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could be wrong....but I don't see Contador on the podium this year. which is fine.
If I had known then what I know now...
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St. Paul 14, Denver 14
I saw a tweet yesterday that said something like: If Peyton Manning had crashed into a barb wire fence sustaining injuries like Hoogerland did, and went back into the game we would hear about it for the rest of our lives. Ha! Cyclists are tough.
Jason Gay of the Wall Street Journal tweeted it and the Bleacher Report picked up on it:
Tour De France: Peyton Manning Crashes Through Barbed Wire Fence and Returns...
By Allen Wahlstrom (Contributor) on July 11, 2011 800 reads 7 comments
We always think of football as a dangerous sport, but cycling can be brutal too.
In a recent Tour de France crash, Alexander Vinokourav (Astana) broke his femur, Jurgen Vanden Brouck (Farma-Lotto) fractured his scapula and Dave Zabriski (Garmin-Cervelo) broke his wrist.
The most amazing thing to see was Johnny Hoogerland (Vacansoliel-DCM) and Juan Antonio Flecha (SKY) continue on after being taken out by a TV camera car only 20 miles from the finish of a spectacular stage that both were in contention to win.
A couple hours later I came across this on my Twitter account:
"If Peyton Manning crashed onto a barbed wire fence and returned to a game, you'd never hear the end of it for the rest of your life" - @jasonWS (Jason Gay - Wall Street Journal)
Peyton Manning did not crash through a barbed wire fence going over 30 mph yesterday, and the chances are he will never do that in a game.
I know he has to stare down 300 pound, 4.55-forty-running defensive ends who would like nothing better than to put him on the bench. But Peyton Manning is wearing the best equipment available today to stop those hits from ending his career. Besides, can defensive players REALLY hit a QB anymore?
Yeah that's what I thought...
Unlike Peyton, Johnny Hoogerland actually went through a barbed wire fence yesterday at over 35 mph, when an impatient TV Network driver attempted to pass a 5 man breakaway during the Tour de France. I'm sure most of you saw this on SportsCenter 800 times, or on the Internet. Not only did the driver take out Hoogerland, but also Juan Antonio Flecha, one of the best riders in the world.
Both of these riders were looking for a stage win at the Tour, and both, despite being bloodied and needing stitches, got back on their bikes and continued their race. For that they were awarded the "most combative rider award" (this has never been awarded to two riders in the same day).
Hoogerland had been on a fantastic run and looked to be the front-runner for the Climbers classification award, and had just taken the jersey back from American Tejay Van Garderen with points taken over the earlier portion of the race.
Cycling is a dangerous sport
Many people think cyclists are not real athletes because they do not play a sport with a ball, or a stick, or even a standard field/court/rink. They wear colorful uniforms called "kits" and look like they have been starved for most of their lives, except for their legs. Cycling is not a sport most of us grew up with, so it is foreign, much like Soccer to many Americans over 35 years old.
And those are just the deaths. In the Tour of Switzerland during a descent in stage 6, former Tour de France Climbers Classification Champion Juan Soler crashed and spent several weeks in a coma, and has been hospitalized with serious brain trauma since.
While the NFL has a player paralyzed about once a decade, cycling on average loses 10 times that to fatal crashes in the same time. That doesn't even take into account the number of racers killed during training.
Professionals regularly reach speeds of 50-60 mph while descending steep mountain passes, within inches of the riders around them.
The guys who usually descend the fastest are the sprinters. Normally heavier, and more solidly built than the stick thin climbing specialists, (think wide receivers and Defensive Ends in size comparison) sprinters use their weight advantage to catch the group when going downhill.
This can cause some of the big group finishes that have the most spectacular crashes at speeds of over 40 mph.
Unlike professional football players, the only protection they wear is a 6 ounce foam helmet to protect their head. Those helmets amazingly do an incredible job of preventing even more deaths.
So, am I trying to say Cyclists are tougher than football players? No.
However, what Jason Gay said on his tweet was absolutely true, if yesterdays' incident had involved Peyton Manning, we would never hear the end of it...ever.
