2012 Tour of Britain (9th - 16th September)

[User Guide]

It actually amazes me how he keeps falling the entire season and never breaks a thing.

Hobbits are thicker boned than regular humans

 

[Morbius]

Is there an art to falling at speed? Something like keeping your hands on the bars and not putting your hand down because that is how you break your collar bone? It wouldn't surprise me if sprinters are 'better' at falling

 

[User Guide]

Does anyone know if the ToB has ever been over Wrynose and Hardknott pass in Cumbria in it's history?

Using the Kirkstone pass would be better,you can make a loop out of it climbing "the struggle" side.Is plenty room at the top for finish there,better roads too.

You can only climb either hardknott or wrynose not both from harder sides,is quite a way too hardknott from any other climbs.The decent of wrynose is trechorous at speed; in the rain would be bonkers and a little unrealistic.


ps... is a roman fort top of hardknott,so craziest road in britain originally built by the italians whod of thunk it

Edit... I dont know why they dont do that more in ToB, doing loops with decent hard climbs.The Tumble from Llanfoist springs to mind.Its good for spectators ,better for an "event" type atmosphere and therefore looks great on TV making it easier to sell(or at least get screened)

 

[woodie]

Is there an art to falling at speed? Something like keeping your hands on the bars and not putting your hand down because that is how you break your collar bone? It wouldn't surprise me if sprinters are 'better' at falling

In my personal experience, no. I've fallen twice going in excess of 60km/h (while racing), first time all i remember is seeing two to go then waking up on my back, out of pure luck I didn't break anything, second time I saw it coming and remember thinking 'don't move when you wake up', but snapped my collarbone in half. More luck than anything, I guess if your still conscious you can try and roll as you hit the ground

 

[Ryongsyong]

Does anyone know if the ToB has ever been over Wrynose and Hardknott pass in Cumbria in it's history?

Here are the climbs for anyone that doesn't know them.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qMCGvFAVJHY&

00:24 - 02:00: The last part of the ascent
Then 02:20 - 06:00ish: The descent down the other side

After that, you can cycle across a valley road (not shown in the video) to go up the road on the other side which has hairpins aplenty:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zHOGV6Hmf9k

00:20 - 03:45: Ascent
04:00 - 06:00: Rather scary wet descent

There are lots of roads in the Lake District that would make for more challenging climbs, such as The Kirkstone Pass already mentioned, here's (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K_PFeiJmHNE& ) a video of some weirdos going down it fast but it would make for a pretty long and grinding climb.

Obviously these still don't really match the calibre of the climbs we see on the continent but then that's never going to happen; at the very least though it might make the riders in the ProTour teams take a bit of notice and won't look quite so embarrassing as the minor hills we've seen on TV so far (no wonder they're hiding them at the start of the stages). I can't really blame the ToB as they no doubt have always had to worry about financial issues as well as a general lack of interest in cycling, and so are presumably hamstrung by having to find the least bad routes possible between the two towns that pay them the most money rather than finding the climbs they like and then picking where to start and finish afterwards, but I hope that now after the recent boom in road-cycling's popularity in this country and the bounce of their new worldwide live coverage they will be able to start using these more challenging climbs in future, which should be better for everyone concerned.

 

[The Cobra]

Is there an art to falling at speed? Something like keeping your hands on the bars and not putting your hand down because that is how you break your collar bone? It wouldn't surprise me if sprinters are 'better' at falling

I've heard that too. Apparently its best to keep your hands on the bars and try and land on the fleshy part of your shoulder opposed to sticking out a locked out arm then the force of the impact travels up your arm and into your shoulder.

Easier said then done of course. Often there simply isnt time to react and if there is time its a natural instinct to put your hand out to try and save yourself.

I guess some people just have stronger bones than others, or just bounce better. Also once you've broken it once, it'll never be quite the same and more likely to break again.

 

[Northern rider]

Using the Kirkstone pass would be better,you can make a loop out of it climbing "the struggle" side.Is plenty room at the top for finish there,better roads too.

