Amateur's first Etape

NervexProf
NervexProf Posts: 4,202
edited July 2008 in Sportives/audaxes/training rides
An interesting read:

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/life_a ... 374129.ece
Common sense in an uncommon degree is what the world calls wisdom

Comments

  • wildmoustache
    wildmoustache Posts: 4,010
    amusing read ...

    something not quite right about it though ... ok, so the guy claims he's not a cyclist, has a tank of a bike, none of the right kit, was creeping down the descent of Tourmalet etc. etc. ...

    and yet ...

    he completed in 7 hours?

    Not possible for someone who isn't a strong cyclist.

    Moreoever ... neither Simon Scardifield nor Jean Francois Lardy are listed in the finishers.

    So, what was his bib number?
  • DominicB
    DominicB Posts: 15
    I second that emotion...

    There is, however, a Jean Francois Lardy Gaillot, bib no 486 finishing in 8hrs 05m 19s though.

    Journalistic licence? But for what point?
  • wildmoustache
    wildmoustache Posts: 4,010
    DominicB wrote:
    I second that emotion...

    There is, however, a Jean Francois Lardy Gaillot, bib no 486 finishing in 8hrs 05m 19s though.

    Journalistic licence? But for what point?


    do we have him cornered here?? interesting to see if the new york journo gets an answer to his "what bib?" question :D

    having ridden 3 etapes , there is quite a bit of difference between 7 hours and 8.05 ... if that was his time.

    we have a mystery here!!
  • londonbfg32
    londonbfg32 Posts: 16
    Interestingly, he's not listed as a finisher for this years Marathon either!

    You could do that time as an Etape virgin (mate did c.6.56) but if you've only got on a bike 3 months before - not so much.
  • wildmoustache
    wildmoustache Posts: 4,010
    londonbfg32 wrote:
    Interestingly, he's not listed as a finisher for this years Marathon either!

    You could do that time as an Etape virgin (mate did c.6.56) but if you've only got on a bike 3 months before - not so much.

    anything under 7 is good (strange I should say that as I got 6 39 :wink: ).

    seriously, yes, an etape virgin could do it I agree with you, but you'd have to know what you were doing in terms of eating, drafting, equipment (to some extent), and there's no getting away from it that if you could do 7 hours flat you'd be recognised as a very strong cyclist by pretty much everyone who knew you.
  • londonbfg32
    londonbfg32 Posts: 16
    Which makes me think our friend at The Times had 7hrs on his clock as a ride time but his total time was over 8 hrs.

    Curious to find out what his marathon time was (manybe he in fact ran under an assumed name?).

    Good work on your result - left crank came off on the Loucroup and the Tormalet so did 7.02 - rather than 6.40 - 45 - bummer!

    Did you do 2007 - for my money a lot more epic than last year.
  • wildmoustache
    wildmoustache Posts: 4,010
    yeah i did 07 and 06. now an etape silver medallist at long last. 07 was an epic. i found this one much easier, mainly due to it being far cooler. i've realised the rain doesn't bother me nearly as much as the heat. 5 cols in the heat over 125 miles is a whole different bag of sprockets to 2 cols in cool conditions. had a number in the 6000s this time, which I've realised really makes it much, much harder than a low number.

    sorry to hear of your mechanical. i kept dreading a puncture on the hautacam for some reason. knew i was getting close to an ok time and didn't want something to blow it.

    sorry to go OT everyone. please get back to resolving this mystery.
  • kmahony
    kmahony Posts: 380
    Anyone who did under 9hrs is lying or on drugs. :D
    http://2008etape.blogspot.com/
  • portuguese mike
    portuguese mike Posts: 695
    kmahony wrote:
    Anyone who did under 9hrs is lying or on drugs. :D

    ok. ok. i adnit it i took a couple of paracetamol before the ride. my medal is at home in a box - the ASO can come and take it back if they wish
    pm
  • Datameister
    Datameister Posts: 33
    kmahony wrote:
    Anyone who did under 9hrs is lying or on drugs. :D

    OK, it's a fair cop. I took 2 ibuprofen as a pre-emptive strike on the start line. Mind you I was 9:08 elapsed for my 8:56 on the road, so I'm only just under 9 hours.

