The Swamp

DaveInSeattle wrote: ↑Thu Jul 06, 2023 11:56 am Having all these mountains early in the Tour is really blowing things up.

sancarlos wrote: ↑Thu Jul 06, 2023 9:58 pm

DaveInSeattle wrote: ↑Thu Jul 06, 2023 11:56 am Having all these mountains early in the Tour is really blowing things up.

Do they do the stages in different orders from year to year?

govmentchedda wrote: ↑Thu Jul 06, 2023 10:09 pm I don't think any stage is in all TdF other than the final day Champs Elysees.

Square Rob wrote: ↑Thu Jul 06, 2023 10:26 pm

govmentchedda wrote: ↑Thu Jul 06, 2023 10:09 pm I don't think any stage is in all TdF other than the final day Champs Elysees.

Next year ends somewhere other than the Champs Elysées for the first time since like 1908. Due to Olympics being in Paris.

The 2024 Tour de France will finish on the French Riviera with a tough stage 20 summit finish at the Col de la Couillole and then a final hilly 35km individual time trial from Monaco to Nice expected to create a nail-biting finish.

Square Rob wrote: ↑Sun Jul 09, 2023 6:14 am Will be a really good day today. Puy du dôme is neat and its beautiful country with lots of hilltop towns surrounded by green fields. Also, Clermont Ferrand is one of my favorite big towns in France.

Square Rob wrote: ↑Mon Jul 10, 2023 4:32 am Regional cheese is really good there (better than the regional wine by far), and the best dish for me is truffade. Think a gratin, but they slice the potatoes really thin and fry them first, then layer them with local cheese and bake. So fucking good but a major gut bomb.

Rex wrote: ↑Fri Jul 14, 2023 8:46 am You might have turned on the international feed.

A_B wrote: ↑Fri Jul 14, 2023 8:48 am

Rex wrote: ↑Fri Jul 14, 2023 8:46 am You might have turned on the international feed.

Well huh. I did pick the one I hadn't been watching on previous days. Thanks!

(I don't know enough about this stuff to know which feed is better so I just wanted to go with what I knew)

govmentchedda wrote: ↑Fri Jul 14, 2023 8:59 am I've heard the international feed is better. Had no idea you could access it on Peacock.

Rex wrote: ↑Fri Jul 14, 2023 9:01 am

govmentchedda wrote: ↑Fri Jul 14, 2023 8:59 am I've heard the international feed is better. Had no idea you could access it on Peacock.

Peacock premium has both. It makes a big difference in the Olympics (not least because the international feed is live). As for the TDF, I’d say that the Phil & Bob show has its charms. Though going to commercial break every 3 minutes isn’t one of them.

A_B wrote: ↑Fri Jul 14, 2023 9:53 am There's a dude with his pants around his legs running up the hill.

Rex wrote: ↑Fri Jul 14, 2023 8:59 am

A_B wrote: ↑Fri Jul 14, 2023 8:48 am

Rex wrote: ↑Fri Jul 14, 2023 8:46 am You might have turned on the international feed.

Well huh. I did pick the one I hadn't been watching on previous days. Thanks!

(I don't know enough about this stuff to know which feed is better so I just wanted to go with what I knew)

Go with Phil and Bob unless you find them annoying or hate all the commercials & canned segments. International feed is just the undistilled race.

A_B wrote: ↑Fri Jul 14, 2023 9:28 am I am fucking pumped to see what happens on this climb.

DaveInSeattle wrote: ↑Tue Jul 18, 2023 10:59 am Vingegard just won the Tour. Absolutely crushed it on the time trail.

No idea why riders make the decision to change bikes before a climb like that. Just seems to crush any rhythm or momentum.

wlu_lax6 wrote: ↑Tue Jul 18, 2023 1:17 pm

DaveInSeattle wrote: ↑Tue Jul 18, 2023 10:59 am Vingegard just won the Tour. Absolutely crushed it on the time trail.

No idea why riders make the decision to change bikes before a climb like that. Just seems to crush any rhythm or momentum.

The math on that is pretty well calculated. As is nearly all thing in the pro peloton.

Square Rob wrote: ↑Tue Jul 18, 2023 10:52 pm

wlu_lax6 wrote: ↑Tue Jul 18, 2023 1:17 pm

DaveInSeattle wrote: ↑Tue Jul 18, 2023 10:59 am Vingegard just won the Tour. Absolutely crushed it on the time trail.

No idea why riders make the decision to change bikes before a climb like that. Just seems to crush any rhythm or momentum.

The math on that is pretty well calculated. As is nearly all thing in the pro peloton.

But every rider that was doing it yesterday ended up losing more time. Can’t believe UAE stuck with that plan given the results that were happening over and over through the day. The bike is lighter but doesn’t have the same big gear. If your legs are there you can maintain faster speeds on the TT bike. The climb was tough but not that long and Vingegaard powered through. Pog was losing roughly 15s per time check, but the rate of time he lost was greatest after the bike change.

Amateur athletes rarely get a chance to measure themselves against professionals. But with cycling, many pros and amateurs do the same thing after a ride — they upload it to an app called Strava, where anyone can see and track their speed and location.

While they are not technically racing together (and with good reason), the data does allow us to see just how much faster the pros are than the rest of us.

Below, we present a virtual race of sorts, in which we take some of this year’s fastest Tour de France cyclists who posted their rides to Strava and pit them against a few hundred amateurs who rode over the same climbs in the Pyrenees or Alps and posted their results online.