Tour de France 2018 **SPOILERS**

[Nomadski]

That finish was Monty Python. How do you actually fark up timing chips?

Chuffed for Super G though, he's been fantastic and deserves it for not headbutting trees or the ground this year. His post race interview left made my eye sockets moist a little.

The fans en route have been a total embarrassment to the sport.

And my innocent man crush on Sagan is intact.

 

[Beebo]

That finish was Monty Python. How do you actually fark up timing chips?

Chuffed for Super G though, he's been fantastic and deserves it for not headbutting trees or the ground this year. His post race interview left made my eye sockets moist a little.

The fans en route have been a total embarrassment to the sport.

And my innocent man crush on Sagan is intact.

The fans have been ok.
99% are just there to clap and cheer. There has been some pantomime booing but that is all it was. Let’s not pretend that the British don’t do the occasional booing.

Maybe 1% have had any malice and a couple have gone too far. But there have probably been a million spectators on the course so there will be a few idiots.

 

[cyberknight]

That finish was Monty Python. How do you actually fark up timing chips?

Chuffed for Super G though, he's been fantastic and deserves it for not headbutting trees or the ground this year. His post race interview left made my eye sockets moist a little.

The fans en route have been a total embarrassment to the sport.

And my innocent man crush on Sagan is intact.

Read an an article in cycling weekly that tissot have a camera either side of the line and a 3rd one just in case, so plod shouldn't affect the result , and Sagan you have to admire in a "what a farking cool guy " way .

 

[Deleted member 26715]

No conspiracy theory or anything but the Police involvement has got to be brolacks, do they not all have transponders on now, so they know exactly where they all are, it's more likely to be a server issue between the equipment & the TV companies equipment.

 

[rich p]

I'm really pleased that Thomas won, a genuinely nIce guy, it seems.
It's actually an amazing feat considering the criticism he's had on here and elsewhere with regard to his ability and cycling choices. Me included, I hasten to add.
Spent too long chasing track golds; can't climb in the high mountains; can't sustain it without a jours sans; can't stay in the saddle for 3 weeks without hitting telegraph poles, tarmac, motorbikes.
So glad he proved us all wrong.

 

[rich p]

Listening to Jonathan Edwards, Brian Smith, Luke Rowe and SDB yesterday in various interviews was relatively interesting regarding Chris Froome's acceptance that he wasn't strong enough and his willingness to help GT.
Brian Smith also slipped in that SDB had tried to recruit Tom D.
And that Brian Smith had tried to get GT on loan for a year when he was at MTN Quebeca.

 

[Beebo]

Listening to Jonathan Edwards, Brian Smith, Luke Rowe and SDB yesterday in various interviews was relatively interesting regarding Chris Froome's acceptance that he wasn't strong enough and his willingness to help GT.
Brian Smith also slipped in that SDB had tried to recruit Tom D.
And that Brian Smith had tried to get GT on loan for a year when he was at MTN Quebeca.

SDB was very emotional, almost crying in the interview i heard, he said Froome could have sulked like other top riders have done in the past, especially after all he has been put through, but he didnt and rode for the team.

 

[Beebo]

One other thing we can take away from this years first two grand tours is that the Yates brothers are good but nowhere near good enough just yet.
It will be interesting to see if they both ride in Spain.

 

[deptfordmarmoset]

SDB was very emotional, almost crying in the interview i heard, he said Froome could have sulked like other top riders have done in the past, especially after all he has been put through, but he didnt and rode for the team.

During this Tour, Geraint has grown as a rider and Froome, by simply accepting things and getting on with it, has grown as a man, in my view.

 

[Bollo]

No conspiracy theory or anything but the Police involvement has got to be brolacks, do they not all have transponders on now, so they know exactly where they all are, it's more likely to be a server issue between the equipment & the TV companies equipment.

I think it was just the system that reports the time immediately at the line for the TV and finish line display that was triggered accidentally, or incorrectly at least. The system used to give the verified official times would use a number of technologies to give a verifiable result. Tissot’s website likely goes into the details. Some of the split times during the TT and earlier stages were also out on occasion.

I don’t think anyone is suggesting a conspiracy with any seriousness.

 

[smutchin]

I think it was just the system that reports the time immediately at the line for the TV and finish line display that was triggered accidentally, or incorrectly at least. The system used to give the verified official times would use a number of technologies to give a verifiable result. Tissot’s website likely goes into the details. Some of the split times during the TT and earlier stages were also out on occasion.

I think a large part of the problem is that the times displayed on your TV screen don't come direct from the official timing - as one of the commentators (Millar?) said, the TV timings are basically done by a bloke with a stopwatch.

They'd already had a similar problem earlier - I think it was with Soler, who initially thought he had posted a slower time than Hepburn and was already on his way to the team bus when an official grabbed him and directed him to the hot seat.

 

[smutchin]

What do we make of the story about Dumoulin losing his skinsuit? Lionel Birnie was cynical, suggesting it was a stunt to plug local firm Etxeondo. Looking at the Dumoulin interview again, he does seem to be struggling to keep a straight face when asked about it.

 

[Bollo]

I think a large part of the problem is that the times displayed on your TV screen don't come direct from the official timing - as one of the commentators (Millar?) said, the TV timings are basically done by a bloke with a stopwatch.

They'd already had a similar problem earlier - I think it was with Soler, who initially thought he had posted a slower time than Hepburn and was already on his way to the team bus when an official grabbed him and directed him to the hot seat.

The ITV evening coverage showed a slo-mo of Froome approaching the line and you could see the on-screen clock stop when he was about 10-20 metres from the line - the viewing angle was foreshortened so it was pretty difficult to see the true distance.

On the whole I found the way the time gaps were displayed confusing, especially for the TT. At one point they were showing Dumoulin 30 seconds up on something, but it wasn't clear whether that was the best split, the 'clubhouse' split or an estimated live gap to Froome.

 

[Bollo]

What do we make of the story about Dumoulin losing his skinsuit? Lionel Birnie was cynical, suggesting it was a stunt to plug local firm Etxeondo. Looking at the Dumoulin interview again, he does seem to be struggling to keep a straight face when asked about it.

That is a proper conspiracy! Now I doubt Thomas' missing Oakleys in 2015.....

 

[Crackle]

I'm really pleased that Thomas won, a genuinely nIce guy, it seems.
It's actually an amazing feat considering the criticism he's had on here and elsewhere with regard to his ability and cycling choices. Me included, I hasten to add.
Spent too long chasing track golds; can't climb in the high mountains; can't sustain it without a jours sans; can't stay in the saddle for 3 weeks without hitting telegraph poles, tarmac, motorbikes.
So glad he proved us all wrong.

That's more or less what I was going to say but I wasn't going to say it until the race had finished! .....Dances in a little circle with fingers crossed to break the hex......