You can only climb either hardknott or wrynose not both from harder sides,is quite a way too hardknott from any other climbs.The decent of wrynose is trechorous at speed; in the rain would be bonkers and a little unrealistic.


ps... is a roman fort top of hardknott,so craziest road in britain originally built by the italians whod of thunk it

Edit... I dont know why they dont do that more in ToB, doing loops with decent hard climbs.The Tumble from Llanfoist springs to mind.Its good for spectators ,better for an "event" type atmosphere and therefore looks great on TV making it easier to sell(or at least get screened)

It did indeed go up Kirkstone via the Struggle from Ambleside one year. It was quite a while back, went up and turned right towards Windermere. I rode across from Newcastle, only just made it in time. Kept looking ahead for helicopters to figure out if I'd make it.

 

[benny_profane]

It did indeed go up Kirkstone via the Struggle from Ambleside one year. It was quite a while back, went up and turned right towards Windermere. I rode across from Newcastle, only just made it in time. Kept looking ahead for helicopters to figure out if I'd make it.

Stage 2 in the 1994 Kellogg's Tour went from Carlisle to Blackpool, taking in Ambleside and Kirkstone Pass. Just dug out the programme I got on the day, unfortunately I was only 7-years-old so the sight of Ekimov, Museeuw, Fondriest, Phil Anderson and others and others racing in the Lake District was lost on me a bit. There's some highlights here though http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rNstzgGX7N8

 

[MartinGT]

Man, it's painful listening to the sh!t Hugh keeps spouting

 

[Andy99]

Man, it's painful listening to the sh!t Hugh keeps spouting

Yep. Otherwise good coverage. Good pictures - put Vuelta and Giro to shame to be honest.

 

[Pharazon]

Yep. Otherwise good coverage. Good pictures - put Vuelta and Giro to shame to be honest.

drives me up the wall, because he's such a great track commentator, but he's really lost on the road

 

[TourOfSardinia]

Stage 2 in the 1994 Kellogg's Tour went from Carlisle to Blackpool, taking in Ambleside and Kirkstone Pass. Just dug out the programme I got on the day, unfortunately I was only 7-years-old so the sight of Ekimov, Museeuw, Fondriest, Phil Anderson and others and others racing in the Lake District was lost on me a bit. There's some highlights here though http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rNstzgGX7N8

Here's the exaggerated profile:

lol

 

[Andy99]

drives me up the wall, because he's such a great track commentator, but he's really lost on the road

if you're lucky enough to be able to see it Live, the mute button helps with the Eurosport feed on the pc (David Harmon and Graham Jones..)

 

[Geraint Too Fast]

The final 6km along Blackpool prom could be interesting tomorrow. 30km/h crosswind is forecast - http://www.wunderground.com/cgi-bin...=zmw:00000.1.03318&yday=255&weekday=Wednesday.

 

[DBM Endurance]

It will be interesting to see how well Cav does tomorrow

 

[nogav1ca]

Here's the exaggerated profile:
lol

It even goes a bit backward on a first climb.

 

[Wilba60]

Enjoying watching the ToB from Australia and good to see Howard pick up a stage win and a second today. Looked like he was actually struggling to keep up with Kroupis's lead out. That final corner being wet made for a bit of a fizzer finish, as everyone lost so much speed trying to get around the corner safely. Once Cav kicked the OGE boys were never going to pick him up in such a short distance.

From a Greenedge and Australian supporters viewpoint of the commentary, it is very, very frustrating. In Stages 2 and 3 they have struggled to name any cyclists outside of Cav, Rowe, Wiggins, Boy Von Poppel and big Marcus. Surely it isn't that difficult to run through the main guys and their positioning in the last 5kms? They missed Howard all together in Stage 2, not actually naming him till a little after the race had finished. Stage 3 wasn't really any different with most of the discussion in the last few kms being about Cav's position and how dangerous the final corner was going to be.

Great to see Cav win, I admire his toughness. Anyone who can bounce back after the big falls he has taken and not only ride again but win, is tough as nails. I too find it astonishing that he hits the bitumen at such high speeds and comes out free of "major" injuries. I thought a highlight of the TDF was Wiggins leading out Cav on the final stage, so it is great to see the champ doing that again in his home race. Looks great!

