Smokin Joe
Legendary Member
- Location
- Bare headed cyclist, Smoker
I'm not, I'm replying to Zofo.
How hard is the Tour?
- Thread starter benb
- Start date
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Rob3rt
Man or Moose!
- Location
- Manchester
So was I 
smutchin
Cat 6 Racer
- Location
- The Red Enclave
Joking aside, it's worth noting that this year's Giro wasn't quite as insanely difficult as some recent years and was perhaps more comparable to the Tour. And of course the pace of the Tour tends to be higher than the Giro, and the riding tends to be more aggressive, which will make it that bit more arduous. (The Vuelta route is pretty tough too, with some obscenely difficult climbs, but the pace of the Vuelta tends to be significantly lower than either the Giro or the Tour.)
Smokin Joe - saying you could cover the terrain at your own pace is missing the point. Doing it at that pace is precisely what makes the Tour so inhumanly difficult.
d.
dan_bo
How much does it cost to Oldham?
biking_fox
Guru
- Location
- Manchester
Are any of the other contenders that have been mentioned on this thread 'professional' sports though?
FRom what I know of them they're all amateur events, apart from some triathalons. But I don't think there's a professional IronMan series?
I'm pretty sure TdF/Giro/Vuelta are the hardest pro sport events in the world, but getting paid to do something with ap aid support crew is vastly different from doing it because you want to.
FRom what I know of them they're all amateur events, apart from some triathalons. But I don't think there's a professional IronMan series?
I'm pretty sure TdF/Giro/Vuelta are the hardest pro sport events in the world, but getting paid to do something with ap aid support crew is vastly different from doing it because you want to.
cyberknight
As long as I breathe, I attack.
- Location
- Land of confusion
They list foot ball as the second most toughest sport though so i take the list with a pich of salt as most of the events tend to be explosive events so their definition of tough might be different
This is too big to hide away in a thread like this. I take my hat off to you. Which way did you do it, clockwise or anti? Who were you running with at the time? Were any of my ClM runners on it that time? I could ask you questions about this forever.
fossyant
Ride It Like You Stole It!
- Location
- South Manchester
Football....hah.hah.
fossyant
Ride It Like You Stole It!
- Location
- South Manchester
smutchin
Cat 6 Racer
- Location
- The Red Enclave
There are professional triathletes. They're a bit like old-school professional cyclists in the way they trudge around from race to race to scrape a living, with very little recovery time in between and very little support. It's a pretty brutal way to make a living.
d.
T
The Iditarod has a purse of nearly a million bucks. It 's the most popular sporting event in Alaska.
The Iditarod has a purse of nearly a million bucks. It 's the most popular sporting event in Alaska.
smutchin
Cat 6 Racer
- Location
- The Red Enclave
Yebbut, that's American football, which is physically very demanding compared to association football. Still, soccer figures above rowing in the list, which is utter nonsense.
I reckon their "physical" rating of 3/10 for tennis is rubbish too - I can only assume they haven't watched any tennis for 30 years so are unaware of just how much of a power game it has become.
At least they have the sense to put rugby above football [soccer] in the list.
d.
biking_fox
Guru
- Location
- Manchester
They're stil not salaried sportsmen though are they? People whose job it is to take part? That is one difference between the Tour and other events.
Clockwise. Me and my mate Alan Deacon (1030) did it together. I think we started at about 5pm so the night section must have been somewhere between Helvellyn and Bowfell. We used to train down in Sussex by running up and down the Downs which was inadequate but all we have in the way of hills. A couple of trips up to reccie the sections. On one of these we met and became friends with the great Eric Draper who helped us immensely with training tips and 'witnesses'. Some friends came up to support and witness too. We knew it was in the bag when we got to Robinson and, much to Alan's disgust, I virtually walked in to Keswick and deprived him of a sub 23. I didn't care though, sub24 was fine by me. I drank a glass of bubbly at the Moot Hall and puked it up!
To be honest, and I'm not being modest, you or any decent runner could do it with the right training. I think your marathon PB (and 10KM?) is better than mine. I was 43 when I did it so age isn't necessarily a barrier.
CIM?
Incidentally Eric Draper had done a back to back double in 50 hours missing out on the 48hrs he wanted. That was a great effort.
Well the best ones mush for a living, combined with the breeding I guess.
Not sure why being salaried weighs heavily in the demands it places on people's organisms though? I get paid to sit in front of a computer, doesn't make it the toughest job in the world.
