Tour de France - stage 16 - Cuneo Jausiers 157 km Spoiler

I never did see when Barloworld's team car delivered the replacment bike to Agustyn.

Just imagine - you're 1st over the summit, then you have to stand there for minutes that must have seemed like hours to get another bike to ride on the descent! Crazy...he finished 35th, 5:27 behind the stage leaders.

I haven't seen a team as strong as CSC in the mountains since maybe Lance's peak US Postal years - damn, FIVE riders setting the pace on the highest mountain in the entire tour - which means they're even stronger than Postal's best teams, I'd say.

I never did see when Barloworld's team car delivered the replacment bike to Agustyn.

Neutral bike? I was hoping to see the fitting/pedal process involved.

I loved the shot of Voight dropping back to the yellow group, jersey stuffed with water bottles. "Andy? Carlos? Sorry, Bernard... Frank?"

20 minutes later we see Kohl cursing and desperately calling out for water. :lol:

What an entertaining stage! The image of Augustyn deciding to climb up without a bike was also great, in a tragic sort of way. I think his bike is still tumbling down the mountain!

That's funny :lol:

Geez, I had trouble with the spelling of "Pereiro" and now I'm not sure if it's Serial Dessel...er, Cereal Dessel... :wtf:

I wonder if some spectator scrambled over the cliff to try and salvage Augustyn's bike. Can you imagine trying to drag that back up to the roadway? :lol:

20 minutes later we see Kohl cursing and desperately calling out for water. :lol:

I saw that also .... pretty funny ... unless you're Kohl. :D

It looks like tomorrow's stage (no suprise) is going to go a long way in determining this year's winner.

- Can Evans match the attacks that are sure to come?

- Can Franky boy put enough time into Evans before the final TT?

- Will a Sastre attack finally work?

- Can the big Russian come back after losing around 1/2 of a minute today?

6:30am tomorrow! :thumb:

... Brad

I'd go try and get it! Holy Ebay! Versus a Musette an exploded CF bike in 10000 pieces is way cooler!

Neutral bike? I was hoping to see the fitting/pedal process involved.

Me too. I realize they're pros, and could probably ride a Huffy down the Bonnette, but how would you like to tackle that descent on a bike you'd never seen before?

I'm a little surprised Menchov lost ~30 seconds to the GC group - all on a technical descent.

What was the line? Oh yeah: "what makes a great descender is more the size of his balls, not the weight of his ass."

Neutral bike? I was hoping to see the fitting/pedal process involved.

the neutral bikes actually have toe clips....

http://www.velonews.com/article/12682

Looks like VdV had closed to 30 seconds on the leaders then wrecked...shame

http://tour-de-france.velonews.com/article/80563/vande-velde-crashes-loses-time


Finally...that was the scariest climb/descent I think I've seen. I would be scared as hell to descent that thing.

I wonder if some spectator scrambled over the cliff to try and salvage Augustyn's bike. Can you imagine trying to drag that back up to the roadway? :lol:

As soon as Augustyn was back up I would've been charging down that cliff to get the bike. Not so much thinking to sell it, but to more to help Augustyn. It would be amazing to actually have an influence on a riders performance during a race as a spectator! Imagine if YOU were the one that helped a TdF rider shave 5 minutes off of his time!

In reality, I would probbaly get stuck down there huffing and puffing while he hopped on his new bike and rode down. The only person I'd be helping is the lowliest mechanic on the Barloworld staff who would undoubtedly draw the job of bicycle recovery...

Evans is riding the perfect race, doing just what he has to do to stay close to the front and not losing contact. If he continues like this, he'll be perfectly positioned for the TT.

the neutral bikes actually have toe clips....

http://www.velonews.com/article/12682

they look like really ****ty ones too. I always just assumed they had a bunch of pedals in the back of the car and just spun them on.



Looks like VdV had closed to 30 seconds on the leaders then wrecked...shame

http://tour-de-france.velonews.com/article/80563/vande-velde-crashes-loses-time

damn that sucks

Finally...that was the scariest climb/descent I think I've seen. I would be scared as hell to descent that thing.

The descent? I'd be freaked out just standing on top of that mountain! There was barely enough room for a one lane road. I sure hope the construction crew got paid overtime for that.
There's no way that road is there for anything except the TdF.

Oh, and did anyone notice how the interviewer for Versus seemed to be more out of breath at the finish than VDV? I really don't know how these guys can stand at the end of a stage.

The descent? I'd be freaked out just standing on top of that mountain! There was barely enough room for a one lane road. I sure hope the construction crew got paid overtime for that.
There's no way that road is there for anything except the TdF.

Have you been to Europe? They have some crazy roads over there.

Plus their cars are smaller than ours, no pickups driving around all jacked up.

Oh, and did anyone notice how the interviewer for Versus seemed to be more out of breath at the finish than VDV? I really don't know how these guys can stand at the end of a stage.

On stage 15, in the post-race interview, VDV was coughing so bad, I kept thinking, "get the guy some water, let him catch his breath, THEN interview him" (at least someone draped a towel over his shoulders while he was still on air).

I noticed he was coughing after Sunday's ride also. I have the same thing happen after heavy exertion sometimes. I try to speak and my throat is just so dry it spasms and I cough. Try to take a deep breath...same thing. It sounds and looks exactly how it looked during his interview.

On stage 15, in the post-race interview, VDV was coughing so bad, I kept thinking, "get the guy some water, let him catch his breath, THEN interview him" (at least someone draped a towel over his shoulders while he was still on air).

