I’m pretty sure that in the Pyranees I saw some guy running along briefly with the riders while nude. All I saw was a shot of his back and bare ass before they switched cameras and you only saw him for about a second. But then streaking is a long standing tradition in sport. What I wouldn’t be too shocked to see soon enough is for two fans to be dressed very simply so that when the riders come along they can rip off their clothes and go at it for a nearby camera with the riders zipping by in the background.
That’s one of the weird things about this race. How badly it could be hurt by its own popularity.
Which begs the question: do the puritanical American stations get all camera feeds, and cut accordingly? Because in most European countries, the streaker would be at center stage for at least 10 seconds, no blurring, no nothing, whilst the commentators come up with something witty to say. I guess American stations make their own highlights editions, but what if it were live?
Commentator 1: “And Guerini is climbing like a man posessed today. Look at the crowds cheering him on. A lot of Italian fans on the stage, today, as we’re rather close to the Valfréjus tunnel connecting the two countries.” Commentator 2: “Yes, Jim. And what a day it is, too. Fantastic weather, a great day to sit in the sun and watch the most amazing race of them all unfold before your very eyes. What could be better?” Commentator 1: “Indeed. Clearly it’s a hot day - notice all the people who have taken off their t-shirts. And hey, look! It’s that diablo character. I swear, that man pops up on EVERY mountain, and has been for years.” Commentator 2: “No kidding! He’s a true fan, and a funny addition to the legion of fans. Wonder why he’s wearing a raincoat, though. That seems a little warm!” Commentator 1: “I should think so, yes. Ah, wait, it looks like he’s taking it off already, no doubt in order to run along with Guerini for a while, cheering him on.” Commentator 2: “Indeed. This ought to be good. Look, there he g… :eek:” Commentator 1: “What the fu-” VOICEOVER: “The Tour de Fraaaaaaance will be right back - aaaaaafter these messages!” <cue US Postal Services Commercial>
I was watching it live on OLN (The Outdoor Life Network). They appear to have access to all the feeds and switch back and forth at will. I don’t think the commentators even noticed the nude guy he was on their so briefly. I imagine that if we were watching it live we’d get a nice eye full before they cut away. The commentators would be having a field day but a storm would be brewing and the next day we’d have a 5 second delay and a guy sitting a cut the feed button.
Actually the standard operating procedure for our TV stations when it comes to fans running onto fields is to cut away no matter what they’re wearing so as not to encourage other fans to make a dash to get on TV.
I’d love to see what they’d do if thousands of women lined the entire race topless. hint hint
Great viewing yesterday. The fans crowding the streets were nuts.
There was one guy who ran along with Ullrich for what looked like about 150 yards. Liggett even made a crack about how fit he must be. As they approached a turn, you could see Ullrich wave as if to tell him to stop running because a turn was coming but he ran right around the corner.
That made it look like a lot of fun to go to Alpe D’Huiz and watch them go by.
And, I’d totally moon the peloton.
I also thought the road said, “RIP THEIR BALLS OFF”
The “peloton” is the main pack of riders. They’re all grouped together at the beginning of a stage. They ride together because it’s more efficient and strategic to do so.
Sometimes a few riders will decide to “attack” – they will break from the peloton on a sprint and try to gain time. What often happens though is that they tire quicker and the peloton will “reel” them back in.
Dadgum it! Here on the west coast, each stage finishes at just about 8 - 8:15 a.m., and if I watch it through to the end I’ll be late for work. I really wanted to see the end of today’s stage, but I had to leave. I’ve heard about it since then and I’m thankful they replay it in the evening. I’ll see it, but — I wanted to catch it live this morning.
Do you think maybe the Tour will scoot the starting times a little bit earlier if I write and ask nicely . . .?
Oh, come on Boo Boo, you got me all excited with your offer of info and then you never came back.
On topic though… that finish got my heart pounding, even though none (AFAIK) of the challengers for the jerseys were involved. Love it! (And I can’t wait for the Olympics!)
Well, it’s over. I don’t know about anyone else, but to me it always feels like a bit of a let-down as life gets back to normal. For an interesting perspective from one of the riders, here is Christian Vande Velde’s post-tour view of the world. Interesting reading and not too long.
In other cycling news, Belgian rider Frank Vandenbroucke was taken from his home yesterday after police were able to persuade him not to commit suicide. Vandenbroucke was barred from riding a few years ago amidst a doping scandal (wherein he claimed the EPO found in his car was actually for his dog, comically enough). He never really rose back to his old form, and was given one last shot by (I believe) Fassa Bortolo this year. He failed to impress.
He’s another Pantani in the making, I’m afraid.
Boo Boo Foo, I’ve been meaning to ask this, and I understand if you won’t answer. Fair and square, man to man: is it possible to complete a full Tour de France anno 2004, at that pace, that competetively, for that long, without using some form of stimulant?
Coldie, they all take shitloads of “nutritional supplements” if you get my drift. But in the interests of fairness, it’s almost unheard of nowadays for a rider to get busted using a “stimulant” in the traditional sense - that is, an amphatamine or pseudo variant therein. The riders even have fixed caffeine levels, equivalent to about 4 strong cups of coffee in one hour prior to a stage. However, caffeine is a profoundly dumb stimulant to take (uber weak as it is) because it’s actually an extremely effective diuretic - which in effect will leave you far more dehydrated and in a worse state than if you hadn’t drunk it to begin with.
Also, the single greatest problem with stimulants nowadays is that they’re so incredibly easy to detect. They set off spikes in the urine spectrometers like friggin guns do through an airport metal detector. Nah, the deal nowadays is to use “artificial nutritional supplements” which cause a whole range of super small spikes over the entire spectral analysis of molecular weights. These new “super smart” drugs don’t advertise themselves at all - but they provide wonderful benefits - in particular, the ability to breakdown lactic acid and other forms of muscle waste products. In no small part this is what allows the riders to front up again for another day’s racing at the same incredible level of intensity, day in, day out.
All right, thanks for that explanation - to most spectators like me, “drugs=drugs” when it comes to cycling, so this does clarify things.
So… in that those drugs are difficult to detect, it is fair to assume that some of them might not actually be on the UCI’s approved list, so to speak?
If it were up to me, they’d make all drugs legal in cycling, and provide UCI docs to monitor the riders. They’re all breaking the rules anyway. What pisses me off is this holier than thou attitude some riders display when the dope accusations fly. Or the riders who make those accusations, thus implying they’ve never taken anything but fresh orange juice themselves. Armstrong and Simoni, I’m looking at you.
The UCI doesn’t have an approved list. It maintains a banned substance list. Anything not on those lists is OK, except for the “any substance having pharmacological action and/or chemical structure similar to a prohibited substance” clause originally implemented for new designer steroids. IOW, even though they couldn’t test for the steroid BALCO developed, it was banned from the moment it was synthesized. The list is available from the UCI. Note that it includes stuff that is perfectly normal and widely used in non-sports contents, such as Sudafed and Benadryl.
Some of the stuff Boo Boo Foo is talking about are available in any GNC or Whole Foods Market here in the US. Some of them are more sophisticated, and custom blended (reality check: some of those are mimetics of banned drugs that look like un-banned substances in lab tests). They aren’t stimulants in any medical sense of the word. Blends of creatine, amino acids, glucosamine, chondroitin, lots of electrolytes, mineral, etc. In fact, some makers even give you guarantees that no IOC-banned substances are included. These are standard throughout the peloton.
