Professional Cycling For the Fans - Great sportsmanship at the TDF today (semi-spoiler)

What do you think of Wiggins coasting until Evans was able to join up?

http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/cycling/18849505

Sounds like fair play to me.

I hope they catch the bast@rds that threw tacks on the road.

Thought that it was pretty cool. I am a Cadel fan. Now I am also a Bradley fan.

Not all that many "professional" sports where I can see this level of class.

I hope they catch the bast@rds that threw tacks on the road.

I hope the behavior of a few fans doesn't ruin one of the greatest things about pro roadracing. Idiots with flares smoking up the road and burning Wiggins' arm one day and now ******** throwing tacks on the road. :notamused:

Not all that many "professional" sports where I can see this level of class.

:thumb:

Can't imagine who would do that, and when. They said it happened near the summit, where a lot of spectators were gathered. Did no one see tacks on the road before the caravan arrived, or were the tacks thrown just as they arrived and no one saw it happen?

Aside from those questions in my mind, it was interesting to watch the sportsmanship play out.

... Did no one see tacks on the road before the caravan arrived, or were the tacks thrown just as they arrived and no one saw it happen?

Aside from those questions in my mind, it was interesting to watch the sportsmanship play out.

If I had to guess, the tacks showed up sometime between the 11th rider going over, and the first of the trailing peloton several minutes later.

Wiggins comes off as being somewhat aloof, but based on today's actions, and his interview afterwards, he seems a worthy winner of this year's Tour should he bring yellow to Paris next week. In the meantime, someone should go buy Rolland a new earpiece... :rolleyes:

Europcar is not the most popular team within the pelaton and it is a good thing the pros don't carry pumps. Thic conduct used to be the norm on the tour but certain teams (Europcar as an example) have not abided by the rule for a few years. Doesn't work for every rider- only for the contenders. But It is not just down to wiggins--It is the "Spirit" of the TDF that has bought about the gentlemanly conduct.

I was very impressed. But I read that the leaders of the peleton will generally slow the pace to allow leaders who have mechanical problems due to external circumstances (flats, crashes) to rejoin the pack. Seems like a good practice. Fairly sensible to do with the peleton where everybody in the pack has the same time. But not something the riders out ahead shooting for the stage, KOM, or sprint win can practice.

It was all a simple misunderstanding. Someone in the French government said, "we must have tax on all roads" and things got a little out of hand.

Here, here.

Three of the camera motorbikes went out with flats.

One of these crashed with the riders being seriously injured with multiple broken bones and other injuries.

The only problem with these unwritten rules of sportsmanship comes in when there is a difference of opinion as to when they should be applied. In this particular case everyone but Europcar thought it was the right thing to do. In other cases it is not as throughly agreed upon. Maybe some group of riders should spell out what constitutes a reasonable instance to hold up for a rider that all can agree upon. This one was fairly popular but a couple of years ago there was an instance and a split (of opinion) on wether or not there should have been a hold up by the race leader. It is a race after all, if they get too mannerly it will just be a group ride.

It is this type of sportsmanship that made me take to bicycle racing many years ago.

You would be hardpressed to find another sport where this type of sportsmanship takes place.

Wiggins just made me a fan, for at least this tour.

... This one was fairly popular but a couple of years ago there was an instance and a split (of opinion) on wether or not there should have been a hold up by the race leader. ...

a couple years ago it was rider error during the initiation of an attack. I think in cases like that all bets are off.

Maybe ASO should put Bernard Hinault in the lead car and give him the final say on these matters. :lol:

That happened years back when Armstrong was dropped by catching his handlebars on the bag strap of a spectator. I think it was Ulrich that he was fighting with that day & Ulrich waited for Lance to get back into their group. Amazing stuff that you don't see in many other sports.

Moved from 50+ to Pro.

This is standard Tour etiquette--for the leader to slow down the race whenever there is trouble. Wiggins was merely following tradition. Nothing to get excited about.

Reminds me of stage 13 in 2001 Tour. Ullrich crashes on the descent of the Peyrsourde and Armstrong waits, then Beloki attacks while Ullrich is trying to catch back up. Just substitute Wiggo for Armstrong, Cadel for Ullrich and Rolland for Beloki. Some get it and some don't.

It is this type of sportsmanship that made me take to bicycle racing many years ago.

You would be hardpressed to find another sport where this type of sportsmanship takes place.

Wiggins just made me a fan, for at least this tour.

Cricket and Rugby come to mind.

And the example I can come up with from Cricket easily surpasses this.

Batsman called safe and simply walks off. (For the americans think of a called ball on a 3 and 2 count in baseball and the batter walking ot the dugout).

Adam Gilchrist is perhaps better know for this than his many accomplishments.

This is in full international tests, as important as things get.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adam_Gilchrist

That happened years back when Armstrong was dropped by catching his handlebars on the bag strap of a spectator. I think it was Ulrich that he was fighting with that day & Ulrich waited for Lance to get back into their group. Amazing stuff that you don't see in many other sports.

Yea and then instead of rejoining the group Lance simply blew past the riders who had slowed down.

Oh and then went on to say he did not think Ulrich had waited.

That was the day I became a Lance hater.

Yea and then instead of rejoining the group Lance simply blew past the riders who had slowed down.What else should he have done? Sat in for the rest of the stage?

It would have been considered "tacky" if Wiggins had not waited for Cadel.

Yea and then instead of rejoining the group Lance simply blew past the riders who had slowed down.

Oh and then went on to say he did not think Ulrich had waited.

That was the day I became a Lance hater.

How long after catching them was he supposed to wait before he was eligible to attack? Did he have to count to 30 first, or was he ineligible to attack for the rest of the stage? Oh, and Ulrich wasn't waiting until Tyler Hamilton admonished him. I'm not being critical of Ulrich, these situations can be confusing, Ulrich did nothing wrong, neither did Armstrong. Ulrich was free to respond, he couldn't.

