"The 33"-Road Bike Racing - Tour de France

I'm looking for info about this race and the website is less than helpful.

What I know:
It's 20 days long

What I want to know:
Are masters allowed? Is there a masters only field, or are masters scored separately?
What's the format of the race? (TT, Crit, RR, etc.)
How hilly are the races?


Any other useful info would be appreciated.

Thanks,
B.

youre off your meds.

Here it starts. I think his question was legit.

There will actually be an EPO and non-epo category.

try to keep people from lining up in front of you.

better get on registration now, I hear it fills up pretty fast.

I think it's an NRC race so you'd have to be a Cat 1. Not sure if it's invite only though. Don't think there's an age limit, and I think last year they had some thing that was kinda a consolation prize for the best Masters team.

http://thechive.files.wordpress.com/2010/10/motivational-mondays-20.jpg?w=500&h=367

When you Masters team wins the team classifaction, don't change your jerseys.

How many rest stops are there? Do you have to bring your own water/food/spares?

I'm looking for info about this race and the website is less than helpful.

What I know:
It's 20 days long

What I want to know:
Are masters allowed? Is there a masters only field, or are masters scored separately?
What's the format of the race? (TT, Crit, RR, etc.)
How hilly are the races?


Any other useful info would be appreciated.

Thanks,
B.

Now you are into the off-season spirit!!!!!!

:roflmao2: :love: :p :thumb: :twitchy:

Dude, you don't know this? It's obviously a relay. You can only compete one day out of the tour, so make sure you pick the best stage for your own goals. Team can be any cat any age mixes. If you ride a tandem you get a time bonus.

http://www.theonion.com/articles/nondoping-cyclists-finish-tour-de-france,2268/


Non-Doping Cyclists Finish Tour De France

August 30, 2007 | ISSUE 43•35

PARIS—A small but enthusiastic crowd of several dozen was on hand at the Tour de France's finish line on the Avenue des Champs-Élysées Tuesday to applaud the efforts of the 28 cyclists who completed the grueling 20-stage, 2,208.3-mile race without the aid of performance-enhancing drugs.

Great Britain's Bradley Wiggins finished the final 56km time trial in a respectable and drug-free 4 hours and 38 minutes.

Finland's Piet Kvistik, a domestique with the Crédit Mondial team, was this year's highest-finishing non-doping rider (142nd overall). Kvistik claimed the maillot propre, the blue jersey worn by the highest-placed "clean" rider, on the ninth stage of the race when the six riders who had previously worn it tested positive for EPO, elevated levels of testosterone, and blood-packing.

"This is a very, very proud day for me," said the 115-pound Kvistik, who lost 45% of his body mass during the event, toppled from his saddle moments after finishing, and had to be administered oxygen, fed intravenously, and injected with adrenaline by attending medical personnel. "They say it is physically impossible to ride all of the Tour without drugs, but we prove them wrong this day."

"What day is it, anyway?" asked Kvistik, his eyes rolling wildly in his head. "I can no longer tell."

Kvistik's overall time for the Tour was 571 hours, 22 minutes, and 33 seconds, beating by over an hour the previous record for a non-enhanced rider, set by Albrect Påart during 1923's infamous ether-and-morphine-shortened race. Kvistik finished a mere 480 hours behind Alberto Contador, the overall winner, making 2007's margin between doping and non-doping riders the closest in history.

"It became most difficult for us on the 7th stage, which was almost 200 kilometers and the first stage through the mountains," Kvistik said while accepting the non-doping victor's 100-franc check from his stretcher. "Not only did the excruciating pain and weakness in my legs make it difficult to walk my bike on the steeper stretches, it was mentally very hard to know that half the other clean riders were dead or dying. Also, the other 141 riders finished the Tour in Paris that morning, which made it all that much harder."

"It's rather a shame that the Tour's 'clean' riders, or 'lanternes naturelles' as the fans call them, receive so little attention, for their monumental achievement," said cycling commentator Phil Liggett, reporting on the non-doping riders' finish for Versus-2, the little-sister network to Versus, who carried the main Tour de France coverage. "It's nearly impossible to compete in the full Tour while shot full of human growth hormone, erythropoietin, testosterone, glucocorticosteroids, synthetic testosterone, anabolic steroids, horse testosterone, amphetamines, and one's own pre-packed oxygen-rich red blood cells. To do it on water and bananas is almost heroic, no matter what one's time is."