Lesson #2: Cyclists are the Toughest Athletes on the Planet
Maybe I’m a bit biased, but I don’t see any other sport requiring the strength and stamina displayed by cyclists. The sport in itself is grueling. They sign on for repeated days of hard riding at long distances with very little rest over 21 days. Even with all the adversity, physically and mentally these riders continue to display tenacity and unflappable commitment to the sport. Most of them make every attempt to ride through the pain and oftentimes succeed. Flecha and Hoogerland somehow managed to continue after getting slammed by a car in a high-speed breakaway. Today Hoogerland, with 33 stitches, managed to keep the KOM jersey that he earned on Sunday after the accident. Even amidst the tears of having to leave the Tour Jani Brajkovic was able to take a breath and say: “OK, I’m alive and have more than six weeks (to recover) to the Vuelta d’Espana.” Chalk that up to the thick skin and mental toughness required in this sport.
To be a cyclist (and that means me and you, too) you have to be able to suffer, sometimes fail, always suck it up and move on.
That’s Bike Racing.
I've been on some grueling rides myself and YES cyclists do suffer on the road and I don't even race. I believe it was said during today's race that they have one day races of 180 miles! Unreal....talk about suffering.
Peace
THANK YOU FOR READING MY BLOG!!!
Yes we do suffer...but as Phil Liggett says..."That's what you get when you suffer...you get results."
Haven't been here for a few days. I'm surprised no one has posted how the idiots at ESPN are covering the Tour. It all started the other day when Michael Smith posted a series of tweets about the "hilarity" of the Hoogerland-Flecha crash. To make it worse they also had a bunch of talking heads joking about it on the air. Poor taste and yet ESPN is really not taking any accountability.
Haven't been here for a few days. I'm surprised no one has posted how the idiots at ESPN are covering the Tour. It all started the other day when Michael Smith posted a series of tweets about the "hilarity" of the Hoogerland-Flecha crash. To make it worse they also had a bunch of talking heads joking about it on the air. Poor taste and yet ESPN is really not taking any accountability.
yeah - it's funny ... to assholes ... same guys that laugh at disabled people and people with speech impediments ... what are ya gonna do? ... assholes everywhere especially when it comes to sports ...
What a brilliant ride by Thor ... just absolutely brilliant ... this is what this stage was designed for ... hats off to Jeremy Roy for hanging in as long as he could ...
What a brilliant ride by Thor ... just absolutely brilliant ... this is what this stage was designed for ... hats off to Jeremy Roy for hanging in as long as he could ...
did none of the GC guys attack because they figured they would be caught on the descent? :?
thor just destroyed those guys at the end.
If I had known then what I know now...
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Portland 13, Spokane 13
St. Paul 14, Denver 14
Vegas 93, Vegas 98, Vegas 00 (10 year show), Vegas 03, Vegas 06
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Seattle1 09, Seattle2 09, Salt Lake 09, LA4 09
Columbus 10
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Missoula 12
Portland 13, Spokane 13
St. Paul 14, Denver 14
Lots of ?'s on Voeckler's chances for overall victory in Paris.... my thoughts
He wasn't "swinging off the back" 2day. He was 1 of the strongest. The others weren't assertive and/or aggressive enough 2 make a selection.
He has 2:06 on Evans. Final TT is 42km. He's French. It's the Tour de FRANCE. He won't lose 2:06 in the final time trial ASSUMING...He keeps them close on Alpe d'Huez. His teammate Pierre Rolland has been a rockstar and has to continue to be.
Lastly, the dude knows how to suffer. Will be fun to watch. Enjoy.
Lots of ?'s on Voeckler's chances for overall victory in Paris.... my thoughts
He wasn't "swinging off the back" 2day. He was 1 of the strongest. The others weren't assertive and/or aggressive enough 2 make a selection.
He has 2:06 on Evans. Final TT is 42km. He's French. It's the Tour de FRANCE. He won't lose 2:06 in the final time trial ASSUMING...He keeps them close on Alpe d'Huez. His teammate Pierre Rolland has been a rockstar and has to continue to be.
Lastly, the dude knows how to suffer. Will be fun to watch. Enjoy.
Voeckler, who turned professional in 2001, also wore the yellow jersey in 2004, retaining it for a handful of seconds against Armstrong at the Plateau de Beille before surrendering in the Alps.
The Frenchman noticed things had changed since that time.
