow hair because of the road rash I suffered from the crash.

It doesn't really sound that bad to wreck on a bike, but when pros are riding 30-40 mph in what amounts to their underwear and they hit the pavement the damage can be severe and the pain nearly unbearable. Even so, these guys have so much passion, dedication, and drive for what they do, not only to they get back on the bike if at all possible, but they finish the stage and often wake up the next day after being in the equivalent of a car wreck and ride again.

Not only are professional cyclist the fittest athletes in the world IMO, they are also among the toughest. Just one more reason why I respect and appreciate the sport.

Oh man, hated seeing Sagan go down at the end. Not sure he would have won, but really would have liked to see it play out.

Don't think so. The sign was in French and authorities are saying it was a message to her grandparents (not sure how they know that).

Well, when it happened it look like he just somehow lost control of his bike, which is ironic given that Sagan is the best bike handler in the world IMO, but no way he could react that fast.

BTW, I still love this video of Sagan parking his bike on the roof of a car (along with these other "wow" moments):

Allez Opi-Omi!

Allez is French for "go" but Opi & Omi are German for "grandpa" and "grandma".

I'm guessing she may have high-tailed it back to Germany already.

--------------- 10 minutes later ---------------

Just confirmed my suspicions: https://www.cbsnews.com/news/tour-de-france-crash-fan-missing

"However, French publication Ouest-France reported the woman, who is believed to be German, got on a flight and is untraceable, according to CBS Sports."

Coward needs to suffer the consequences of her actions. I hope someone turns her in.

Caleb Ewan who caused Sagan to crash is out with a shattered collarbone injury and will need surgery to repair it. Just read they were doing nearly 80kph/50mph when they crashed. Tough to see in the video, but Caleb said he just touched the wheel of Tim Merlier ahead of him.

Marc Madiot, Ewan's teammate, was outraged at what happened to Ewan, but the way I see things it was his own fault. Merlier did nothing wrong as he swung right to pass and was clearly leading in front of Ewan. In that situation it is Ewan's responsibility to not cross wheels.

Here is the crash in slow-motion: https://twitter.com/i/status/1409536231793475584

Bora-Hansgrohe Tweet | "MEDICAL UPDATE: @petosagan sustained a hematoma and deep cut on his hipp. but he should be ok to start tomorrow"

What an awesome finish to today's race. The attacker just caught at the 150M line, Cavindish had great acceleration at the end, was superb all day, and absolutely earned the win. While I don't really care for him for various reasons, I do respect him as a cyclist: 31 TDF stage wins - extremely impressive.

Individual Time Trial tomorrow. I must admit, the ITT days are my least favorite of the Tour. I love the head-to-head strategy and action of standard stages (flat and mountain) and even the speed and tactics of the Team TT (which I don't think there is one this year).

Crash woman (who is French) finally turned herself in, "The spectator who caused a massive pile-up during the first stage of the Tour de France has been arrested after presenting herself at a police station."

https://www.reuters.com/lifestyle/sports/spectator-who-caused-tour-de-france-crash-arrested-bfm-tv-2021-06-30

Pogacar smoked the rest of the field today in the ITT with second place being 19 seconds behind.

His time was 32:00 covering 27.2 km (16.9 miles) equaling an average speed of 31.69 mph - what a beast!

The Reuters story stated she was a 30-year-old French woman.

I can't imagine what it is like to ride 155 miles, let alone race with climbs at the end. Breakaway was unstoppable today with as many riders as it had, but still one was a cut above.

I watched replays of the two mountain stages after I returned home for being away for the long weekend. The seemed pretty brutal and really switched up the leaderboard. After the rest day yesterday, looking forward to watching today's race a little later this evening.

I don’t know what he’s been doing the last couple of years to get himself in this condition, but it is quite impressive. Paired with a capable and skilled team, he is unstoppable on these sprint stages.

Watching Van Aert climb today is quite impressive, especially given all the riders the mountain is eating up right now.

Impressive ride, and looks like you weren't even clipped in. To get some perspective on just how good the pros are, compare your ride to today's race where the winner completed the 123.5 mile ride with 14,764 feet of elevation gain in 5-1/4 hours.

I really don't think a non-cyclist can truly appreciate the athletic ability of these tour riders. When I was at my peak cycling shape a few years back, I did several 100K rides (never a 100 miler), and thought I was kicking butt. I signed up for a rally a few hours away that primarily went around a lake, and figured I'd have a great time. Well, that day I did about 3,500 feet of climbing, pretty much bonked with about 20 miles to go, and had the most miserable ride of my life.

I have a saying that whenever I ride the entire route is uphill and in to the wind, regardless of where I go - just always seems that way. Still, very impressive solo ride. Longer rides like that would be even more fun if you had 2 to 3 other riders where you could take turns in the lead. I do enjoy riding solo and clearing my head while setting my own pace, but occasional group rides are also great to up the speed and get some relief from the wind at times.

Disappointing day for me as Sagan is my favorite rider. He's had a touch tour, especially after the sprint crash, and had to drop out today. However, his teammate came through and too the victory.

