Toronto Escorts

Tour De France 2018

SirWanker

Active member
Apr 6, 2002
1,677
8
38
Agincourt
Tomorrow is the start of this grueling Grand Tour.

Interesting trivia for this year's edition:
  • Alpe d'Huez (Stage 12) has returned after being excluded from the race since 2015.
  • Stage 9 will include 21.7 KM of Roubaix's infamous cobblestone roads, the most - ever in a TDF race
  • Stage 17 ( 65 KM mountain "sprint") will be using a grid start where the top 19 riders (based on their overall classification) will be at the front of the pack.
  • Mark Cavendish needs 4 more stage wins to match Eddy Merckx's record of 34.
 

essguy_

Active member
Nov 1, 2001
4,432
16
38
For any gearheads out there - disc brakes are allowed this year, so will make their debut. This will be interesting in the downhills and rain - but wondering how it will work with tire/wheel changes when they get flats as neutral support vehicles may not carry the same wheel/disc combo. Discs will allow the riders to brake a little later in corners. So might make for some really fast descents.
 

Aardvark154

New member
Jan 19, 2006
53,773
3
0
^ Interesting did not know that they were going to be allowed this year.




I've always viewed the tour as a vicarious trip through parts of France I probably will never visit. Given the the Centenary of Word War I, I'm a bit surprised that the tour isn't visiting the Marne Valley (Lucy-le-Bocage, Château-Thierry etc. . .) or the battlefields of the 100 Days.
 

essguy_

Active member
Nov 1, 2001
4,432
16
38
^ Interesting did not know that they were going to be allowed this year.




I've always viewed the tour as a vicarious trip through parts of France I probably will never visit. Given the the Centenary of Word War I, I'm a bit surprised that the tour isn't visiting the Marne Valley (Lucy-le-Bocage, Château-Thierry etc. . .) or the battlefields of the 100 Days.

The UCI just changed the rule July 1st. Not only do they move really slowly, they procrastinate until the last minute. But a few teams have been training with disc brakes so are ready to race with them.
 

essguy_

Active member
Nov 1, 2001
4,432
16
38
[*]Mark Cavendish needs 4 more stage wins to match Eddy Merckx's record of 34.
[/LIST]

I'd like to see Cavendish challenge Merckx's record - if he can avoid crashes maybe this is his year. I would have loved to see Merckx race - the guy was an animal.

I'm always amazed that a sprinter who can generate the watts that are required for a sprint can do that after completing most of a stage. A guy like Cavendish can peak at 1700 watts and hit 70 km/hr - this AFTER cycling 100 or so miles. Amazing. He and most sprinters have bikes with heavier duty parts too (stem, bars, etc) because of the forces involved. Of course dedicated track cyclists can dwarf these numbers - but they'd never get through a stage. I can't relate to the overall GC contenders or the freakish thin climbers - who look like they'd break in two if they got tackled - so usually follow the sprinters during the tour.
 

thailover

New member
Jan 4, 2012
1,882
6
0
I wish alpe d’Huez was closer to the end this year,but every time it is on the TDF calendar is a treat.
Been watching the tour for 40+ years
 

basketcase

Well-known member
Dec 29, 2005
59,732
6,289
113
Chris Froome won the Giro, if he also wins the Tour you know he's juicing.

They are all juicing. Just accept it as fact and enjoy the race.

Reducing the team size is an interesting change. I'd be happy if it was reduced even more.
 

basketcase

Well-known member
Dec 29, 2005
59,732
6,289
113
All being juiced up don't make it right.
No but it is reality in pretty much all high level sports. Athletes will look for any advantage whether it's upping their dose of asthma medication or taking sudafed before games. When it comes down to a few seconds over the course of three weeks, even a small advantage could make the difference.

The fact that anyone can even complete the tour is astounding and to do so averaging 40 kph including up mountains is superhuman.
 

SexyFriendsTO

Supporting Member
Jun 14, 2013
7,984
1,167
113
For any gearheads out there - disc brakes are allowed this year, so will make their debut. This will be interesting in the downhills and rain - but wondering how it will work with tire/wheel changes when they get flats as neutral support vehicles may not carry the same wheel/disc combo. Discs will allow the riders to brake a little later in corners. So might make for some really fast descents.
Hydrolic disk breaks are awesome I have them on all of my MTB and road-gravel bikes but here is the trick. Those guys that will be using rim brakes might start slamming into the rest of pilaton who are using disc brakes. Its will be just as quick to change the flats and wont make any difference because whole team will be riding with either disk or rim breaks. It wont ne just certain riders on the team. It will be whole team I am sure. I would be surprised if those guys are not riding tubles. Way less flats.
 