"On today's form, I would not have been able to follow Armstrong or Basso in 2004," he told a news conference.
"Even if it's hard to compare, I think that things have been improving in cycling since I turned professional."
yeah ... he pretty much said armstrong doped ... haha
as for this year's race ... it's a weird situation ... based on the situation - cadel has to be the favourite right now ... unless contador finds his form on wednesday ... in any case - it was always gonna be decided in the alps ... no one wants to attack and tow guys up ... hence a great move by sanchez to get time today ...
vandenerts is a revelation ... gonna be a GC guy in the coming years ...
that has got to be some intense shit going on in the last 1000 meters :shock:
HTC is a machine.
If I had known then what I know now...
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Missoula 12
Portland 13, Spokane 13
St. Paul 14, Denver 14
alberto will have to find some tainted beef to have a chance
If I had known then what I know now...
Vegas 93, Vegas 98, Vegas 00 (10 year show), Vegas 03, Vegas 06
VIC 07
EV LA1 08
Seattle1 09, Seattle2 09, Salt Lake 09, LA4 09
Columbus 10
EV LA 11
Vancouver 11
Missoula 12
Portland 13, Spokane 13
St. Paul 14, Denver 14
What a brilliant ride by Thor ... just absolutely brilliant ... this is what this stage was designed for ... hats off to Jeremy Roy for hanging in as long as he could ...
Just saw the stage today. What a bad ass! I thought there was no way when he took off at the base of the climb.
Looks like Cadel Evans's year. Andy is strong, too but the time trial will be a big ?
let's see how he does tomorrow ... the alps are another 3,000 ft in elevation ... so, altitude will play a problem ... if they wittle the selection to like 6 or 7 guys ... cadel won't be able to sustain it ... he will have to limit his losses tomorrow and on alpe d'huez ...
i think andy is rounding into form ... when all is said and done i expect andy and alberto to be fighting for the stage wins next couple of days ... question is how much time can they gain ...
hopefully, the break can sustain itself today ... gilbert needs to win this stage or it's over for the green jersey unless cav doesn't make a time cut wed/thurs ...
attacks all over the place ... amongst the GC guys ... gonna pay dividends ... voeckler in trouble!! ... andy shleck is in trouble ... contador feeling great!!
alberto will have to find some tainted beef to have a chance
I, obviously, have no fucking idea what I'm talking about
If I had known then what I know now...
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Missoula 12
Portland 13, Spokane 13
St. Paul 14, Denver 14
voeckler loses time ... GC is still very tight ... thursday /friday is gonna be awesome ...
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Surfing The far side of THE Sombrero Galaxy Posts: 18,122
Unfortunately, I've been on vacation in Orlando for a near a week now and there's no Versus Network here. :( I can't watch a damn thing except for updates I see here. Say are these the mountain stages that are left?....
Peace
*We CAN bomb the World to pieces, but we CAN'T bomb it into PEACE*...Michael Franti
*MUSIC IS the expression of EMOTION.....and that POLITICS IS merely the DECOY of PERCEPTION*
.....song_Music & Politics....Michael Franti
*The scientists of today think deeply instead of clearly. One must be sane to think clearly, but one can think deeply and be quite INSANE*....Nikola Tesla(a man who shaped our world of electricity with his futuristic inventions)
yeah ... they finished at pinerelo today ... the next two stages will shake up the GC ...
you can stream it here ... http://atdhenet.tv/index.html ... about a minute delay from the versus feed ... also, the commentary will be from SKY in europe ...
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Surfing The far side of THE Sombrero Galaxy Posts: 18,122
yeah ... they finished at pinerelo today ... the next two stages will shake up the GC ...
you can stream it here ... http://atdhenet.tv/index.html ... about a minute delay from the versus feed ... also, the commentary will be from SKY in europe ...
Outstanding, thank you very much something is better than nothing. I truly miss watching the race as it happens cause it's so thrilling to me. I'm off in a bit to do some BMX and some motor cross. Later...