Anyone else notice the podiums have gone PC? Usually there are always two women for each award to the side of the cyclist, but now there is a lady and a dude.

Just WOW! What a great finish by Cav to tie the TDF stage wins record today. Deceuninck has done a superb job putting sprint leadout guys on the team this year (heck, I think leadout man could have run the race today if he didn't let off the gas to let Cav pass).

Can't help but wonder what the French think about the Brit tying the record (with a great probability of breaking it).

Cav (resized).jpg

I don't think the layperson understands just how critical teamwork is in cycling, and all of the planning and strategy that goes into picking the right members who will help achieve a team's overall goals. Then there is all of the strategy that goes into each stage. Of course, then the team and the leader have to actually execute. Then there is each team member knowing their role and responsibility to use their skills and talents to support the leader at all times knowing that if they succeed and show promise, then they will get their opportunities in the future. Also, this gives the riders who are very good but not elite, the opportunity to not only participate but to contribute to team success.

When it comes to cycling, I'm not saying that some of these 4-5 hour stages can't be a little boring at times, but I think to enjoy the full ride a spectator needs to build their knowledge of tactics, teamwork, and other elements of the sport.

Viva la America!

Very nice win today in the mountains, plus left doper Valverde in second place!

For those not aware: https://www.velonews.com/news/analysis-the-curious-case-of-alejandro-valverde

That looks like an awesomely fun day of riding (of course, I would start at the top and go downhill).

Just an awesome ride today. Pogacar is definitely the man again this year, and a very impressive ride by the white jersey.

With just 1 mountain stage remaining, the gaps will probably stay about the same or even decrease some since he has the tour won. I assume his team will keep him protected, and just make sure nobody gains serious time. Also, he does have a great chance of putting a few more seconds on everyone during the TT since he won the first one.

Smallest time gap - 0:08 Greg LeMond in 1989
Largest time gap - 28:17 Fausto Coppi in 1952

Single stage largest time gap - 22:50 Jose Luis Viejo in 1976

BTW, Pogacar would be 2-0 in Tour de France appearances, which is quite amazing.

Yellow + White + Polka Dot, and the kid is only 22.

Well, another TDF in the books. Cav made a mistake and got boxed in at the end which lost him the sprint and record 35 TDF wins. On the plus side, now maybe he'll be motivated to return next year. The two young riders appear to be dominant for the foreseeable future, with Podacar being measurably ahead of the field at this point.

Cycling might be one of the few events I watch in this year's Olympics, and typically I casually follow the Velta de Espana (Aug 14). Outside of that, the Tour of Utah (July 26) is typically on my watch list.

Great start to the Tour this year. Sprint finishes have been exciting and the Denmark fans have been awesome.

I'm no Cav fan at all (not sure why, just never like him), but I do have tremendous respect for him. While Jakobsen's story is inspiring and he is a worthy world-class sprinter, I have to agree with you that the PR of Cav would have probably meant more for the team and definitely would have meant more for the Tour's publicity overall.

I'm just glad I don't have to put up with Valverde this year. Can stand that doping cheater. I read he was in a hit and run accident a couple of days ago and had to go to the hospital. While I won't take any joy in such a thing, I will not miss him being in the Tour.

I guess part of my frustration is not with him, but with the UCI officials overall and even the commentators. Sort of like the steroid era in baseball - either punish all the dopers the same or don't punish any of them but mark them with an asterisk. Kills me they vacated Armstrong's 7 wins against fellow dopers but the others didn't receive equal punishment. I'm sure there is very deep resentment on the part of the French that an American dominated the tour for so many years which probably contributed greatly to their actions, but inconsistency just seems overtly obvious to me. Don't get me wrong, Lance was/is a grade A (insert your own expletive here), but doesn't mean he should have been treated any differently than his contemporaries.

Also, makes no sense to wipe those races from the record books as if they never happened when we all know they did. Valverde was a banned for two years for doping, and during races I watch with him all the commentators still gush over his racing without ever bringing up his past.

One more post on the topic today (still haven't watched today's stage 4 yet), is that overall I'm enjoying the commentating team both live and in the studio. While I certainly miss Paul, I think that Phil and Bob mesh well together. Phil is the conservative play-by-play guy and Bob brings the color commentary to cycling like Bill Walton does to basketball. Back in the studio, Brumeister is good, I've always liked Christian Vande Velde, and Chris Horner is getting better/more comfortable in the role. I think the only one I find a little annoying is the new guy (forgetting his name at the moment) on the motorbike in the peloton. I know it is his first year doing the job after coming from the professional tour, so I'll cut him a little slack.

Most of the race is on USA Network, but if you want the full race (ie the beginning) you’ll need a Peacock subscription.

There have been minimal crashes this year. Makes for more intrigue as we get deeper into the race with more complete and healthy teams.

While this thread is mainly for discussing the Tour, there is a Pinside Bicycle Garage thread where you can discuss all things cycling.

