I'm guessing a producer or someone has asked Ned + David to talk more about the chateaus etc. so they're coming up with all these factoids. I like that though.
― ultros ultros-ghali, Thursday, 7 July 2016 13:57 (seven years ago) link
^^ part of the appeal. Belgian, Dutch and French commentators have been doing that for decades. It wouldn't be the TdF without it tbh.
― Le Bateau Ivre, Thursday, 7 July 2016 13:58 (seven years ago) link
Part of why I love watching the Tour, it's like a mini-travel show
― Flamenco Drop (VegemiteGrrl), Thursday, 7 July 2016 15:37 (seven years ago) link
that llama photo is a+
i hope we get footage of the organizers trying to shoo them away on sat, i would watch the hell out of that
― Flamenco Drop (VegemiteGrrl), Thursday, 7 July 2016 15:47 (seven years ago) link
So would I :)
Apart from the mini-travel show my fave bits of commentary are the utterly random, useless factoids during slow stages. "... and in second place is Alaphilippe. Did you know he was the son of a baker? He got his first bicycle working for his dad as a wee lad, picking up flour in the early morning from a miller nearby. The miller, Monsieur Dupont, was a well known ornithologist in his local area. He once spotted a rare bird of prey specimen not known to the area. Because of his reputation as a fabulist no one believed him, but on his death bed he declared he would not be able to find peace if the villagers did not believe that he actually saw that bird of prey. Dupont's daughter became a minor celebrity being a contestant on 'Nouvelle Star', the French version of Idols, but was eliminated one day waking up being unable to speak. Yep, that's Alaphilippe."
― Le Bateau Ivre, Thursday, 7 July 2016 16:02 (seven years ago) link
<3
― Flamenco Drop (VegemiteGrrl), Thursday, 7 July 2016 16:12 (seven years ago) link
Don't all the commentators get given a file of chateau info by the organisers?
I accidentally saw today's result on the Guardian app, boo (also yay obv). Will still watch the highlights.
― Madchen, Thursday, 7 July 2016 16:39 (seven years ago) link
Yes, Chateau and area info are provided. Those castles, starting and finishing places, pay big francs to part of this circus, be on screen for three seconds. Takes a really good commentator to know all the useless ins and outs of riders too, though.
― Le Bateau Ivre, Thursday, 7 July 2016 16:51 (seven years ago) link
Already watched Eurosport's highlights, now watching ITV4's for comparison. It's fuckin weird seeing Daniel Friebe's face after listening to him on the Cycling Podcast for the past year. Where they also talk about food a lot but somehow it's charming?
― zora_db (Zora), Thursday, 7 July 2016 18:22 (seven years ago) link
lol, yeah i enjoy the podcast
i thought the italian guest commentator (name escapes me) was a comedy bit for like half the tour last year til i realized oh shit that's a real dude. oops
― Flamenco Drop (VegemiteGrrl), Thursday, 7 July 2016 18:30 (seven years ago) link
Chiro! the Kilometre Zero episodes have been excellent so far.
― ( X '____' )/ (zappi), Thursday, 7 July 2016 18:54 (seven years ago) link
amazing we still have all 198 starters in the race
― ( X '____' )/ (zappi), Friday, 8 July 2016 10:53 (seven years ago) link
Class act by Cummings
― Le Bateau Ivre, Friday, 8 July 2016 15:09 (seven years ago) link
Lol flamme rouge punctured, holding up the peloton!
― ( X '____' )/ (zappi), Friday, 8 July 2016 15:14 (seven years ago) link
Cummings chewing (gum?) during post-ride interview is nagl tho
― Le Bateau Ivre, Friday, 8 July 2016 15:26 (seven years ago) link
Jeez, DDD, save some scraps for the other teams eh?
― Madchen, Friday, 8 July 2016 16:33 (seven years ago) link
unlucky timing for Yates, a second each way and he'd have been okhttps://twitter.com/Cyclocosm/status/751651269891153920?s=09
― ( X '____' )/ (zappi), Saturday, 9 July 2016 10:21 (seven years ago) link
Very impressive win from Froome
― ultros ultros-ghali, Saturday, 9 July 2016 15:24 (seven years ago) link
yeah that was a pretty canny move
― jason waterfalls (gbx), Saturday, 9 July 2016 15:26 (seven years ago) link
Human after all.