Peace
*We CAN bomb the World to pieces, but we CAN'T bomb it into PEACE*...Michael Franti
*MUSIC IS the expression of EMOTION.....and that POLITICS IS merely the DECOY of PERCEPTION*
.....song_Music & Politics....Michael Franti
*The scientists of today think deeply instead of clearly. One must be sane to think clearly, but one can think deeply and be quite INSANE*....Nikola Tesla(a man who shaped our world of electricity with his futuristic inventions)
Comments
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looks like someone put an oil slick on the descent of the first climb today ... bunch of guys go down ... but hopefully, not too much damage ...
looks like the shlecks and cadel are the ones to beat ...
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i don't think he's recovered from the giro nor the crashes in week 1 ...
in any case - the GC is still up for grabs ... there weren't too many vicious attacks today ... i suspect we will see some come saturday tho ...
Jason Gay of the Wall Street Journal tweeted it and the Bleacher Report picked up on it:
Tour De France: Peyton Manning Crashes Through Barbed Wire Fence and Returns...
By Allen Wahlstrom (Contributor) on July 11, 2011 800 reads 7 comments
We always think of football as a dangerous sport, but cycling can be brutal too.
In a recent Tour de France crash, Alexander Vinokourav (Astana) broke his femur, Jurgen Vanden Brouck (Farma-Lotto) fractured his scapula and Dave Zabriski (Garmin-Cervelo) broke his wrist.
The most amazing thing to see was Johnny Hoogerland (Vacansoliel-DCM) and Juan Antonio Flecha (SKY) continue on after being taken out by a TV camera car only 20 miles from the finish of a spectacular stage that both were in contention to win.
A couple hours later I came across this on my Twitter account:
"If Peyton Manning crashed onto a barbed wire fence and returned to a game, you'd never hear the end of it for the rest of your life" - @jasonWS (Jason Gay - Wall Street Journal)
Peyton Manning did not crash through a barbed wire fence going over 30 mph yesterday, and the chances are he will never do that in a game.
I know he has to stare down 300 pound, 4.55-forty-running defensive ends who would like nothing better than to put him on the bench. But Peyton Manning is wearing the best equipment available today to stop those hits from ending his career. Besides, can defensive players REALLY hit a QB anymore?
Yeah that's what I thought...
Unlike Peyton, Johnny Hoogerland actually went through a barbed wire fence yesterday at over 35 mph, when an impatient TV Network driver attempted to pass a 5 man breakaway during the Tour de France. I'm sure most of you saw this on SportsCenter 800 times, or on the Internet. Not only did the driver take out Hoogerland, but also Juan Antonio Flecha, one of the best riders in the world.
Both of these riders were looking for a stage win at the Tour, and both, despite being bloodied and needing stitches, got back on their bikes and continued their race. For that they were awarded the "most combative rider award" (this has never been awarded to two riders in the same day).
Hoogerland had been on a fantastic run and looked to be the front-runner for the Climbers classification award, and had just taken the jersey back from American Tejay Van Garderen with points taken over the earlier portion of the race.
Cycling is a dangerous sport
Many people think cyclists are not real athletes because they do not play a sport with a ball, or a stick, or even a standard field/court/rink. They wear colorful uniforms called "kits" and look like they have been starved for most of their lives, except for their legs. Cycling is not a sport most of us grew up with, so it is foreign, much like Soccer to many Americans over 35 years old.
Photo: © Bettini
Unlike the NFL, which has never had a player die on the field, cycling has lost 10 professional cyclists in the past decade. Wauter Weylandt recently died in the Giro d Italia.
And those are just the deaths. In the Tour of Switzerland during a descent in stage 6, former Tour de France Climbers Classification Champion Juan Soler crashed and spent several weeks in a coma, and has been hospitalized with serious brain trauma since.
While the NFL has a player paralyzed about once a decade, cycling on average loses 10 times that to fatal crashes in the same time. That doesn't even take into account the number of racers killed during training.
Professionals regularly reach speeds of 50-60 mph while descending steep mountain passes, within inches of the riders around them.
The guys who usually descend the fastest are the sprinters. Normally heavier, and more solidly built than the stick thin climbing specialists, (think wide receivers and Defensive Ends in size comparison) sprinters use their weight advantage to catch the group when going downhill.
This can cause some of the big group finishes that have the most spectacular crashes at speeds of over 40 mph.
Unlike professional football players, the only protection they wear is a 6 ounce foam helmet to protect their head. Those helmets amazingly do an incredible job of preventing even more deaths.