What else should he have done? Sat in for the rest of the stage?

No, rejoin and let the others get back to tempo before any attack.

Again he blew past riders who were soft pedaling.

A total jerk.

How long after catching them was he supposed to wait before he was eligible to attack? Did he have to count to 30 first, or was he ineligible to attack for the rest of the stage? Oh, and Ulrich wasn't waiting until Tyler Hamilton admonished him. I'm not being critical of Ulrich, these situations can be confusing, Ulrich did nothing wrong, neither did Armstrong. Ulrich was free to respond, he couldn't.

Wrong. Ulrich sat up. That is why he was passed by other riders. Tyler pretty much did not speak to Ulrich. It was the other riders he admonished.

Cricket and Rugby come to mind.

And the example I can come up with from Cricket easily surpasses this.

Batsman called safe and simply walks off. (For the americans think of a called ball on a 3 and 2 count in baseball and the batter walking ot the dugout).

Adam Gilchrist is perhaps better know for this than his many accomplishments.

This is in full international tests, as important as things get.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adam_Gilchrist

As far as I know, in baseball the umpire's word is law, so a batter cannot decline a called walk and simply stroll back to the dugout, no matter how much sportsmanship may be involved. If he insisted, the team would have to send another player out to the base to play in his stead, and said sportsmanlike player would find that his career was over. In effect, this would never, ever happen in baseball. And having said that, there is actually a storied tradition of cheating in baseball that is smiled upon as being a part of the lore of the game (I personally can't stand baseball, but having grown up in Canada you can't help but know about the game). North American sports have none of the tradition of sportsmanship that is exemplified in the Grand Tours and in certain British sports, which is why it's so difficult for people here to grasp the idea that a race leader would slow down for his competitors like Wiggins did.

But back to cricket (a fascinating game that is far superior to baseball due to the extra nuances in bowling and batting that baseball doesn't have): Can a batsman really contradict the umpire to his own detriment, as in your example, and the umpire will let it stand? If so...wow.

This is standard Tour etiquette--for the leader to slow down the race whenever there is trouble. Wiggins was merely following tradition. Nothing to get excited about.

My view is a bit different. I ran youth and adult sports programs for a few decades; a few thousand teams in a number of differnt sports and many different levels. I get excited when I see good sportsmanship, tradition driven or not.

As far as I know, in baseball the umpire's word is law, so a batter cannot decline a called walk and simply stroll back to the dugout, no matter how much sportsmanship may be involved. If he insisted, the team would have to send another player out to the base to play in his stead, and said sportsmanlike player would find that his career was over. In effect, this would never, ever happen in baseball. And having said that, there is actually a storied tradition of cheating in baseball that is smiled upon as being a part of the lore of the game (I personally can't stand baseball, but having grown up in Canada you can't help but know about the game). North American sports have none of the tradition of sportsmanship that is exemplified in the Grand Tours and in certain British sports, which is why it's so difficult for people here to grasp the idea that a race leader would slow down for his competitors like Wiggins did.

But back to cricket (a fascinating game that is far superior to baseball due to the extra nuances in bowling and batting that baseball doesn't have): Can a batsman really contradict the umpire to his own detriment, as in your example, and the umpire will let it stand? If so...wow.

Yes. It is part of the tradition of the game. And As I reported earlier Adam Gilchrist, the best ever wicketkeeper for Austrailia has done it multiple times, including at least once in a full international test match.

I believe it can go the other way also. A field player can assert that a catch was not made and the umpire will honor that. I'm not positive on that however.

The unwritten rule as I remember it is that you don't attack a rider who has stopped due to a mechanical. It said nothing about slowing down to let that rider catch up.

The unwritten rule as I remember it is that you don't attack a rider who has stopped due to a mechanical. It said nothing about slowing down to let that rider catch up.

From what I have seen they generally slow down. But not hugely. Rather like the difference between the tempo when trying to (slowly) pull back a break and the tempo once they have pulled it back.

It always seemed to me to in part be a desire to regroup and then start racing again.

In b4 contadorattackedschleckwhenchaindropped.

In b4 contadorattackedschleckwhenchaindropped.

Yeah, I'm surprised none of the announcers compared Wiggins class act towards Evans to that of Contador's lack of class towards Schleck.

Yeah, I'm surprised none of the announcers compared Wiggins class act towards Evans to that of Contador's lack of class towards Schleck.

Its a very tough call. Schleck was trying to slip into the big ring to attack and dropped his chain because he didn't have a chain guard. Contador was covering the attack and went past Schleck as he stopped to fix the chain. Very very gray area as to whether it was a mechanical or just a bonehead play by Schleck. Contador doesn't necessarily have to stop just because his opponent shifts gears like a Fred. The key to this is that when the race itself is in an attack phase these unwritten rules don't necessarily apply.

Yeah, I'm surprised none of the announcers compared Wiggins class act towards Evans to that of Contador's lack of class towards Schleck.

How did Schleck drop his chain? He was upshifting to attack! So Contador counters and he is the jerk. I am not a Contador fan but I think he did get a bad rap on this one.

Sorry, didn't read the previous post before posting mine. Anyhoo, Schleck was just being a cry baby.

so when contador (being the prohibitive favorite to win the gc) lost over a minute on stage 3 (i think) to a schleck in the 2010 tdf due to a crash...that was okay?
andy didn't wait then. a few stages later, andy attacks in the mtns, fouls up his own attack and then has the nerve to complain? whatever. chaingate was waay overrated.
everyone just focused on it because the cameras happened to be on it at the time. hardly anyone remembers andy's dubious time gain earlier in the race.