Tour de France: Go Bradley Wiggins!! (page 3)

hemp lover

Yes, I'm curious about the tacks as well. I feel like that should have been accounted for in the standings. Or perhaps it was?

The local sports radio station I listen to gives daily updates and they discuss things like race etiquette, which is fascinating to me, as someone who is not completely familiar with how this sport works.

For example, when the tacks incident happened, it sounded like it would be bad form for someone who was farther back in the pack and whose tires didn't get punctured, to take the lead, even though that was a possibility. Is a racer supposed to hold back in a circumstance like this and not take advantage?

Broken Promises

Yes, Bradley Wiggins was already in the lead pack, and he told the others in the lead pack to hold back until Cadel could catch up, out of respect for Cadel being the past winner. The commentators all spoke how it was a sign of good sportsmanship on Wiggins' behalf. Wiggins himself said that it wasn't right for them to win due to someone else's misfortune.

A Frenchman did take advantage of the situation, and zoomed ahead instead, and got condemned for his unprofessional behaviour.

There was someone who was already way ahead of the lead pack, who won by a mile, but he wasn't condemned because he was already too far ahead of the main racers so he was able to win fair and square.

Hope that all makes sense!

hemp lover

It does make sense, but i still have questions. Are these rules written or is it just kind of a gentlemen's agreement? Like in golf, don't walk in the other guy's sight line while he's sizing up a putt? Or in baseball, if the catcher or the umpire takes a foul ball in the gonads, the other players make excuses to waste time, like talking to the pitcher or dusting off home plate or checking their facebook page ;-), until the injured player recovers and is able to breathe again.

The commentators I was listening to kept using terms like so-and-so "attacked" while a biker was getting a tire replaced, and they made it sound like this attack was in very poor form for the Tour. But they weren't just using that term, attacked, in reference to the tacks incident. Apparently, there were other times when one bicyclist would attack when he shouldn't have done that.

This is like trying to figure out the secret In-N-Out Burger menu. "I'll take mine animal style, please. Don't know what that is, but read it on a message board, wot?"

Broken Promises

I take it that it's mainly a gentleman's agreement.

As for the French guy who "attacked" and raced ahead, the commentators said he would be the "black sheep" of his team that night and the other racers wouldn't be happy with him.

So although it's not written in the rules, it's generally agreed that there's certain behaviour that's allowed and not "allowed" all in the name of fair sportsmanship.

Which makes watching it more pleasurable when you know it's not all cut-throat.

hemp lover

That's what I was thinking as I was listening to the update. I like how they defer to the man on their team who has the best chance of winning or who is in the lead on a particular day. One wouldn't necessarily think of the Tour de France as being a team sport, but it really is. It's already pretty damn fascinating, what with the "race within a race" aspect of it re: time trials, etc., but the unspoken politics make it even more tasty.

cedars

What makes his achievement all the more remarkable is that, at 32, he's the same age as me! I'm fairly confident that being British and the same age as eachother are the ONLY things he and I have in common. The guy's a superhuman. I already feel like my body is starting to give up on me, whereas this guy can get on a bike and cycle up and down mountains and across entire countries better than anyone else. Quite astonishing. He deserves a huge pat on the back for his remarkable accomplishment. Unfortunately, it doesn't look like he'll have too much time to toast his success, because as soon as the Tour de France is over he's straight back to the UK for the olympics. The guy's a legend.

Cedars

cedars

I've just discovered something else to respect about him. I heard that one reason why the French love him is because, despite being British, he speaks fluent French. I was dubious of this, so I looked him up on YouTube.

Mon Dieu ! Il parle le français très bien !

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2XBsK_ycOTI

Interestingly, he also lives near Manchester, which is where I'm from. He practices in the Peak District, a beautiful windswept hilly landscape that I know quite well.

Anyway, it's not every day we get sporting heroes who are intellectually gifted in addition to being good athletes. I'm no cycling enthusiast, but I can certainly admire this guy, both for his brawn and his brains.

Cedars

Open mind

It's official.

Bradley Wiggins has become the first Brit to ever win the Tour de France.

(And Mark Cavendish sprinted out to win the last stage.)

Well done gentlemen!!!

om

GLTirebiter

Congratulations to Bradley Wiggins!

Now there's only six days until the Olympic road race. There's not much time for rest and recovery after a long July in France before racing on home ground.

Tour de France: Go Bradley Wiggins!!

Share this