While Kvistik's achievement is being celebrated by cycling insiders, critics of the Tour de France maintain that not enough is being done to combat the use of performance-enhancing substances in cycling's premier event.

"Nonsense—pure nonsense," said Tour general director Christian Prudhomme, who was vacationing in Switzerland as Kvistik crossed the finish line. "We have done everything we could imagine, both in terms of prize money and other incentives, to promote riders who compete without pharmaceutical aid. But we simply do not have the resources, nor the viewers the interest, to televise the entire two months it takes for a normal, unadulterated human to circumnavigate an entire nation on a bicycle."

Kvistik remains in critical condition at the Hôpital Neuilly-sur-Seine, where he was placed in a medically induced coma to aid his recovery from exhaustion, malnutrition, and loss of bone density. Attending physicians say he is not expected to return to cycling.
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It's my understanding that they only allow Trek bicycles to compete. This could be a problem as Trek bicycles seem to have some manufacturing defects..I wouldn't buy a used one for this reason.

Will it be on bike reg?

Didn't Lance Armstrong win all 7 times they had it?

I heard that if you fart while riding in the peleton you can lose the excess leg fat that you have. This makes your legs look more like jan's and you dial it up to 400W much easier and with higher w/kg.

You need to look under Le Vélo's Annual Great Bicycle Ride Across France or LAGBRAF for short.

I'd recommend signing up ASAP, unless you have a USAC license and then you're good for Wave 1.

I'm looking for info about this race and the website is less than helpful.

What I know:
It's 20 days long

What I want to know:
Are masters allowed? Is there a masters only field, or are masters scored separately?
What's the format of the race? (TT, Crit, RR, etc.)
How hilly are the races?


Any other useful info would be appreciated.

Thanks,
B.

I think some of the really strong guys finish in like 15 days or something .. anyway .. I think a friend told me that or something.

I ride a lot ... I don't race or anything .... but I ride a ton ... like 20 miles a day at a high average speed, so I could do it in 20 days.

Y'know what I don't get ... I saw a bunch of the racers getting newspaper after going over the top of a hill. Is that because the downhill part is so long that they want something to read while theiy're coasting ?

Be careful not to check the box for the subscription to Velo News when registering on bikereg.

I'd like to know whether this race is open to Cat 6 racers too. I win MUP races daily so I think I'll do pretty well against other riders. Oh and since this is in France, do they hand out free baguettes at the end of the race too? I like bread....and pie. A friend of mine told me there are some hills in this race, but I do laps around Central Park so I should be ok.

de is french for of.

I'd like to know whether this race is open to Cat 6 racers too. I win MUP races daily so I think I'll do pretty well against other riders. Oh and since this is in France, do they hand out free baguettes at the end of the race too? I like bread....and pie.

You can just jump on here claiming how great you are until you try real racing. Like last year, I almost won the Connecticut Challenge fund raising race ... at least I almost won the part with the group that I was in that had some seriously strong people that look like they ride a lot.... Only 3 other people beat me from the group. We had a really high average speed that day.

How hard can it be? All you do is draft behind a bunch of guys anyway. It's not like NASCAR or baseball.

You can just jump on here claiming how great you are until you try real racing. Like last year, I almost won the Connecticut Challenge fund raising race ... at least I almost won the part with the group that I was in that had some seriously strong people that look like they ride a lot.... Only 3 other people beat me from the group. We had a really high average speed that day.

I'm joking you know....

;)

It's no Battenkill...

I'm joking you know....

;)

Likewise

Likewise

:roflmao2:

Reading comprehension FAIL on my part....missed the Connecticut Challenge fund raising race part. Did I ever tell you how I dropped those Freds on my epic win at last year's MS ride?

Will it be on bike reg?

Most likely on Active.com as I believe this is fun ride...it is called the Tour de France after all.


de is french for of.

Huh I thought it was day not de...at least thats what Lances best friend calls it on TV.

Sounds interesting, but I think it might be in Europe. I was told on a cycling forum on the internet that I shouldn't go to Europe to race.

