Women's Tour - "SPOILERS"

[Kiwiavenger]

Gladly! Sounds like it would be a laugh. Can't imagine they'd want me though.

Anyway, I've been enjoying the fantastic racing very much - Vos vs Johansson vs Armitstead has been a great battle, Rossella Ratto is an exciting talent, and fantastic to see Hannah Barnes and Sharon Laws doing so well. Great advert for the sport and much more exciting racing than some men's races I've seen recently.

Admiring the pert bottoms has been merely a bonus.

For me it's the legs but I agree it has been some fantastic racing and makes a change from the HTC of old/sky train in the men's events.

 

[Crackle]

Well Vos, who else. I must admit that whilst admiring Vos, I find it a little depressing how she dominates so much womens racing.

I've enjoyed watching it though. Frenetic racing, constant attacks and real committed riding. Longer stages would be nice, see a bit more tactical riding.

 

[Dogtrousers]

They don't help themselves though do they? The websites thetour.co.uk and womenstour.co.uk, one of which may or may not be the official site are just rubbish. Terribly confusing and not very informative and not up to date. And infuriating. Very, very infuriating.

I've just spent quite a long time trying to find out whether Sharon Laws managed to hold on to the climbers' jersey. SPOILER: I think she did, but they didn't make it easy to find.

The "official site" (or maybe it isn't) has highlights up to stage 4, but nothing about stage 5. The other possibly official site has jersey holders for every stage except 5. But a bit of lateral thinking and enigma code cracking eventually led me to the final mountains classification.

 

[SWSteve]

They don't help themselves though do they? The websites thetour.co.uk and womenstour.co.uk, one of which may or may not be the official site are just rubbish. Terribly confusing and not very informative and not up to date. And infuriating. Very, very infuriating.

I've just spent quite a long time trying to find out whether Sharon Laws managed to hold on to the climbers' jersey. SPOILER: I think she did, but they didn't make it easy to find.

The "official site" (or maybe it isn't) has highlights up to stage 4, but nothing about stage 5. The other possibly official site has jersey holders for every stage except 5. But a bit of lateral thinking and enigma code cracking eventually led me to the final mountains classification.

check the 'galleries' page, loads of photos

 

[laurence]

got my programme signed by Vos after saturday's stage. bonkers huge crowd at the finish - rivalled the men's tour. loads of families. Welwyn Garden City put on a great show too, loads of things happening, the whole town seemed to be out for the day.

after the ceremony a bunch of people (including me) were hanging out behind the podium area. Vos said hello as she left doping control to us, but then got on her bike and rode down the road (Ratto had wandered out of the gate, clutching her podium flowers and strolling through the throng). i ambled off and turned a corner to find the media centre... Armitstead was outside, signing autographs and chatting. Pooley was there, but headed off before i twigged who it was (she is tiny).

a few people hung about and then Vos walked out. after doing an interview with a bbc man she turned her attention to the youngsters... posing for photos, signing cards, programmes and jerseys. even the adults got in on the act and that's when my programme was whipped from my bag to get signed. considering she'd just ridden a stage, done the podium duties, had to pee for doping control and then talk to the media, she was not fussed by the fans and had time for them. the young girls looked totally thrilled to get to meet her. yop marks, all round.

shame Judith Arndt retired as she would have giver Vos a hard time. i also think Rowsell could be a great road rider, she has the Arndt in her.

the men's tour will be a bit of an anti-climax after this race.

 

[cardiac case]

I watched the sprint finish in Long Melford, then made Bury St Eds for the end of the race.

A really good atmosphere to soak up. Had a great day.
Came home and watched it on the telly.

 

[oldroadman]

Well Vos, who else. I must admit that whilst admiring Vos, I find it a little depressing how she dominates so much womens racing.