Froome already made my day punching some asshole in the face
― Le Bateau Ivre, Saturday, 9 July 2016 15:59 (seven years ago) link
any updates on LlamaWatch2016
― Flamenco Drop (VegemiteGrrl), Saturday, 9 July 2016 17:41 (seven years ago) link
(two days too late, but...) LBI - that 'commentary' was genius, thanks
― remain in the privacy of the booth (Nasty, Brutish & Short), Saturday, 9 July 2016 18:04 (seven years ago) link
Wow @ Froome today. Blasting down that mountain!
― Flamenco Drop (VegemiteGrrl), Saturday, 9 July 2016 19:25 (seven years ago) link
burst out laughing at david millar just now: "still trying to come to terms with socialist prime minister Françoise Hollande being a prince of famous tax haven Andorra"
in other news, i'm f'ing delighted to be having my first proper day of tour watching.
― Fizzles, Sunday, 10 July 2016 13:34 (seven years ago) link
er françois. bit of gender confusion there.
what a crazy stage, that hailstorm was nasty
killer effort by dumoulin.
i really like quintana but i'm beginning to wonder when if ever he's going to attack. seems to be playing it boringly safe atm
― Flamenco Drop (VegemiteGrrl), Sunday, 10 July 2016 21:13 (seven years ago) link
At least he tried once or twice today, as opposed to whole of last year. Froome uphill not as good as last year imho.
Dumoulin killed it.
― Le Bateau Ivre, Sunday, 10 July 2016 21:39 (seven years ago) link
he went ahead so early, unbelievable that he held the lead uphill for so long
― Flamenco Drop (VegemiteGrrl), Sunday, 10 July 2016 21:46 (seven years ago) link
HI DERE,Euro just finished, what's shaking over here on the TdF?
― The Rite of Zing (James Redd and the Blecchs), Sunday, 10 July 2016 22:05 (seven years ago) link
hailstones the size of cherry tomatoes is whats happening
― Flamenco Drop (VegemiteGrrl), Sunday, 10 July 2016 22:18 (seven years ago) link
With frogs inside?
― The Rite of Zing (James Redd and the Blecchs), Sunday, 10 July 2016 22:20 (seven years ago) link
pinot finished 6th iirc
― jason waterfalls (gbx), Sunday, 10 July 2016 22:59 (seven years ago) link
Catching up on everything myself. (I hadn't realized how absolutely handy the NBC web package deal is over here -- $30 for a full year of coverage of most of the major races? I can live with that.) Today was nuts!
― Ned Raggett, Sunday, 10 July 2016 23:05 (seven years ago) link
rip contador
― Flamenco Drop (VegemiteGrrl), Sunday, 10 July 2016 23:26 (seven years ago) link
what the actual fuck just happened
― jason waterfalls (gbx), Thursday, 14 July 2016 14:58 (seven years ago) link
chaos
― ( X '____' )/ (zappi), Thursday, 14 July 2016 15:00 (seven years ago) link
biggest WTF Tour moment in FOREVER
― Ludo, Thursday, 14 July 2016 15:00 (seven years ago) link
did Porte and Froome collide?? or did some angry Colombian fan steal Froome's bike
― Ludo, Thursday, 14 July 2016 15:01 (seven years ago) link
Froome running will make for one hell of an iconic photo
― ( X '____' )/ (zappi), Thursday, 14 July 2016 15:02 (seven years ago) link
This is crazy! I don't think I've ever seen anyone try to run up Mont Ventoux before.
― toby, Thursday, 14 July 2016 15:02 (seven years ago) link
https://www.lds.org/bc/content/shared/content/images/gospel-library/manual/31118/31118_000_021_02.jpg
Froome upon the mountain
― Ludo, Thursday, 14 July 2016 15:03 (seven years ago) link
I'm guessing the motorbike had to avoid some twat trying to get some screen time and Porte etc were the unfortunate result. Had to do a double take when I saw Froome running up the mountain
― ultros ultros-ghali, Thursday, 14 July 2016 15:04 (seven years ago) link
wtf
― 𝔠𝔞𝔢𝔨 (caek), Thursday, 14 July 2016 15:05 (seven years ago) link
at fuck
― cozen, Thursday, 14 July 2016 15:25 (seven years ago) link
wt*
― cozen, Thursday, 14 July 2016 15:26 (seven years ago) link
total madness.
― Fizzles, Thursday, 14 July 2016 15:29 (seven years ago) link
Madness.
So Porte, Froome and Mollema all crashed behind a motorcycle. But what happened to Froome's original bike? Did it get run over?
Very stupid that other sky dude didn't give Froome his bike tho.