Most likely on Active.com as I believe this is fun ride...it is called the Tour de France after all.



Huh I thought it was day not de...at least thats what Lances best friend calls it on TV.

I learned all of the french I know from Willie on the Simpsons.

Can I do just a couple of days with one day licenses?

Is it OK to walk your bike on the steeper parts?

You're gonna want nice stiff tires......Also the weather can be cold. I recommend layering. When it gets down to 65, I wear long sleeve under armor, then a s/s base, then a long sleeve jersey, arm warmers, wind vest, raincoat, winter parka. For bottoms I wear pantyhose, cheap tights unpadded, cheap padded tights, knicker bibs, knee warmers, leg warmers, regular bibs, and a pair of tri shorts on top. None of these clothing items can be black or your will burst into flame while getting hit by the first car you see.

I thought it was Tour Day France.

Isn't it just one day then?

My buddies and I are going to bandit this ride next summer. We can't afford the entry but it's okay because we're not going to use their rest stops. I mean it's on a public road, right?

Y'know what I don't get ... I saw a bunch of the racers getting newspaper after going over the top of a hill. Is that because the downhill part is so long that they want something to read while theiy're coasting ?

:lol:

My buddies and I are going to bandit this ride next summer. We can't afford the entry but it's okay because we're not going to use their rest stops. I mean it's on a public road, right?

The rest stops in all the races around here have card tables with bananas & sandwiches .... I bet those Tour Day france rest stops have fancy Euro-food

I think they do loops on the Trail de Paris for the last day, with the official finish by the Junior College and the Butterfly & Hummingbird Garden.

I've been really confused by why they get handed purses during the middle of a race. I mean, they're already skinny and twiggy and not manly, do they really want to get made fun of even more by grabbing purses from people standing on the side of a road when they're 'racing'?

It's like, jeez, can't you wait till the end of a race to put on lip gloss?

Don't know the details but here's some video of last year's race


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wOur8qXvpnk&feature=related

I'm looking for info about this race and the website is less than helpful.

What I know:
It's 20 days long

What I want to know:
Are masters allowed? Is there a masters only field, or are masters scored separately?
What's the format of the race? (TT, Crit, RR, etc.)
How hilly are the races?


Any other useful info would be appreciated.

Thanks,
B.

This is particularly funny in light of a conversation I had with a friend this weekend. We talked about how there is no fame or glory in cycling in the US even at the Pro level, except for the 3 or 4 household names of course.

She races road and track. We also talked about how track racing is on the fringe of a fringe sport. Basically, if you have to spend 10 minutes explaining what it is you do (even to other racers), it's not glorious. The only people who give you respect and props are the 10-20 other guys you beat that day.

So, she joked about explaining what she does to people and they are like, "Oh, like the Tour de France? Nice! Are you gonna race that one this summer?" and she's like, "Sure. I'm gonna send in my $25 entry fee and sign up right now for the Tour" :notamused: ...like it's a Breast Cancer walk or something.

So, she joked about explaining what she does to people and they are like, "Oh, like the Tour de France? Nice! Are you gonna race that one this summer?"

Do they allow women to race? Because if they do, your friend totally should sign up.

Is the OP thinking about entering?

The rest stops in all the races around here have card tables with bananas & sandwiches ....

FTW :lol:

http://i153.photobucket.com/albums/s236/Matt28NJ/lancekit6hk.jpg

You're gonna want nice stiff tires......Also the weather can be cold. I recommend layering. When it gets down to 65, I wear long sleeve under armor, then a s/s base, then a long sleeve jersey, arm warmers, wind vest, raincoat, winter parka. For bottoms I wear pantyhose, cheap tights unpadded, cheap padded tights, knicker bibs, knee warmers, leg warmers, regular bibs, and a pair of tri shorts on top. None of these clothing items can be black or your will burst into flame while getting hit by the first car you see.

:lol:

Do they allow women to race? Because if they do, your friend totally should sign up.

Yeah, totally. I saw one once. She didn't win, though.

I think if you get a top 5 in a Tour de Cure you qualify for the big one in France right?

The hard part about racing the TDF is taking 3 weeks off from work. That's why more Europeans than Americans do it. It's because they get super-long vacations.