 

[MartinGT]

drives me up the wall, because he's such a great track commentator, but he's really lost on the road

He WAS a great track commentator, was.

 

[MartinGT]

Enjoying watching the ToB from Australia and good to see Howard pick up a stage win and a second today. Looked like he was actually struggling to keep up with Kroupis's lead out. That final corner being wet made for a bit of a fizzer finish, as everyone lost so much speed trying to get around the corner safely. Once Cav kicked the OGE boys were never going to pick him up in such a short distance.

From a Greenedge and Australian supporters viewpoint of the commentary, it is very, very frustrating. In Stages 2 and 3 they have struggled to name any cyclists outside of Cav, Rowe, Wiggins, Boy Von Poppel and big Marcus. Surely it isn't that difficult to run through the main guys and their positioning in the last 5kms? They missed Howard all together in Stage 2, not actually naming him till a little after the race had finished. Stage 3 wasn't really any different with most of the discussion in the last few kms being about Cav's position and how dangerous the final corner was going to be.

Great to see Cav win, I admire his toughness. Anyone who can bounce back after the big falls he has taken and not only ride again but win, is tough as nails. I too find it astonishing that he hits the bitumen at such high speeds and comes out free of "major" injuries. I thought a highlight of the TDF was Wiggins leading out Cav on the final stage, so it is great to see the champ doing that again in his home race. Looks great!

Are you watching with the commentry from Gugh Porter & Rob Hayles? If thats the case then we're just as frustratred as you. The bloke (Porter) is well passed retirement age, but for some reason we in this country like to cling onto the passed.

I was well chuffed to see Bobridge IIRC in the breakway as they climbed over Morridge on Monday when I was there

 

[Pricey_sky]

He WAS a great track commentator, was.

I thought he was decent commentating on the olympic track meet, perhaps having Boardman alongside him helped. Too much going on during these road stages.

Best moment of yesterday was Bernie giving his mate Cav a pat on his hurt shoulder with a big grin on his face, obviously knowing Cav wouldn't find it as funny! All is good in the bromance

 

[MartinGT]

I thought he was decent commentating on the olympic track meet, perhaps having Boardman alongside him helped. Too much going on during these road stages.

Best moment of yesterday was Bernie giving his mate Cav a pat on his hurt shoulder with a big grin on his face, obviously knowing Cav wouldn't find it as funny! All is good in the bromance

I think thats the problem, far too much going on and when you're his age he just doesnt process it quick enough.

The track stuff wasnt too bad, but what I find difficult with him is his pronunciation with names, countries, races etc the Gyro (Giro) being one.

 

[zigzag wanderer]

The final 6km along Blackpool prom could be interesting tomorrow. 30km/h crosswind is forecast - http://www.wunderground.com/cgi-bin...=zmw:00000.1.03318&yday=255&weekday=Wednesday.

I'm in Preston - about 30km away - there's heavy rain at the moment but it's not windy at all. It could all be different on the coast.

 

[MartinGT]

Just read on Twitter that they are looking at an alterbnative finish due to high winds as currently the 1km banner keeps blowing down.

If this is the case surly they will have to look at alternatives for next season?

 

[summerhill]

Hugh Porter seems to think he's only there to cheerlead for Sky. It's easier for him to shout Cav than attempt foreign tongues. And I'm more interested in hearing about Greenedge's relatively under-resourced success in the ToB, than the progress of the Sky juggernaut.

It's a shame too that Cavendish's mistake took Farrar out in Norwich because Tyler had just got some form with his wins in Colorado.

 

[Morbius]

What really annoys me about Porter is his false excitement, with comments along the lines of "This is getting really exciting. Our lone breakaway has got a 40 second lead and there are only 20km to go. The pack aren't making any inroads into his lead. Rob, do you think he can hold on till the finish?"

Instead of saying "of course not" Rob Hayles always manages to avoid answering the question