The 2023 Tour de France has begun. I just finished watching Stage 1, but no spoilers (hint - look out for the twins).

- You can watch all stages live on Peacock
- You can watch all stages next day on USA network (what I'm doing via DVR)

Looking forward to the next 3 weeks!

Route | https://www.letour.fr/en/overall-route
Teams & Riders | https://www.letour.fr/en/riders

I'm a huge football fan, and sports fan in general. Even so, not sure what it is about cycling, but the Tour is my absolute favorite sporting event of the year.

For those of you who are not really into cycling or have never watched it but want to get an idea of some of the most exciting elements of the sport, then here is what I always suggest:

- Find a stage classified as a sprint stage (this year Stage 3 on Monday will be the first). BTW, even though these are "sprint" stages the term really means that the overall stage which may very well be 100K+ in distance is relatively flat (for professional riders) and the men who specialize as sprinters (vs. climbers or GC- General Cassification contenders) will have endured the course well enough to be in the contention to win the stage at the end.
- DVR it and fast forward to the point where there is 10K left (there will be a box usually at the top left of the screen that shows the remaining KM/Miles).
- Now you will have about 15 minutes of uninterrupted high-speed cycling racing to the finish.

During the sprints you will see team strategy (yes, professional cycling is a team sport), constant jockeying for position, team lead outs for the best sprinters in the world for the last few kilometers, top speeds around 45MPH or higher on a flat just from their own pedaling (I challenge you to see how fast you can ride a bike on a flat road), and a lot of bumping between riders. Unfortunately, this is sometimes where the absolute worst crashes happen. I'm talking about bloody, broken bones, season ending, and career ending types of crashes. I never wish for this and I always cringe when it happens, but these are the world's most elite cyclists with the utmost competitive spirit to win.

What does everything think about the commentators this year?

Personally, I really like the race crew. Phil is classic and Bob's color is engaging and entertaining. I'm also a fan of Christian Vande Velde and having him in the motorcade this year adds to the coverage, IMO.

Now to the studio. I'm not happy with it at all. I'm fine with Burmeister as the host but the new Sam Bewley and Brent Bookwalter were terrible (at least on the first day). Hopefully, they will improve but their redundancy and gabbing on and on without actually saying anything drove me crazy.

Oh my goodness! Did you see the studio bit with the cycling telestrator? They moved the Jumbo-Visma riders around 100 times and keep contradicting themselves on strategy and what might happen. I was literally yelling at the TV telling them to stop (unfortunately, they didn't hear me). Most confusing/useless TDF studio segment I've ever seen.

Regardless, looking forward to watching day 2, and especially day 3 with the first sprint of the tour.

Stage 3 sprint was a good race, but disappointed we didn't get to see Wout van Aert give it his best at the end. I really wish they would reserve at least the last 500M of a sprint stage to being perfectly straight.

Anyone think Cavendish is going to get his chance to set the new TDF stage wins record this year? I've not seen him really fight for any of the intermediate sprints yet, so not sure how his legs are.

As far as the studio goes, those two newbies haven't gotten any better. And the one taller guy seems to dominate the conversation while also talking extra fast. Really haven't gotten anything out of the studio crew yet, and I'm starting to think I won't for the entire tour. I understand that Christian is at the race (which I like), but also really liked Chris Horner in studio and certainly wish he was still covering the event. I don't miss Jens Voigt at the race, however. I really got tired of his repetitive commentating every single stage about how one guy needed to attack, and then 50K from the end he always said the rider was going to win, but literally never did.

One more gripe - the new Green Jersey color scheme. Dang is sure is hard to pick that dark green out of the peloton or even a smaller group of riders.

I'm caught up now except for today's race. Didn't get the sprint I was hoping for in Day 4 as the leading group pushed hard the last several K and seemed like they broke up a lot of the team trains. Also 3 wrecks in the last couple of K which looked bad. I don't care how tough you are but being thrown off a bike at 35-45 mph in nothing but a skin suit is brutal in so many ways.

I'm sure you did. Congrats to the Aussies wearing the Maillot Jaune. Great strategy and even better performance.

Very entertaining race today. Love the strategies of the mountain stages. Early crash was unfortunate and motos getting in the way of the attack, but overall great racing.

Wow, couldn't believe the TT yesterday!

Queen stage was brutal yesterday, and certainly separated the man in yellow from the rest of the boys. Honestly, I was loving the competition between the Yellow & White jerseys, but Tadej's body gave out on him yesterday. In for the longest stage of the race today (nearly 108 miles), but should have a good sprint at the end.

The pro cycling tour is awesome, in general. All different kinds of races, all different venues/countries, they riders are certainly amazing endurance athletes and once you understand the various strategies it gets even better to watch.

BTW, I'll even take in crit racing now that then as those can be entertaining, and I certainly enjoy velodrome action.

Another TDF in the books. Great finish in Paris, and good tour overall this year.

Sweet! I think an ideal vacation for me would be a day at TDF on one of those helicopter limos that take you to several spots to see the race throughout the day.