essguy_

Active member
Nov 1, 2001
4,432
16
38
Hydrolic disk breaks are awesome I have them on all of my MTB and road-gravel bikes but here is the trick. Those guys that will be using rim brakes might start slamming into the rest of pilaton who are using disc brakes. Its will be just as quick to change the flats and wont make any difference because whole team will be riding with either disk or rim breaks. It wont ne just certain riders on the team. It will be whole team I am sure. I would be surprised if those guys are not riding tubles. Way less flats.
Most of the tour still prefer the glue-in tubular tires (which I guess are technically tubeless, but a PIA to prepare and not as tough.). I’ve ridden a bike with tubular tires but I’m not sensitive enough to appreciate the difference. Agree that the modern tubeless clincher is the future. Also - with disc brakes you can ride a wider tire at lower pressure which will actually roll faster over small bumps. So for the cobble sections would expect some Tour riders this year to be using tubeless clinchers - maybe as wide as 28 mm. I ride tubeless on my road bike and really like them. Haven’t had a flat since I started using and that’s with Toronto potholes. The other thing I like is that you don’t need to pump them up everyday like a regular tire and you can run lower pressure to begin with as pinch flats are not a problem.

Disc brakes would seem to be a no-brainer, but the UCI took so long to officially allow that a lot of teams haven’t adopted. That’s why it might be a problem for the neutral support vehicles (non-team parts supply like the Mavic spare wheel cars) to carry all the right disc combos. The UCI has some unusual and very specific specs for the discs (which will likely filter to consumer bikes). Eg: the discs must have a rounded edge - this was because of the UCI’s overblown fear that in a crash, a disc could slice into flesh.
 

SirWanker

Active member
Apr 6, 2002
1,677
8
38
Agincourt
Most of the tour still prefer the glue-in tubular tires (which I guess are technically tubeless, but a PIA to prepare and not as tough.). I’ve ridden a bike with tubular tires but I’m not sensitive enough to appreciate the difference. Agree that the modern tubeless clincher is the future.
Hated glue-in tubulars when I rode regularly and for that reason alone, PIA to repair flats. That being said, that was 25 years ago and I'm still riding the same bike.

Vincenzo Nibali skipped the Giro (he's won it twice), he's had a rough time recovering from the shoulder injury he picked up at the Brazil Olympics. I wonder if he'll be a factor at the Tour?
https://www.velonews.com/2018/07/video/vn-show-quintana-and-nibali-can-either-man-dethrone-chris-froome_471524
He's very good but his team will be his downfall in the GC standings.
 

SexyFriendsTO

Supporting Member
Jun 14, 2013
7,984
1,167
113
Most of the tour still prefer the glue-in tubular tires (which I guess are technically tubeless, but a PIA to prepare and not as tough.). I’ve ridden a bike with tubular tires but I’m not sensitive enough to appreciate the difference. Agree that the modern tubeless clincher is the future. Also - with disc brakes you can ride a wider tire at lower pressure which will actually roll faster over small bumps. So for the cobble sections would expect some Tour riders this year to be using tubeless clinchers - maybe as wide as 28 mm. I ride tubeless on my road bike and really like them. Haven’t had a flat since I started using and that’s with Toronto potholes. The other thing I like is that you don’t need to pump them up everyday like a regular tire and you can run lower pressure to begin with as pinch flats are not a problem.

Disc brakes would seem to be a no-brainer, but the UCI took so long to officially allow that a lot of teams haven’t adopted. That’s why it might be a problem for the neutral support vehicles (non-team parts supply like the Mavic spare wheel cars) to carry all the right disc combos. The UCI has some unusual and very specific specs for the discs (which will likely filter to consumer bikes). Eg: the discs must have a rounded edge - this was because of the UCI’s overblown fear that in a crash, a disc could slice into flesh.
UCI are worried about rotors slicing into flesh?That's very funny. These riders are hitting close to a 100km in hour on the long downhill sections so getting hurt from a rotor is the last thing that can happen to a rider. I have had some big crashes while doing downhill MTBing over the years but never got even close to touching my rotor. I have had rocks fly from under the wheels and put dents in my rotors but rotors cutting into a riders body that's something new.
 

Insidious Von

My head is my home
Sep 12, 2007
38,088
6,422
113
He's very good but his team will be his downfall in the GC standings.
You have a point there, Sonny Colbrelli dropping out hurt Meridia's team trial adding more than 30 seconds to the finishing time. Nibali had to lead the charge, sort of pointless since he's a mountain man. Colbrelli shat his wad attempting to beat Peter Sagan in Stage 2.
At least, unlike Lionel Messi, Vincenzo isn't afraid of having young riders on his team.
 

Insidious Von

My head is my home
Sep 12, 2007
38,088
6,422
113
Farnando Gaviria wins his second Stage.

I'm waiting impatiently for at least one mountain stage in the early going. Does Chris Froome have enough stamina to win his fourth consecutive stage? He's earned total respect by winning the Giro, unlike the GOAT Lance Armstrong who concentrated on the Tour. At the moment he is behind both Nibali and Doumolin. The Dutchman beat Nibali at last year's Giro, he could be the favorite to take break Froome's streak. A Dutchman as King of the Mountain...isn't that an oxymoron?

A trend appears to have ended. Borat in his yellow mankini hasn't made an appearance in a while. He would run along side the riders and make shit on the circuits. I miss him.

Why is Floyd Landis complaining about GOAT, he was a cheetah himself.

 
Toronto Escorts