That's asthma. I get the same thing sometimes.

I'd go try and get it! Holy Ebay! Versus a Musette an exploded CF bike in 10000 pieces is way cooler!

His bike was almost at a dead stop when he tipped over. The bike may be scratched, but unless it did more than just continue to slide down the hill, it would be pretty much intact.

yeah i guess VDV has asthma...the heat, the thin air, i'm sure some of them just pass out!

another nasty crash over the side...poor shmuck! he looked okay though, obviously not hurt...it looked more rocky and nasty but not really that steep. But i was watching the descent through my fingers...imagine if it had been raining!!!!

Pretty lame that we we got absolutely zero coverage of a GC contender forty seconds out of the lead (VDV) being dropped from the peleton. Absolutely nothing until the finish line. It was BY FAR the biggest story of the stage and there wasn't a single frame of coverage.

- Mark

Mountain, only so many cameras.

Disappointing, but not really surprising.

I loved the shot of Voight dropping back to the yellow group, jersey stuffed with water bottles. "Andy? Carlos? Sorry, Bernard... Frank?"

20 minutes later we see Kohl cursing and desperately calling out for water. :lol:


Oh, the irony! Kohl being as thirsty as he was while having Gerolsteiner as a sponsor!

the neutral bikes actually have toe clips....

i never knew that. thanks

That's asthma. I get the same thing sometimes.

you're kidding me. i damn near cough up a lung after a hard workout. maybe that's why i can't breathe. i might go get this checked...

I loved the shot of Voight dropping back to the yellow group, jersey stuffed with water bottles. "Andy? Carlos? Sorry, Bernard... Frank?"



Mint? Fluff your pillow? :D

I felt bad for Augustyn, just imagined trying to climb back up that slope in road shoes and cleats -- sheesh.

I also found Schumachers aero descent from the first HC climb pretty impressive. He looked like he was resting his friends on his top tube at least half the time.

I felt bad for Augustyn, just imagined trying to climb back up that slope in road shoes and cleats -- sheesh.


They interviewed him after the stage. He said he might not have been able to make it back up without help.

The interviewer asked him if he thought he would have won the stage if he'd been able to get right back on a bike and take off. He was shaking his head and emphatic that he would not have been in contention to win the stage. He's obviously not one of the most confident descenders in the peloton.

They interviewed him after the stage. He said he might not have been able to make it back up without help.

The interviewer asked him if he thought he would have won the stage if he'd been able to get right back on a bike and take off. He was shaking his head and emphatic that he would not have been in contention to win the stage. He's obviously not one of the most confident descenders in the peloton.

Did he lack that confidence before or after he went straight over the side of the mountain instead of turning to the right as the road did? ;) :(

Did he lack that confidence before or after he went straight over the side of the mountain instead of turning to the right as the road did? ;) :(

Fair question. I'd be traumatized after that. Given the way he rode his brakes straight to the edge the way he did, I'd say before. I think he would have been fine if he had let off the brakes and leaned to the right.

Oh, the irony! Kohl being as thirsty as he was while having Gerolsteiner as a sponsor!

To me, he actually looked like he was going to grab a bottle, perhaps from a team helper at the summit, when someone (spectator...or another rider?) inadvertently got in his way and he was unable to grab it. I seem to recall he was signaling for the bottle and then began shaking his fist at someone. He seemed pretty pissed!

Fair question. I'd be traumatized after that. Given the way he rode his brakes straight to the edge the way he did, I'd say before. I think he would have been fine if he had let off the brakes and leaned to the right.

No question, I'd be scared sh*&#less, if I'd gone off the side of a mountain near the top, and then still had to descend another 15-20 km from the crash. But the way he went straight off the side said to me he either wasn't comfortable descending regardless, or he completely lost concentration for a critical split second.

Fair question. I'd be traumatized after that.


I was traumatized just sitting on the sofa and watching it! :lol: You should have seen the perspiration on me during that descent. A few times I was almost scared to watch, I kept waiting for someone to go sailing off one of those corners.

I was traumatized just sitting on the sofa and watching it! :lol: You should have seen the perspiration on me during that descent. A few times I was almost scared to watch, I kept waiting for someone to go sailing off one of those corners.

I'm surprised it didn't happen more. The first few K's were pretty tricky.

Pretty lame that we we got absolutely zero coverage of a GC contender forty seconds out of the lead (VDV) being dropped from the peleton. Absolutely nothing until the finish line. It was BY FAR the biggest story of the stage and there wasn't a single frame of coverage.

- Mark

It was like he disappeared. He was with the group and a few minutes, he wasn't. It was also fairly dramatic. Reading the stories, it seems that Ryder dropped back to pace VDV and they had held the gap to 35 seconds. VDV then crashed on the descent, which led to the 2+ minutes loss. Not only was there no cameras on this, it seems the commentators had no information of what was happening over the radios either.

Well, I think that tells us that the French TV TdF feed didn't consider VDV a GC contender in any way, shape or form (as opposed to say, Cunego, whom they seemed to show no matter how far behind the GC group he was!). Either that, or they were just dissing the American. ;)

Cunego finished with the GC group after being shelled from the break. I agree they didn't talk hardly at all about VDV. I only knew he crashed was when I read it later.

What really sucks was that a neutral service car stopped for a moment right after the crash and then carried on. They could have at least dropped a bike off for him to use if they couldn't hang around to actually help the poor guy out a little.

:notamused: