Tour de France 2016

This is what it's like.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rPwAIo0fseM&feature=youtu.be

The Boardman, Boulting skits are very good at conveying it to the lay person. Hard to get out the subtleties of the racing but a good start. The rest is usually commented on in the daily feed and catch up on ITV4.

Yes but that lot paid to be there.

This guide is short and simple

http://tourdefranceontv.co.uk/bike-racing-explained/

The tldr is: cycling is easier behind someone.

I went up Ventoux on a windy day when I was about 14. Nearly blew away. Scary.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=meUC6lmW81Q

Cheers. Not seen them before. Thanks @andyp for mentioning them too.

here's the two so far on this year's tour

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nPNnZQA88Jc

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h847HijIRsc

I for one welcome the new Froomedog.

Nicking Majkas KOM points was the highlight of this new "Attack all the things"attitude though.

http://www.letour.com/le-tour/2016/us/stage-12.html

The finish is somewhere up there ^ , 6km before the end at Chalet Reynard (the last bit of red before the blue).

Due to the weather conditions forecasted by Météo France atop the Mont Ventoux with gusts of wind likely to exceed 100km/h, Tour de France organizers have decided to modify the finale of stage 12 in order to guarantee optimal safety conditions. Therefore, the stage finish will be located at Chalet-Reynard, 6 kilometres before the initially planned finishing line.

front page of L'Equipe this morning

1 Attachment

OT slightly: are the gradients on inclines different or does the telly make 9% look steeper than a typical 9% in the UK?

A typical 9% in the UK is short, and it's over very quickly.

A typical 9% in the mountains of Europe is long, and so you get to see a lot of it.

It's not that the angle is different, but if you were to film something here it would be done so quick that the viewer couldn't appreciate it. Length and consistency of the incline is what differs, not the angle.

The 9% I'm thinking of are the two 3 milers that lead up to my village on the top. And there's a sign that says its 13% which according to RWGPS and BikeHike is wrong.

No matter which angle I look at either hill, they just don't look anywhere as steep as they do on The TdF.

I think you're looking at different measurements and treating them the same.

The sign is a road sign, and will give the worst incline not the average. It is there to signal to drivers (in vehicles that may struggle) which is the worst incline so that they know whether they are likely to make it up.

The 9% on the TdF stages is the average incline over the given section, not the maximum within the section.

So a 9% on a road sign here is max, and 9% on the TdF profile is average.

It is steeper overall, for longer, long enough to be the average rather than peak incline.

At least, that's the way I understand it.

Ah, I think I get what you mean. Thanks.

TBH I find it easier to think of the climb category WRT to the myth that it's the gear you need in a Citroen 2CV to get over it:

http://inrng.com/2015/07/tour-climbs-category-formula/

(in the comments http://inrng.com/2015/07/tour-climbs-category-formula/#comment-132636 )

Cat 4 = 4th gear
Cat 3 = 3rd gear
Cat 2 = 2nd gear
Cat 1 = 1st gear
HC = Your Citroen 2CV is not getting over this mountain

That may be just myth, but I find it easier to think about the difficulty of a climb with that cute little car in mind.

Unbelievable

Another hard stage to call, mainly because there is a 37 km individual time trial tomorrow, so anyone who goes deep today can expect to suffer a bit tomorrow. If Quintana is to win the Tour then he needs to minimise his losses tomorrow, so it wouldn't surprise me if he rode defensively again today. Conversely, today is one of the hardest finishes of the race, even with the shortened ascent of Ventoux, so it is an opportunity for him to gain time.

The approach to the Ventoux could be critical, as the high winds could see the bunch split if one of the teams decides to put the race in the gutter.

It should be great viewing, shame I have to miss the crucial bits doing the school run.

Leave your kids forlornly in the school playground or insist the teachers set up ITV 4?

I think the winds that are forecast will make this an exciting one to watch. I'm not sure if it's possible to plan anything solid except stay at front as much as possible and maximise any opportunities.

I don't remember anything similar as yesterday's inter team buddying up for same but different goals happening before.

Google Glass

(https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=XpP_crkJ01c)

http://youtu.be/XpP_crkJ01c

It is also that the angle is different, and also because of depth of field/lens effect. Cameras by their very nature cannot give a true representation of ANYTHING, let alone perspective.
The other day Ned and Dave compared a climb's gradient to that of Box Hill, but it appeared steeper from some angles, shallower from others.

It's like when people on here accuse other people of posting bikes with bent forks and oval wheels... Drives me mad.

I'm going to go for Froome... but only because I think Quintana needs to make a move and Froome will have to mark him, and in the final segments we'll have a battle.