Video
April 17, 2013
4 notes

It’s been disturbing to learn of the bombs at the Boston Marathon. Some have expressed surprise that a sports event was attacked and others have wondered if it could happen at the Tour de France.

But it has happened before. As the video clip above from 1974 shows, several vehicles were destroyed by plastic explosives planted by GARI, a political group that was active at the time.

In 1987 French police intercepted Basque separatists armed with weapons, explosives and incendiary devices along with a map of the Pyrenees on which the route of one of the Tour stages was highlighted in blue and police believed the race was going to be attacked.

As recently as 2007 two small devices exploded on 25 July on the route of the Tour de France but nobody was harmed.

GARI has vanished and the Basque group ETA has announced a “definitive ceasefire”.

High profile contests and large crowds attract attention, usually for all the right reasons but sadly for negative ones too. The Tour remains a celebration and nobody should be scared to take part in the fun.

Tags: tour de france

Photo
April 09, 2013
5 notes
The poster for “La Grande Boucle”, a French film due to be released this summer. The predictable plot features a man in a midlife crisis overcoming challenges to rebuild his life. The story goes that he’s lost his wife, job and more and has only his bike left. He decides to ride the Tour de France one day ahead of the race. At first the project is crazy but people pick up on it, he gets joined by others, crowds applaud him, the media go crazy and even the Tour de France maillot jaune gets jealous of the attention and publicity. It could turn out to be great… but it looks like what the French call a téléfilm, something that goes straight to TV.

The poster for “La Grande Boucle”, a French film due to be released this summer.

The predictable plot features a man in a midlife crisis overcoming challenges to rebuild his life. The story goes that he’s lost his wife, job and more and has only his bike left. He decides to ride the Tour de France one day ahead of the race. At first the project is crazy but people pick up on it, he gets joined by others, crowds applaud him, the media go crazy and even the Tour de France maillot jaune gets jealous of the attention and publicity.


It could turn out to be great… but it looks like what the French call a téléfilm, something that goes straight to TV.

Tags: france tour de france cinema

Photo
January 06, 2013
14 notes
Albert Bourlon is the oldest living Tour de France finisher. Here he is in 1947 on his way to winning Stage 14 from Carcassonne to Luchon with the longest ever solo breakaway of 253km.

Albert Bourlon is the oldest living Tour de France finisher. Here he is in 1947 on his way to winning Stage 14 from Carcassonne to Luchon with the longest ever solo breakaway of 253km.

Tags: tour de france

Photo
October 24, 2012
20 notes
All the mountain stages of the 2013 Tour de France, click to enlarge

All the mountain stages of the 2013 Tour de France, click to enlarge

Tags: tour de france

Photo
July 23, 2012
9 notes
He finished sixth in the Tour de France but would you recognize Haimar Zubeldia if he walked past you in the street? This photo should help.

He finished sixth in the Tour de France but would you recognize Haimar Zubeldia if he walked past you in the street?

This photo should help.

Tags: tour de france france

Photo
July 15, 2012
53 notes
Bradley Wiggins as seen by Chenez, the cartoonist of L’Equipe

Bradley Wiggins as seen by Chenez, the cartoonist of L’Equipe

Tags: wiggins tour de france

Photo
July 14, 2012
56 notes
Tyler Farrar, lanterne rousse. The American is last overall in the Tour de France, 2:37:16 behind Bradley Wiggins. But after 2402km it’s not a big margin. Cycling is one of the few sports that venerates losers. This is because it is relative. Farrar might be last but that means he’s struggling with injuries and misfortune that would overwhelm most. Consequently the last rider is often the bravest, fighting pain as well as the road. In the Tour de France the last rider is called the lanterne rouge or “red light”, as if they are the last wagon on a train.

Tyler Farrar, lanterne rousse.

The American is last overall in the Tour de France, 2:37:16 behind Bradley Wiggins. But after 2402km it’s not a big margin.

Cycling is one of the few sports that venerates losers. This is because it is relative. Farrar might be last but that means he’s struggling with injuries and misfortune that would overwhelm most. Consequently the last rider is often the bravest, fighting pain as well as the road.

In the Tour de France the last rider is called the lanterne rouge or “red light”, as if they are the last wagon on a train.

Tags: tour de france france

Text
July 08, 2012
48 notes

Bradley Wiggins

In the post-stage press conference Wiggins was asked what he thinks about people who point fingers at Team Sky and hint that he is doping.

Here’s his response:

“I say they’re just fucking wankers. I cannot be doing with people like that.

It justifies their own bone-idleness because they can’t ever imagine applying themselves to do anything in their lives.

It’s easy for them to sit under a pseudonym on Twitter and write that sort of shit, rather than get off their arses in their own lives and apply themselves and work hard at something and achieve something. And that’s ultimately it. Cunts.”

Thanks to Twitter’s @richardmoore73

Tags: wiggins tour de france

Photo
July 08, 2012
13 notes
L’Equipe’s headline about Bradley Wiggins, quoting him from yesterday’s post-race press conference. I doubt his home newspapers in Britain opted for the same title.

L’Equipe’s headline about Bradley Wiggins, quoting him from yesterday’s post-race press conference. I doubt his home newspapers in Britain opted for the same title.

Tags: wiggins tour de france

Text
July 07, 2012
3 notes

What Caused The Crash?

With 25km to go, Alessandro Petacchi took off his shoe covers and passed them to team mate Davide Vigano. Vigano was riding one-handed as he tried to put the shoe covers in his back pocket whilst riding downhill at around 70km/h when, unable to brake, he rode into the backwheel of the rider in front of him, prompting a wave of crashes at high speed.

That’s what L’Equipe says today. I’d add some more context. First, it seems to have come from Danilo Hondo of the same team, although this isn’t mentioned by the newspaper.

Petacchi presumably had the covers to keep his feet dry during the day but didn’t want the extra weight on his feet for the finish, a normal trick for the sprint.

We’d seen the breakaway up the road put on a tight leash, the bunch had closed in almost too quickly. But with the rolling roads and the wind, the bunch seemed nervous already. The wind had got up too, making the bunch nervous, adding even more pressure on the riders to be at the front.

Tags: tour de france