It might be a bit of an understatement to say that Covid has
interrupted many things. The London Marathon took place last week, 47 000
people ran it. Well 47 000 people all round the world ran/ walked/ hopped 26
miles plus a few very elite athletes ran 25 times round St James Park in
London. Shura Kitata won in 2 hours 5
minutes, the ladies race was won by Brigid Kosgei in 2 hours 15 minutes.
The race is usually run in April, the rescheduled event
showed an autumnal London in all it’s glory.
The biggest annual sporting event on the face of the planet
was also rescheduled.
Oh what is that I hear you ask. I bet Stan knows.
And the answer? The
Tour De France.
The cycling world went in the huff with covid then
rescheduled all the Grand Tours (the
Giro d'Italia and the Vuelta a España). So it’s about 21 day-long stages over 23 days. It is
"the world’s most prestigious and most difficult bicycle
race."
And so much more.
Here’s a quick guide to the excitement;
1)
There are teams with great names like Deceuninck-quickstep,
Sunweb, Jumbo Visma, Movistar, Cofidis, Bahrain McLaren, Ineos Grenadiers and the Israel
Start-up Nation. A team has over 70 staff, and a register of riders to use
throughout the year as they wish. Each team has 8 riders, each rider has a
different job. About 22 or 25 teams start the race.
2)
Each team will have a protected rider, the
leader, (the really good on), he will be protected by domestiques during the race, usually keeping him out of trouble until the last few k of the stage. This
requires really good riders to sacrifice themselves.
3)
The leader wears a special jersey, as does the
king of the mountains, the sprint king and the top of the young riders. Sometimes one rider has most of the jerseys,
like Tadej Pogačar. National champions get to use their own jerseys.
4)
There are races within races, the individual,
the stages, the sprints within the stage, the general classification and most combative rider ( the one who had a
good idea but ran out of steam)
5)
The fascinating thing is the peloton ( bunch as
we call it). It moves as a beast, swarming and thinning with its own inner
intelligence. Yes the team riders are
all connected by radio but the peloton is more like a shoal of fish or a murmuration
of starlings. The helicopter view makes
it easy to see the teams lining up in
readiness for the lead out. A rider at the front can be sent back to help a
team mate through the peloton especially if a sprint is coming up and the
sprinter is stuck at the back of 140 riders!
The peloton can suffer from the Washing machine effect- when the wind changes! It contends
with cobbles, spectators, narrow roads
and road furniture- roundabouts, speed bumps.
6)
The riders chat as they go round, they talk to
the camera men. The F word is universally understood.
7)
Going round a corner at 70k is not uncommon. A
very dangerous descent is called ‘technical’
8)
Julian Alaphilippe is a fantastic character, he
cannot help himself and is usually in tears.
‘That’s Julian bored now,’ is a common phrase from the commentary as the
French goes up the road at 65 kph on a steep hill. Peter Sagan is the champion sprinter, see video attached. He got lost riding back
to the hotel so some fans had to give
him a hudgie from their mini. After 4000 plus K, the favourite lost the tour on
the final time trial, to his friend and countryman. It was very emotional to
watch. Tadej Pogačar (SLO) won, Primoz Roglic was
second.
They move at a terrific speed, with very little
protection and no chance to get out the
way if a crash happens in front. In the
first three days of the Giro, one rider was moving his hands on the handlebars just as his front wheel hit
a manhole cover. It flipped him over the barrier, into a shop window. The
handle bar entered his lower abdominal wall, just missing his iliac artery. He
was very lucky.
Geraint Thomas, who I have blogged about before, got his big
break in the Tour when Froome was injured. He had always played second fiddle
to Froome, and when he got his chance he took it and won. He was favourite for
the giro this year. In the neutralised
zone, before they race, his front wheel
hit a bottle and he came off. He got back on. He struggled to keep up with the
peloton. The team sent back four riders (including the previous day’s winner)
to protect him and help him but he
couldn’t get in contention. Xrays that
night revealed nothing.
MRI scan the next day
revealed a fractured pelvis. 5 hours cycling with a fractured pelvis.
That’s courage.
Here's a video of the incident. Watch for the red bottle bounce across the road at the lower left of the screen. The female spectator sums it up, 'Mama Mia!'
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I have a friend and former restaurant partner who was Greece's undefeated bicycling champion in the late 1950s early 1960s. He talked a lot about his races, but not until today did I understand the intricacies of the sport. You've actually made me a fan! Honest. Now, could you possibly explain Cricket to me...
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