Discussion: The Tour

I caught some of the Team Time Trials yesterday...so cool. Watching the Tour de France is one of the best parts of July every year. I can easily see how you devoted so many years to the sport.

Too bad about Team Sky and Chris Froome's crash. Amazing that he only lost 51 seconds. Do you think that was premeditated?

Honestly, I haven't even been following the Tour this year. It's not that I don't love it; but I can't both do sports and watch sports with this whole grad school/full time job/family thing also going on.

#148, the rider he was passing, definitely assisted Froome's departure from the road, but I doubt it was premeditated. He was trying to pass where there wan't much room.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hA67ZZTysh4

See @ 7 seconds.

Thanks Bill. I think you're right. Looked to me like his right shoulder or elbow came out at just the right time to deflect Froome into the gravel of the shoulder, and then over the handlebars. Nasty.

He's lucky he didn't bust a leg, or worse, on the post.

I think I'd file that under "shit that happens."

First 8 stages have been a bit of a snoozer. Cobbles of Stage 9 were interesting, but Stage 11 has definitely been the best watching so far.

A lot of miles to go, but Team Sky seems to be sitting in a pretty good place right now.

The nationalistic crowds this year are out of control. Blocking the riders' passage, causing accidents, hitting and spitting on teams they do not like.

They can't provide police protection along the whole route. So I can imagine some format changes in the future. Maybe no more mountain stages?

Alpe d'Huez was bad. Nibali out of the race (fan interaction), Froome hit and spit on, Bardet nearly hitting someone lying in the road.

Assaulting (spitting on, pushing) and booing riders shouldn't happen. Reportedly, the guy who hit Froome was arrested. I saw police slam a few people to the ground. It's sad that a few sub-morons could have such a major impact on the race. Both past and present riders all say that when the crowd behaves, that the experience is awesome.

The Italians (giro) and the Spanish (vuelta) managed to do a good job with their mountain stages, or maybe the people were just better behaved. That said, people lining the route for Sunday's stage 15 were fairly well behaved.