Women's Tour *spoiler*

135

Comments

  • d_o_g
    d_o_g Posts: 286
    ddraver wrote:
    Am i the only one who wants to smash Brightside's sunny side up eggs over his stupid face?

    No.

    Was a bit disappointed there was no climatic sprint at the end yesterday, Zorzi just seemed to let her have the win. :?
  • blazing_saddles
    blazing_saddles Posts: 22,710
    LOL. That was some sprint.
    So, Danny Ratto's sister has the lead.
    Maybe it's a Giro omen.....................or maybe not.
    "Science is a tool for cheaters". An anonymous French PE teacher.
  • wallace_and_gromit
    wallace_and_gromit Posts: 3,390
    Lizzie seemed a bit animated in the post-race interview about whose responsibility it was to lead the chase. I can see her point that Orica had the jersey to defend, but if you want to win a race, sometimes you need to depart from the Union rule book.

    Enjoying the coverage so far. Respect to the commentators for picking the riders when they're in rain gear. And I might be in a minority here, but I'm glad Sir Hugo of Porter is back behind the microphone. He is quite unique!
  • Daz555
    Daz555 Posts: 3,976
    Good stage I thought. Was surprised that yellow was surrendered to easily though but good on the riders who got away.

    I'd like to see it grow to a full week in future years and let's please have a stage with a decent lump in it and a tough hill top finish.
    You only need two tools: WD40 and Duck Tape.
    If it doesn't move and should, use the WD40.
    If it shouldn't move and does, use the tape.
  • ManOfKent
    ManOfKent Posts: 392
    I guess SweetSpot made a decision to base the entire race in a relatively small area, to keep the costs low and logistics simple for them and the teams because it's a small-budget operation. After that it would come down to which area was willing and able to host it. Maybe they were also cautious in the choice of parcours, because they weren't sure how strong the teams would be. This is a pure guess, and I'll see if I can get the inside story later.

    I dare hope that the race will be a success and more councils/tourist boards will want to get involved next year; and also that the organisers can use this week to assess how much they can ramp up the difficulty without reducing the race to three or four teams at the front and a huge gruppetto.
  • Der Kaiser
    Der Kaiser Posts: 172
    I have to admit Northamptonshire is not the most inspiring location in the country. I think a big lump in the middle somewhere would sort the men from the boys . . . well women from the girls :oops:

    However it is a start and I am glad that the race exists. The women's side of the sport is beginning to grow and there are a number of decent British riders near the front of the Peleton.

    It would be great if they could establish this event as one of the "Grand Tour de Femme"
  • Daz555
    Daz555 Posts: 3,976
    Played right the Womens ToB could become the most important bike race in the women's calendar - permanently.
    You only need two tools: WD40 and Duck Tape.
    If it doesn't move and should, use the WD40.
    If it shouldn't move and does, use the tape.
  • Lanterne_Rogue
    Lanterne_Rogue Posts: 4,325
    Daz555 wrote:
    Played right the Womens ToB could become the most important bike race in the women's calendar - permanently.

    It would be great if it did. For all the talk about the UK being a hotbed of the sport (and there's even more of this sort of nonsense with the Giro and TdF starting here this year), it hasn't yet grown its own races that capture the imagination in the same way that the better races on the continent do. The men's tour of Britain is becoming a bit more animated, and allegedly there'll be a regular one-dayer to follow, but the Women's tour offers a unique chance for the UK to grab a top-rated event that's not borrowed from abroad.
    Twitter: @canocola @thedreadships
  • hammerite
    hammerite Posts: 3,408
    Am I the only person who gets unreasonably annoyed when someone comments about a race not really being a tour of [insert country name] if it doesn't cover the whole country?
  • RichN95.
    RichN95. Posts: 27,241
    hammerite wrote:
    Am I the only person who gets unreasonably annoyed when someone comments about a race not really being a tour of [insert country name] if it doesn't cover the whole country?
    No me too. They're usually accompanied by the "Since when has Belfast been in Italy" crowd.
    Twitter: @RichN95
  • Pross
    Pross Posts: 43,163
    hammerite wrote:
    Am I the only person who gets unreasonably annoyed when someone comments about a race not really being a tour of [insert country name] if it doesn't cover the whole country?

    That so-called Tour de 'France' race very rarely covers central areas and completely misses the west this year. Disgraceful.
  • hammerite
    hammerite Posts: 3,408
    Good job they've cut down the 4 Jours de Dunkerque back down to 4 days (and added in the bit about Nord-pas-de-Calais) otherwise some would be straight on to Trading Standards.


    Looked like a fairly hefty split today, loads of riders 12 and 20-ish mins down. Huge amount when the stage only took 2h 11 mins to complete. Whilst I'd say that I think Women's stages should be longer than they are perhaps you can see why the UCI haven't changed it yet.
  • frenchfighter
    frenchfighter Posts: 30,642
    Vos wins the stage today with Pooley getting smoked for 12 mins along with Trott and her sister (didnt know she had a sister who races). Only 86km race.
    Contador is the Greatest
  • Pross
    Pross Posts: 43,163
    Her sister probably road races on a more regular basis, part of Boels-Dolman.
  • mfin
    mfin Posts: 6,729
    Well, the ITV4 in race commentary is appallingly crap. Up to Phil and Paul's standards of piping up about 'break after break' as if they actually are breaks and then barely finishing the first over-excited sentence each time before it's no longer a break. This happens time after time after time.