So, am I trying to say Cyclists are tougher than football players? No.
However, what Jason Gay said on his tweet was absolutely true, if yesterdays' incident had involved Peyton Manning, we would never hear the end of it...ever.
THANK YOU FOR READING MY BLOG!!!
Yes we do suffer...but as Phil Liggett says..."That's what you get when you suffer...you get results."
http://www.bicycling.com/tour-de-france ... -indignity
Even worse, some idiot at Media Bistro defended it, saying "cyclists have no sense of humor." :roll:
http://www.mediabistro.com/sportsnewser ... ity_b11709
yeah - it's funny ... to assholes ... same guys that laugh at disabled people and people with speech impediments ... what are ya gonna do? ... assholes everywhere especially when it comes to sports ...
thor just destroyed those guys at the end.
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from http://ca.news.yahoo.com/dont-rule-voec ... 16627.html
Voeckler, who turned professional in 2001, also wore the yellow jersey in 2004, retaining it for a handful of seconds against Armstrong at the Plateau de Beille before surrendering in the Alps.
The Frenchman noticed things had changed since that time.
"On today's form, I would not have been able to follow Armstrong or Basso in 2004," he told a news conference.
"Even if it's hard to compare, I think that things have been improving in cycling since I turned professional."
yeah ... he pretty much said armstrong doped ... haha
vandenerts is a revelation ... gonna be a GC guy in the coming years ...
HTC is a machine.
Vegas 93, Vegas 98, Vegas 00 (10 year show), Vegas 03, Vegas 06
VIC 07
EV LA1 08
Seattle1 09, Seattle2 09, Salt Lake 09, LA4 09
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Missoula 12
Portland 13, Spokane 13
St. Paul 14, Denver 14
if not him, one of the schleks
alberto will have to find some tainted beef to have a chance
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"With our thoughts we make the world"
Just saw the stage today. What a bad ass! I thought there was no way when he took off at the base of the climb.
let's see how he does tomorrow ... the alps are another 3,000 ft in elevation ... so, altitude will play a problem ... if they wittle the selection to like 6 or 7 guys ... cadel won't be able to sustain it ... he will have to limit his losses tomorrow and on alpe d'huez ...
i think andy is rounding into form ... when all is said and done i expect andy and alberto to be fighting for the stage wins next couple of days ... question is how much time can they gain ...
hopefully, the break can sustain itself today ... gilbert needs to win this stage or it's over for the green jersey unless cav doesn't make a time cut wed/thurs ...
attacks all over the place ... amongst the GC guys ... gonna pay dividends ... voeckler in trouble!! ... andy shleck is in trouble ... contador feeling great!!
cadel with a huge pull at the end ... andy wigged out on the descent lost huge time today ... wow - what a great stage ...
Vegas 93, Vegas 98, Vegas 00 (10 year show), Vegas 03, Vegas 06
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Seattle1 09, Seattle2 09, Salt Lake 09, LA4 09
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Missoula 12
Portland 13, Spokane 13
St. Paul 14, Denver 14
haha ... still early ... there'll be some fireworks and carnage over the next couple of days ... shlecks took a hit today ...
voeckler loses time ... GC is still very tight ... thursday /friday is gonna be awesome ...
Peace
*MUSIC IS the expression of EMOTION.....and that POLITICS IS merely the DECOY of PERCEPTION*
.....song_Music & Politics....Michael Franti
*The scientists of today think deeply instead of clearly. One must be sane to think clearly, but one can think deeply and be quite INSANE*....Nikola Tesla(a man who shaped our world of electricity with his futuristic inventions)
you can stream it here ... http://atdhenet.tv/index.html ... about a minute delay from the versus feed ... also, the commentary will be from SKY in europe ...
Outstanding, thank you very much something is better than nothing. I truly miss watching the race as it happens cause it's so thrilling to me. I'm off in a bit to do some BMX and some motor cross. Later...
Peace
*MUSIC IS the expression of EMOTION.....and that POLITICS IS merely the DECOY of PERCEPTION*
.....song_Music & Politics....Michael Franti
*The scientists of today think deeply instead of clearly. One must be sane to think clearly, but one can think deeply and be quite INSANE*....Nikola Tesla(a man who shaped our world of electricity with his futuristic inventions)