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Tour De France discussion thread
Anyone following the Tour De France this year? I watched the documentary on Netflix a few weeks ago and loved it. I still don't fully understand how it all works, but I noticed it started today and decided to watch it for the first time.
I came here to see if there was a discussion thread. Since I don't see one I thought I would start one myself.
Anyone follow it? What are your thoughts this year? Anything I should know as a newbie?
Keep watching and listen to the commentary is my best advice for a newbie. There's so much to explain, jerseys, team dynamics, general tour etiquette, etc. To type out. There little mini games that occur over the next three weeks and each "race" is exciting in its own way.
Thanks for the advice. I enjoyed watching the first race today, but found it very confusing at the same time haha.
Not sure where you’re located, but if in the US, select the World Feed on Peacock for much more informed and educated commentary. The commentators are easy to to listen to and one of them is a recently retired rider (@nickroach on twitter) - so the insight is invaluable.
I was in your position last year, and got into the Tour while on holiday. I’m back now for the second year, from day one, and will find all the time I can to watch all of it.
There is so much going on in this race. So many strategies to follow, and so positions to be faught for. There really are only two riders to watch for the eventual outcome: Jonas Vingegaard or Tadej Pogačar. Their team’s strategies to support them is incredible.
Added bonus is the history and scenic beauty. I already have a dream for my next summer holiday in northern Spain.
I'm not sure where you are but if you can get UK Eurosport the commentating combo of Carlton Kirby, Rob Hatch, Dan Lloyd & Matt Stephens is really good. Ex professional riders Sean Kelly, Robbie McEwan and Adam Blythe also add their bits into the mix. The GCN+ team do a lot of little segments about the tech and the teams. If you want to get into cycling, GCN+ is an excellent place to start.
The Tour can be a bit dull some days when the stages are long and flat, and overall I'd say their coverage is excellent and they do a good job of bringing a lot of enthusiasm to the race and fun to the commentary. Jonathan Harris-Bass also has a recipe of the day segment and provides information about all the amazing buildings that you'll see during the race.
My husband watches every year so I'm an armchair enthusiast and know enough for a decent level coffee corner discussion in the office 🙂. I'm supporting the Jumbo team again because Wout Van Aert is riding for them. He's phenomenal and on great form.
I'd say watching the down moments during the Tour is where the commentators will explain what's going on. They'll discuss how this is a team sport, what jersey numbers mean, different techniques, etc. So don't skip 'em!
Solid tips! Do you have a favourite team/rider to watch?
Alaphilippe is my favorite rider, though, I am rooting for Cavendish to win a few stages to break the record! Overall, though, I just enjoy watching the sport, so I'd prefer good competition over my favorites to stomp. I also have a soft spot in my heart for Sagan - last year wasn't so hot. My favorite sprinter was Greipel, but he retired a few years ago.
Plus good highlights on GCN+ if you don’t fancy watching hours of the stage! They give a good summary of the main events and team tactics from the day.
GCN+ coverage of TDF isn't as good as the other grand tours because of licensing. Their coverage of the Giro and Vuelta is top-notch, though.
Must admit I haven’t watched much of the Vuelta/Giro before. What are the main differences in their coverage in terms of the licensing?
I've been watching their coverage of the TDF and it seems fantastic! If you're in the US it's worth VPNing over to the UK to watch it. I tried peacock and couldn't stand the commentary and the quantity of ads.
I really appreciate the info, thanks. I am also rooting for jumbo, mainly because I enjoyed their stories the most in the Netflix documentary.
Any chance you ride a bike yourself? Maybe even participate in group rides? It makes Tour de France a lot more fun, I think. The more you can imagine how powerful drafting is, the easier it is to understand the games they play. The more you have the feel for the pace, the more you appreciate how brutally strong these guys are.
@Krabtree is right that there is too much to explain in one comment, but if you have any specific questions, please ask. The very basics are explained in Everything You Need To Know About The Tour De France video... although this was probably explained in that documentary you watched too, right? Even without understanding everything, you will get a lot intuitively and you can still enjoy the scenery - wait for the mountain stages.