I've enjoyed watching it though. Frenetic racing, constant attacks and real committed riding. Longer stages would be nice, see a bit more tactical riding.

got my programme signed by Vos after saturday's stage. bonkers huge crowd at the finish - rivalled the men's tour. loads of families. Welwyn Garden City put on a great show too, loads of things happening, the whole town seemed to be out for the day.

after the ceremony a bunch of people (including me) were hanging out behind the podium area. Vos said hello as she left doping control to us, but then got on her bike and rode down the road (Ratto had wandered out of the gate, clutching her podium flowers and strolling through the throng). i ambled off and turned a corner to find the media centre... Armitstead was outside, signing autographs and chatting. Pooley was there, but headed off before i twigged who it was (she is tiny).

a few people hung about and then Vos walked out. after doing an interview with a bbc man she turned her attention to the youngsters... posing for photos, signing cards, programmes and jerseys. even the adults got in on the act and that's when my programme was whipped from my bag to get signed. considering she'd just ridden a stage, done the podium duties, had to pee for doping control and then talk to the media, she was not fussed by the fans and had time for them. the young girls looked totally thrilled to get to meet her. yop marks, all round.

shame Judith Arndt retired as she would have giver Vos a hard time. i also think Rowsell could be a great road rider, she has the Arndt in her.

the men's tour will be a bit of an anti-climax after this race.

You jest, I hope.

 

[oldroadman]

Saw then run through Kislingbury Northants at lunchtime today. One leader. a peloton and a few stragglers mixing it with ordinary traffic after the technical/support cars had passed. Missed hi-lights at 21:00 tonight but recording the repeat at 0ff8:00 tomorrow.

The way in which the Police outriders advanced 'by number' along the route was fascinating to watch. A few from Northants but rest were presumably volunteers from other forces - at least one bike was marked Heddlu/Police.

The police are a combination of forces forming a Central Escort Group, volunteers to do the work as such (all on paid duty, as they should be).
It's a tough job for Police, NEG, and everyone else. If anyone is thinking of offering their services, they need to know that after a race they will be quite tired with all the long hours and moving hotels, and most people working on the races never see any actual racing. Glamorous it ain't. I've a lot of admiration for the support and organisation staff.

 

[oldroadman]

Bit of information, stage distances. A check of the UCI regulations shows that a women's race can't exceed an average of 100km a day, and the max is 130km. Add up the WT distance, and it's just short of 499km in 5 days, so spot on for the organisers! Personally I think 120km average would be OK, with maybe a max of 150km. Perhaps some of the female posters would care to comment?

 

[Crackle]

You jest, I hope.

You don't think. It seemed pretty flat out from the off. A few stages averaging 26mph. it didn't look like they couldn't cope with longer stages.

 

[Apollonius]

I thought this was a superb event and was delighted to see the level of support and enthusiasm on the route. Not so very long ago you would have seen barely a dozen or so people watching a sprint points spot in the MEN'S tour. This is a measure of how popular cycling has become in the last couple of years. And that makes a difference to us all. Other road users are starting to see cyclists as sports people rather than poor sods who can't afford a car.
I was also delighted with the media coverage. OK, the ITV4 programme gave about a quarter of the show to background and interviews, but personally I cannot claim to be all that well-informed about women's road racing and was glad of the information and perspectives given.
The BBC Breakfast news gave the race plenty of exposure and that has to be good, again. I might just question this morning's coverage where it was featured ahead of the Tour of California and the Giro wasn't mentioned at all, but that is the way it goes. The BBC would say they are doing news stories about people whom the public have heard of, and that means Cavendish, Wiggins, and, praise be, Lizzie Armitstead and Laura Trott too. That has to be excellent for women's sport, which is of critical importance for the health and wellbeing of the nation. Kids still need role models and those young women are great by me.
There was an excellent nearly full-page article in yesterday's Sunday Times which made the point that many of these young women are racing in front of their biggest crowds ever. They also praise the superb organisation. Let's be positive and proud of a job well done.

 

[Rooster1]

Really enjoyed the ITV coverage of this event, about time womens cycling is put at the top where it should be. I will definitely be following these riders more in the coming seasons.

 

[Flying_Monkey]

It was an excellent event and seemed to go off without a hitch. It would be nice to see it visit some other areas of the UK next time around, but the main thing is that its success means that it is highly likely that there will be a 'next time around.'

As for Vos, I wouldn't complain. Riders like her are once in a generation. If you got to see her, you just saw probably the most complete female bike rider ever.

 

[Beebo]

Some footage of the crash in the neutral zone! Lucky they werent going too fast!
http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/cycling/27361749

 

[laurence]

You jest, I hope.

only partly. i do think the men's race will have to up its game