    To paraphrase Charlton Heston, "you can prise my medal out of my cold dead hand!"
  • il_principe
    il_principe Posts: 9,155
    I reckon he's full of it. I did it with 3 friends, all first time Etapers. My 2 friends are super fit guys (aged 26 and 30) and had been training since last year as well as competing regulalry in Triathlos, they did it in 6:40 and 6:50, so I find it very very hard to believe this guy got 7 hours with the training he claims! As for me I got a 7:55 ride time but lost nearly an hour thanks to a bad crash that required serious mechanical help with the bike and took a nice amount of skin off my hip... kinda ruined the day for me, climbing those cols whilst bruised and bleeding was not fun and I have even more respect for the Pros that crash and get on with it now - those guys are machines!
  • niedermeyer
    niedermeyer Posts: 1,075
    Due to an admin mix-up got someone elses bib??
    Check out M. Lardy at www.maindruphoto.com
    Not Mr Scardifield I think. A completely ficticious account I reckon.
    _________________________
    Well son, you tried your best and you failed. Let that be a lesson. Never try.
  • xio
    xio Posts: 212
    Steel framed bike with a dodgy paint job?:
    http://www.mosquito-bikes.co.uk/htdocs/ ... osanto.htm

    And who buys any kind of racing machine and leaves the reflectors on? - and then sells it on second hand with one on too? (unless he bought it from a shop I guess). Definitely a fake.

    And mr mahony, the large volume of drugs you took didn't get you round in 9 hours did it? Is imodium on the banned list?
  • wildmoustache
    wildmoustache Posts: 4,010
    well, WTF's going on here then??

    assuming this guy hasn't done it .... the account is at least based on reality. Perhaps he's cobbled it together from internet blogs, forums and discussions with people who did do it?I


    I've just sent in a message to the article

    "I can't find a Simon Scardifield in the official list of finishers. Nor can I find a Jean-Francois Lardy. What name did you complete the Etape under please?"

    :wink:
  • DominicB
    DominicB Posts: 15
    Widlmoustache wrote:
    I've just sent in a message to the article

    Well done for following up! You have had more luck than me in getting your comment published: my (similar) comment seems to have been dropped on the cutting room floor!

    As you say it looks like its cobbled together to me. But what's the point he is trying to make?

    It seems to say: if you are fit (e.g. marathon) and do a bit of training (2 months) you will find it hard, but enjoy it.
    Some truth in that no doubt - but I think the opinion on this site is that that sort of regime will make the day verge on the unpleasant, and you would probably struggle to complete.
  • richa
    richa Posts: 1,632
    Where do you think is the photo came from? Looks Alpine. Interesting that there is no 'race day' photo.
    Rich
  • wildmoustache
    wildmoustache Posts: 4,010
    DominicB wrote:
    Widlmoustache wrote:
    I've just sent in a message to the article

    Well done for following up! You have had more luck than me in getting your comment published: my (similar) comment seems to have been dropped on the cutting room floor!

    As you say it looks like its cobbled together to me. But what's the point he is trying to make?

    It seems to say: if you are fit (e.g. marathon) and do a bit of training (2 months) you will find it hard, but enjoy it.
    Some truth in that no doubt - but I think the opinion on this site is that that sort of regime will make the day verge on the unpleasant, and you would probably struggle to complete.

    Thanks Dominic. Before anyone starts saying I didn't complete the etape, John Dobson, from Brighton, doesn't exist.
  • wildmoustache
    wildmoustache Posts: 4,010
    DominicB wrote:
    Widlmoustache wrote:
    I've just sent in a message to the article

    Well done for following up! You have had more luck than me in getting your comment published: my (similar) comment seems to have been dropped on the cutting room floor!

    As you say it looks like its cobbled together to me. But what's the point he is trying to make?

    It seems to say: if you are fit (e.g. marathon) and do a bit of training (2 months) you will find it hard, but enjoy it.
    Some truth in that no doubt - but I think the opinion on this site is that that sort of regime will make the day verge on the unpleasant, and you would probably struggle to complete.

    i think he just wants to get a piece in for his 80p a word freelance fee.

    I suspect that he has a friend who did the etape and they sat down over a bottle of cheap red and had a laugh putting this article together.

    If the mis-registration is untrue then it is a bit unfair to publish a criticism of the organisers (who do an excellent job).
  • Peter153
    Peter153 Posts: 1
    I posted a comment on the Times online page suggesting that he had done neither the Marathon nor the Etape. They said that they were not able to publish all comments as there were already too many - five??

    The organisation was excellent. no one could register without a passport and the official entry form, so it would simply not be possible to get mixed up with someone else.

    There is a much better, and honest, piece by a guy who actually did the Etape in the Independent.

    http://www.independent.co.uk/sport/gene ... 66910.html
  • londonbfg32
    londonbfg32 Posts: 16
    Anyone emailed The Times to point out that he doesn´t seem to be a marathon man either?
  • wildmoustache
    wildmoustache Posts: 4,010
    Peter153 wrote:
    I posted a comment on the Times online page suggesting that he had done neither the Marathon nor the Etape. They said that they were not able to publish all comments as there were already too many - five??

    The organisation was excellent. no one could register without a passport and the official entry form, so it would simply not be possible to get mixed up with someone else.

    There is a much better, and honest, piece by a guy who actually did the Etape in the Independent.

    http://www.independent.co.uk/sport/gene ... 66910.html

    well put. in a roundabout way I know Simon O'Hagan and can confirm he did the etape ... his results are on the site.

    i am tempted to send the times piece to ASO.

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