I used to race when I was a kid. Also, I have been watching Tour de France since I was 13 (we were watching all grand tours with my dad). I think a lot of it is about accumulated memories. I still remember how we were cheering on Miguel Indurain when he won for the first time.
BTW, I know that area around Bilbao (where the 1st stage takes place) pretty well. Those hills are much steeper than they look on TV!
I do ride a bike! I've never done a group ride though (well, other than riding around with my friends as a kid haha). That makes a lot of sense about it making you understand the tactics. I may just have to see if there is a low key group ride I can attend locally.
haha, yeah... I swear, I really enjoyed it, but I found it confusing at the same time. Like I could understand the underlying story that was going on and appreciate it, but the rules, goals and tactics really confused me (but also intrigue me).
Awesome!
The one really important thing is to appreciate the advantage drafting can give you. The faster you go, the bigger the advantage. At 50 km/h, if you are in front of the bunch, it is soul-crushing brutal work. If you are inside the bunch, it feels surprisingly undemanding - there are moments when you don't even have to pedal.
Almost everything in cycling stems from this.
It creates a paradox - in order to win, you have to be at the front while crossing the finish line... BUT you have to avoid being at the front during the race. Now imagine that someone escapes 20 km before the finish line. You are motivated to catch that person, obviously, because otherwise the escapee wins and you lose. But if you go after that person and let others draft behind you, then they beat you at the finish line. This sometimes results in a game of chicken - who will lose the nerve first and start chasing? Often everybody is looking at each other for so long that the escapee wins, even though he is not stronger than the group.
And other times some alliance forms and they start cooperating to catch the escapee. But it is not that simple. They have to catch him before the finish line... but not too soon, because he could recover inside the group and threaten again. The better strategy is to time it in such a way that he spends as much time as possible working alone. That is why it is so common in pro cycling that an escapee is heartbreakingly caught in the last km or even a few meters in front of the finish line - those guys are experts at timing this.
And drafting affects team dynamics. Imagine you are in a group of three escapees, but two other guys are from the same team. Teammates do not chase each other, so now you are facing an impossible situation. One of them attacks. You have two options: 1) you let him go, he wins. 2) you chase, his buddy is comfortably drafting behind you and beats you at the finish line.
The effect of drafting is severely reduced in the hills - that is why not every moment in the Tour de France matters the same. This is what creates drama, because everybody knows, that the steep hill is coming where the race can break. And key stages end at difficult hills.
And to make things even more interesting, stage races take multiple weeks, which can lead to interesting situations. Imagine this: there is a long flat stage with a steep hill at the end. Somehow, you and one other guy escape, you now have 2 minutes lead and 50 km ahead of you. You know that the other guy is a really strong climber and you are not, so you have every motivation to try to drop him during that flat section, because that is your only chance to win the stage, right? But he knows it too, and he does not care about the stage that much. Because while you are already 2 hours behind in general classification, he is only losing 4 minutes and still has the chance to win the whole Tour. He knows that you are a great time-trialist and if you let him draft behind you, he can gain a few minutes on the other guys at the top of the general classification. So he offers you a deal: "look dude, do not try to drop me, let's work together, and I will let you win the stage in the climb". And this is what makes cycling really interesting - the strategic aspect of things, including ad-hoc alliances you form with your competitors.
I could probably continue like this for hours (now imagine when there is a crosswind and echelons form...) but I think it is enough for now.
Of course! The tour is a bicycle race, but also the tv shows, the radio, the French music. The whole atmosphere it is surrounded by. I’m planning to go to the south of France next week and see a stage in person. I hope it’s gonna be awesome.
Rooting for Van der Poel, now that Mollema didn’t start.
If you do not need to watch that live, Lanterne Rouge does short summary videos with insightful commentary.
I'm absolutely crushed that Cavendish is out and won't win another stage. Anyone else feeling the end of that man's career tonight?
If you have a vpn available to watch the 45 minute highlight shows on ITV, those are an excellent and we'll produced program that I watch every year.