― Le Bateau Ivre, Thursday, 14 July 2016 15:31 (seven years ago) link
froome is 6" taller than henao, fit might've been an issue?
― jason waterfalls (gbx), Thursday, 14 July 2016 15:35 (seven years ago) link
For those last 100s of meters?
Froome gets to keep yellow they're saying now. Not sure how I feel about that.
― Le Bateau Ivre, Thursday, 14 July 2016 15:55 (seven years ago) link
sounds like they've taken the times from 3km out, kinda bullshit tbh
1. Froome2. Yates 47"3. Mollema 56"4. Quintana 1'01"
― ( X '____' )/ (zappi), Thursday, 14 July 2016 16:04 (seven years ago) link
btw i had a chance to catch the ITV coverage and listening to david millar and that other guy was definitely a step up from the usual commentating with phil et al
― jason waterfalls (gbx), Thursday, 21 July 2016 20:46 (seven years ago) link
Millar was a great TT'er himself, would've like to hear that!
just smile and wave boys, just smile and wave.― wishy washy hippy variety hour (Hunt3r), Thursday, July 21, 2016 2:18 AM (20 hours ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink
― wishy washy hippy variety hour (Hunt3r), Thursday, July 21, 2016 2:18 AM (20 hours ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink
No at all. But I've not seen you barge in here and throw shade on Froome, Pantano, Aru, Dumoulin, Sagan etc etc. So why single out Zakarin?
― Le Bateau Ivre, Thursday, 21 July 2016 21:11 (seven years ago) link
tbf i threw shade at zakarin and yeah i guess i am thinking of his past as a doper
but like his chinstrap beard tho
― jason waterfalls (gbx), Friday, 22 July 2016 03:07 (seven years ago) link
he sure is a skinny bugger
― Flamenco Drop (VegemiteGrrl), Friday, 22 July 2016 04:28 (seven years ago) link
the only thing fishy is the lack of doping cases. they're all on something new probably. or maybe it's the alleged micro-dosing, to stay under the radar.
― Ludo, Friday, 22 July 2016 10:59 (seven years ago) link
Watching this descent through the gaps between my fingers. Yikes!
― Madchen, Friday, 22 July 2016 14:55 (seven years ago) link
Tour de France - Fury Road. Jeeesus christ that was stressful. Lotta sore bodies tonight
legit teared up for Bardet's win. dude is a fighter.
all i want now is for Quintana to be bumped off the podium. Yates, Porte, anyone, plz activate.
― Flamenco Drop (VegemiteGrrl), Saturday, 23 July 2016 06:12 (seven years ago) link
Bullshit 10 second penalty for Adam Yates. How much benefit can you get from a hand-sling 85k before the finish?
― ultros ultros-ghali, Saturday, 23 July 2016 11:23 (seven years ago) link
Anyway we might be in for another crazy stage, they're predicting thunderstorms at some point. I kind of hope not, the sight of people sliding metres across the road protected by nothing but lycra never gets any easier. It's a real shame about Dumoulin too he had a really great tour up to that point.
― ultros ultros-ghali, Saturday, 23 July 2016 11:26 (seven years ago) link
stoked for the madness
― jason waterfalls (gbx), Saturday, 23 July 2016 12:28 (seven years ago) link
i didnt know yatesy got a penalty >:(
def bummed for dumoulin. sidebar: he is mega, mega handsome. like 90's calvin klein model zoolander ridiculously good looking
― Flamenco Drop (VegemiteGrrl), Saturday, 23 July 2016 14:54 (seven years ago) link
I think he looks like Jack Whitehall.
― Madchen, Saturday, 23 July 2016 17:54 (seven years ago) link
imo he looks more like bobby from twin peaks
https://popculturehasaids.files.wordpress.com/2011/09/10198976_gal.jpg
― Flamenco Drop (VegemiteGrrl), Saturday, 23 July 2016 21:04 (seven years ago) link
http://www.1limburg.nl/sites/default/files/public/styles/article-detail/public/tom_dumoulin_mgl_roger_dohmen.jpg?itok=QUtEVkHB
― Flamenco Drop (VegemiteGrrl), Saturday, 23 July 2016 21:05 (seven years ago) link
He does look like Bobby! Or Bobby being his little brother.
It's very sad, his main goal this year was a gold medal in Rio on the TT. Uncertain if he'll start now due to his fractured wrist.
― Le Bateau Ivre, Saturday, 23 July 2016 21:23 (seven years ago) link
awful twist of fate there, all that training & preparation
― Flamenco Drop (VegemiteGrrl), Saturday, 23 July 2016 21:28 (seven years ago) link
Not the most exciting Tour GC wise but it's been a delight seeing Pantano and Alaphilippe blossom this tour. Yates too. The kids are alright.
