TDF Cobbled section

Teach
Teach Posts: 386
edited July 2010 in Pro race
Was watching this the other day and saw lots of people on the road side holding up pairs of wheels. Obviously this was for riders with punctures, but who are they? Are they employed by the tour? Are they just keen cyclists, willing to help? Do teams deploy their own people at critical points?
If they are just keen cyclist, is there some sort of cycling etiquette? Do you get your wheels back? Are you just please that a race winner might have taken your wheels? :?

If it is any of these cases and you didn't get to give your best wheels away I'll have them :lol: :shock:

Comments

  • afx237vi
    afx237vi Posts: 12,630
    Team staff / soigneurs. Was discussed here:

    http://www.bikeradar.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=12713447
  • Cleat Eastwood
    Cleat Eastwood Posts: 7,508
    Scousers selling the wheels back. :D
    The dissenter is every human being at those moments of his life when he resigns
    momentarily from the herd and thinks for himself.
  • Teach
    Teach Posts: 386
    afx237vi wrote:
    Team staff / soigneurs. Was discussed here:

    http://www.bikeradar.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=12713447

    Sorry did a quick search and didn't see it.
    Thank you.
  • westerburk
    westerburk Posts: 37
    they have to be careful though teach because some of those guys have crap wheels which they give to opposing teams. They used to think it was very funny but Armstrong spoiled the joke by having a soigneur give a wheel with no glue on the tire to Beloki on a mountain stage.

    Of course on the way down the tyre came loose and Beloki hit the road very badly (tdf 2003) after that there was concensus that enough was enough.
  • rick_chasey
    rick_chasey Posts: 75,661
    Teach wrote:
    Was watching this the other day and saw lots of people on the road side holding up pairs of wheels. Obviously this was for riders with punctures, but who are they? Are they employed by the tour? Are they just keen cyclists, willing to help? Do teams deploy their own people at critical points?
    If they are just keen cyclist, is there some sort of cycling etiquette? Do you get your wheels back? Are you just please that a race winner might have taken your wheels? :?

    If it is any of these cases and you didn't get to give your best wheels away I'll have them :lol: :shock:


    It's just people who want to do this:

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MPB0TWUnKEU


    More seriously though, teams often have chaps there if they need it, but (increasingly rarely it has to be said) fans do sometimes stand by the road with a wheel if the riders would need one.
    _

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