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2015 Tour de France


Frosty

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Will be there. Bike and motor-home....

Fantastico! So Dutch corner for stage 20?  :w00t:

 

I'm going to stage 18-20 but still need to confirm where I'll be situated...

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Announcement about the competition scoring and prizes coming soon

 

Got the Dauphine in my fantasy legs

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The UCI has banned pro racers from staying in motorhomes at races, like the one Team Sky used to house Richie Porte during the Giro d’Italia, effective immediately.

 

The UCI Management Committee made the decision this week, voting to amend article 2.2.010. All riders will now be required to stay in their designated team hotels through the “duration of the race,” which must be paid for by race organizers.

 

Article 2.2.010 has been amended to read: “In all road stage races on the international calendar, the organisers must cover the subsistence expenses of the teams from the night before the start to the final day; riders must stay in the hotels provided by the organiser throughout the entire duration of the race.”

Read more at http://velonews.competitor.com/2015/06/news/no-motorhome-for-sky-as-uci-issues-new-rule_374618#Uw38rS4785UkLygk.99

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Not sure this rule will even out the playing field.

 

Say Berto gets a crap hotel with a k*k matress and Froome 5 star after a sprint stage. The situation is reversed after a hilly queen stage where they went all out so Froome gets the k*k matress and poor sleep with a TT next day. Doesn't make it fair then.

 

But then it's the luck of the draw. How do you ever make everything equal.

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Did you see the tweets from riders about this new rule? General consensus seems to be derision for another example of a backwards thinking organisation of old men stuck in the past with an inability to modernise. Not much faith in the UCI at the moment to change their ways. The more things change, the more they stay the same....

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Jis but the UCI are petty. What does it matter where they stay, just as long as they rock up on race day

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. The situation is reversed after a hilly queen stage where they went all out so Froome gets the k*k matress and poor sleep with a TT next day. Doesn't make it fair

Most teams travel with their own mattresses for each rider. Imagine if that's your job at team sky. Drive a truck and hump mattresses up and down stairs all day! Glamorous. ;)

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Most teams travel with their own mattresses for each rider. Imagine if that's your job at team sky. Drive a truck and hump mattresses up and down stairs all day! Glamorous. ;)

 

I also didn't realise that many of these riders have to sleep on matresses on the floor in hotel rooms - in hotels that are often 1 or 2 star rated. They often don't even get a bed to sleep in. And these guys are at the pinnacle of their sport. The TDF is the 3rd most watched sporting spectacle in the world after the Olympics and the Soccer WC, yet the stars are forced to sleep on the floor.

 

On the other hand, maybe we're being too accommodating to these cyclists. Maybe after making them race 150 - 200km every day through mountains, rain and whatnot, we force them to sleep outside in the street and then throw buckets of cold water on them every few hours to make sure they don't get too cosy. Because heaven forbid they start getting too soft and start asking for crazy sh~~ like an actual bed, or even worse, a bed in a camper van!

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The UCI has banned pro racers from staying in motorhomes at races, like the one Team Sky used to house Richie Porte during the Giro d’Italia.....

Saw a lot of good tweets about this but this one was a classic...

 

"Helpful recap: your socks can't be too high, and you can't sleep in a motorhome, but if you're careful you'll probably get away with doping"

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Saw a lot of good tweets about this but this one was a classic...

 

"Helpful recap: your socks can't be too high, and you can't sleep in a motorhome, but if you're careful you'll probably get away with doping"

A case of too clever by half as the British might say?
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That's the one. Ja, haven't seen a lot from him this year, but hopefully we'll see some fireworks in the white jersey competition again this year. I agree with Maincheese in the top 3, he looks in good form.

 

Think Maincheese needs to let the White go, and have a crack at the KOM. White jersey waay to competitive this year; Quintana, Pinot, Bardet, Barguil, Kelderman, Yates x 2, etc etc. If he starts accumulating points early he might have a good chance..

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Jis but the UCI are petty. What does it matter where they stay, just as long as they rock up on race day

I think this is an important rule in stage racing but particularly a grand tour.  The cost to a team of providing motor homes for the riders is pretty high when there are many teams struggling to earn enough to continue racing.  In the past few years the peloton has lost a few teams due to lack of budget and more follow this year with Europecar pulling the plug.

 

The rule has been in place for a long time to protect teams by forcing organisers to provide accommodation. Now Sky come along with their ridiculously large budget and want to start a new arms race....do we really want to watch another sport where the team with the most cash wins? I already watch soccer.

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Think Maincheese needs to let the White go, and have a crack at the KOM. White jersey waay to competitive this year; Quintana, Pinot, Bardet, Barguil, Kelderman, Yates x 2, etc etc. If he starts accumulating points early he might have a good chance..

 

At 25, Quintana is a toppie now. Won't be eligible for the white jersey.

 

The polka dot jersey is also one of the most coveted jerseys in world cycling, so probably even more competitive than the white jersey with lots of experienced senior climbers targeting it.

 

Either way, it's going to be a baptism of fire for the lad.

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