― Le Bateau Ivre, Saturday, 23 July 2016 21:31 (seven years ago) link
It's strange really - when you look back at it, there have been lots of surprises: Cavendish rediscovering the form of five or more years ago, Van Avermaet attacking when in yellow and gaining more time when everyone expected him to lose the jersey, Froome attacking down a mountain, Froome in yellow going clear with Sagan in green on a flat stage, Froome running up a mountain....and yet, it still feels quite boring because we've known who's going to win for almost the entire race.
― remain in the privacy of the booth (Nasty, Brutish & Short), Saturday, 23 July 2016 21:39 (seven years ago) link
Otm. It'll be a short paragraph in tour history but a lot has happened along the way. Works the other way around, too: Quintana will be in the books forever with his third place, while he's had an absolutely terrible, invisible tour. Ventoux stage will be in our collected memories for quite some time though. (and not because De Gendt won it, poor lad)
― Le Bateau Ivre, Saturday, 23 July 2016 21:52 (seven years ago) link
glad that it wasn't a crash-fest today. hopefully better weather for the ride into paris tomorrow
― Flamenco Drop (VegemiteGrrl), Sunday, 24 July 2016 02:50 (seven years ago) link
awesome that kreuziger made it into the top 10 on the back of today's ride with sagan.
― Flamenco Drop (VegemiteGrrl), Sunday, 24 July 2016 02:53 (seven years ago) link
O_O vid of iazguirre's descent during tour de suisse timetrial
https://twitter.com/cyclinghubtv/status/756868098758705152
― Flamenco Drop (VegemiteGrrl), Sunday, 24 July 2016 02:58 (seven years ago) link
Just remembered another surprise: the flamme rouge falling on top of Adam Yates.
I'm spotting a pattern with Dutch cyclists in the last three Grand Tours. At the Vuelta last year, Dumoulin surprised everyone by showing he could do it in the mountains as well as the time trials and heading into the final weekend he seemed certain to win - then got blown apart on the penultimate stage and slipped way down the standings (fourth? fifth?). In the Giro earlier this year Kruijswijk also looked certain to win, but then crashed into a massive bank of snow and ice at the start of a descent with just a few days to go and ended up losing minutes and slipping down to fourth. And now Mollema - OK, he never looked like winning, but he's gone from a comfortable-looking second place to falling right out of the top ten in the final days.
― remain in the privacy of the booth (Nasty, Brutish & Short), Sunday, 24 July 2016 06:57 (seven years ago) link
I think most people were expecting that with Yates too, so the fact he narrowly missed the podium is pretty encouraging.
― Madchen, Sunday, 24 July 2016 07:32 (seven years ago) link
yeah that Dutch pattern is quite irritating. even though Dumoulin was a total surprise to be in that position anyway. Kruijswijk made a stupid mistake, and undoubtedly deserved to win. He might win the Giro next year. (if it happens agáin, then it surely ís a pattern) Mollema always slips in the third week. I think the 2nd rest day might be the hardest stage for him! (and for a lot of riders)
Quintana will be in the books forever with his third place, while he's had an absolutely terrible, invisible tour.
yeah I wonder what this says about his talent. Weird stuff..
― Ludo, Sunday, 24 July 2016 10:53 (seven years ago) link
I feel so bad for Mollema. And the way he tried to break yesterday but didnt have the legs was very :(
― Flamenco Drop (VegemiteGrrl), Sunday, 24 July 2016 14:36 (seven years ago) link
welp that's it for another year, what an empty tensionless race this year for GC tho :/sorry to see Rodriguez go, have always enjoyed watching him race
― ( X '____' )/ (zappi), Sunday, 24 July 2016 18:18 (seven years ago) link
i am sure the Vuelta will be espectacular
also Purito might be there too, I assume he wil, to do another farewell lap :)
― Ludo, Sunday, 24 July 2016 19:16 (seven years ago) link
Any word on why Tony Martin pulled out?
― Flamenco Drop (VegemiteGrrl), Sunday, 24 July 2016 19:47 (seven years ago) link
knee pain, apparently
― remain in the privacy of the booth (Nasty, Brutish & Short), Sunday, 24 July 2016 19:54 (seven years ago) link
:(
― Flamenco Drop (VegemiteGrrl), Sunday, 24 July 2016 20:00 (seven years ago) link