    Shame really, it makes the coverage a bit of a joke.
  • antsmithmk
    antsmithmk Posts: 717
    frenchfighter wrote:
    Vos wins the stage today with Pooley getting smoked for 12 mins along with Trott and her sister (didnt know she had a sister who races). Only 86km race.


    Trott crashed
  • PuttyKnees
    PuttyKnees Posts: 381
    Why are the stages so short?
  • RichN95.
    RichN95. Posts: 27,241
    PuttyKnees wrote:
    Why are the stages so short?
    Money mostly. Stages only have to be as long as they need to be. Longer isn't necessarily better.
    Twitter: @RichN95
  • blazing_saddles
    blazing_saddles Posts: 22,710
    Mobility scooter lady made the sharpest move of the day.
    Crazy.
    "Science is a tool for cheaters". An anonymous French PE teacher.
  • thegibdog
    thegibdog Posts: 2,106
    Good to see Armitstead and Vos going head to head but little happening other than that.
    https://gibworth.mypixieset.com
  • dolan_driver
    dolan_driver Posts: 831
    Blazing Saddles wrote:
    Mobility scooter lady made the sharpest move of the day.
    Crazy.

    You have to give it to her, though. Her timing was impeccable! Could have been nasty if her battery went flat midway across the road.

    DD.
  • Lanterne_Rogue
    Lanterne_Rogue Posts: 4,325
    hammerite wrote:
    Good job they've cut down the 4 Jours de Dunkerque back down to 4 days (and added in the bit about Nord-pas-de-Calais) otherwise some would be straight on to Trading Standards.


    Looked like a fairly hefty split today, loads of riders 12 and 20-ish mins down. Huge amount when the stage only took 2h 11 mins to complete. Whilst I'd say that I think Women's stages should be longer than they are perhaps you can see why the UCI haven't changed it yet.

    My take on this is that short stages mean the big guns can blow the entire race to pieces knowing that they're unlikely to struggle in a two-hour stage. Given the prospect of being out there for five hours they might have been more circumspect. Similar things happen with the male peloton when the stages are shorter or perceived to be less dangerous (whilst still offering the opportunity to drive a split).
    Twitter: @canocola @thedreadships
  • Paul 8v
    Paul 8v Posts: 5,458
    antsmithmk wrote:
    frenchfighter wrote:
    Vos wins the stage today with Pooley getting smoked for 12 mins along with Trott and her sister (didnt know she had a sister who races). Only 86km race.


    Trott crashed
    20140509_134640.jpg :(
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  • mm1
    mm1 Posts: 1,063
    Blazing Saddles wrote:
    Mobility scooter lady made the sharpest move of the day.
    Crazy.

    Dunno, the tipper driver who got out of his cab on the road side when he was pulled over and was on the phone with his back to the bunch jumped pretty sharpish when he realised what was bearing down on him. Spotted an unmarshalled traffic island (fortunately so did the bunch), it looked pretty hairy at times so not surprised by the stack ups.
  • le_patron
    le_patron Posts: 494
    mfin wrote:
    Well, the ITV4 in race commentary is appallingly crap. Up to Phil and Paul's standards of piping up about 'break after break' as if they actually are breaks and then barely finishing the first over-excited sentence each time before it's no longer a break. This happens time after time after time.

    Shame really, it makes the coverage a bit of a joke.

    Problem is...what else do they talk about ? Genuine question.
    They have to present any excitement they can muster and I think their rider identification has been pretty good.
  • argyllflyer
    argyllflyer Posts: 893
    ITV4 don't have anything to do with the coverage of the race as all the mics (used by Been & Boulting) are unbranded and British Eurosport have the exact same coverage. It's made by Century TV for Sweetspot and has been picked up by both channels.
  • argyllflyer
    argyllflyer Posts: 893
    mfin wrote:
    Up to Phil and Paul's standards of piping up about 'break after break' as if they actually are breaks and then barely finishing the first over-excited sentence each time before it's no longer a break. This happens time after time after time.

    Shame really, it makes the coverage a bit of a joke.

    Try listening to the style of commentating (a dry and skeletal script told in past tense, with occasional tourist features highlighted) on highlights used by Eurosport for Tour de Azerbaidjan. It cries out for a bit of passion and over-excitedness.
  • mfin
    mfin Posts: 6,729
    Continutally and relentlessly mis-reading what's going on and then painting it all with over-enthusiasm is ridiculous. It doesn't make it sound more exciting, and nor does it need to be painted as more exciting than it is to be enjoyable. Of course, on the other hand, perhaps some people do find it makes it sound more exciting and more enjoyable to have mis-read situations continually stated like this, or can enjoy crap-commentary simply because they're blissfully unaware of what's actually happening unless they are told and even then can't tell that what they are told is wrong.
  • argyllflyer
    argyllflyer Posts: 893
    mfin wrote:
    Continutally and relentlessly mis-reading what's going on and then painting it all with over-enthusiasm is ridiculous. It doesn't make it sound more exciting, and nor does it need to be painted as more exciting than it is to be enjoyable. Of course, on the other hand, perhaps some people do find it makes it sound more exciting and more enjoyable to have mis-read situations continually stated like this, or can enjoy crap-commentary simply because they're blissfully unaware of what's actually happening unless they are told and even then can't tell that what they are told is wrong.

    Not a Carlton Kirby fan then?
  • Ed-tron
    Ed-tron Posts: 165
    On the Trott crash, I don't think it was caught on camera, but her chasing back is. She was clearly shaken up. Poor lass:

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

    I went to the Hinckley start and managed to wish Hannah Barnes good luck.

    XxZ0FgF.jpg

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