2016 TdF, Stage 12: Montpellier → Mont Ventoux (178km)

[Moose McKnuckles]

FWIW, I agree with shortening the stage today given the wind. It's a bike race, not Survivor.

Also agree with the ASO decision. There is no reason for riders to lose time like that on a decisive stage because of a spectator's stupidity. If the times had been allowed to stand, who's to say some other nut job doesn't decide he/she has a free ride to knock their favorite rider's rival off their bikes?

 

[huangho]

This is the closest footage I have seen so far...

The only clear thing is that there were too many people, the bikes were too close to each other, and there are people that wants to film the wheel number or something, ridicously near.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2e2CZBjFJIY

Cellphones are extremelly dangerous...

 

[Pricey_sky]

Decided to catch up and watch the final few minutes again with the ITV highlights, I notice Adam Yates was almost knocked over by a spectator just after passing the Moto incident. A terrible day for the organisers.

 

[MartinGT]

It was going to happen sooner rather than later. It's being threatening to happen for years. They should have have moved the barriers down and didn't.

It was a bad day for Aso but the PR they are getting from it is mental. People who don't care about cycling are talking about it etc. They will be laughing.

I can't see any other decision that could have been made but to give the Dawg and Co the time back. I've been thinking of a fair way of doing it and just can't. But this is a dangerous precedent I think as riders will try it on now.

But Cookson may finally act on the motos too.

 

[vedrafjord]

Absurd is going over the Alps and Pyrennes on 30 kilo bikes with no shfting. Yet they did it.

That's still a bike race, just with lousy bikes.

Absurd is going down mountai rioads with 100km/h. Yet they are doing it every day.

That's still a bike race, just fast.

Wind on the Ventoux is nothing compared to that.- Today was a chance for an epic stage that makes the tour what it is. Instead we got one of the most disgraceful days of cycling. but okay, I see that most eope won't see that on a Froome fanboy forum.

At that point it's not a bike race any more. You've obviously never cycled in conditions like that - it's completely impossible to cycle a bike - you can put your head on the stem and your hands on the drops pedal with the brakes half pulled at lower wind speeds, but at those speeds you just have to get off the bike (especially with gusts), and it's very hard to even walk in clipless pedals without falling over.

Last year I was stopped at traffic lights, with my foot down, with a stopped car on my right and me and my bike were blown onto the bonnet of the car. That was at lower wind speeds than the top of Ventoux today.

 

[vedrafjord]

From Twitter:

Looks the the first moto had a clear run and was just going too slow. Why were there 4 motos anyway?

 

[Billie]

lololol if you rewatch the stage you can see how Valverde is clearly dropped form the Quintana/Yates/Aru group and at the finish he was still not in that group but for some strange reason he is put in same time as Yates
:lol: :lol: :lol: :lol:

what a farce this is.

 

[blaxland]

This is crap ,what a way to ruin the great race.This is turning into a joke of a race.to windy.lol...moto crash neutral race what a crock of s...first time in 23 years im wanting to give up on the sport I love.enough is enough...

 

[TMP402]

https://twitter.com/noswielrennen/status/753685957501739008

 

[Geraint Too Fast]

Re:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UpF9UnG3kfU

Looks like the first moto wanted to get closer to the action, slowed down in a stupid place, and caused a pileup.

 

[Lynton]

For those that carried on like I was a fool and inventing rules when I criticised Quintana for profiting out of the misfortune of the yellow jersey and and another GC contender.

"Normally when you see a big GC guy in trouble the gentleman thing to do would be to stop and wait and regroup," said the 27-year-old. "You saw that a lot in the past but these days people just seem to want to take advantage of it."

It seems Van Garderen agrees with me.

 

[Billie]

Re:

For those that carried on like I was a fool and inventing rules when I criticised Quintana for profiting out of the misfortune of the yellow jersey and and another GC contender.

"Normally when you see a big GC guy in trouble the gentleman thing to do would be to stop and wait and regroup," said the 27-year-old. "You saw that a lot in the past but these days people just seem to want to take advantage of it."

It seems Van Garderen agrees with me.

lololol no one waited when Aru had a mechanical did they?

 

[TMP402]

So basically

- the ASO cancells the top of Ventoux because today's riders can't even fight trough a little wind
- Team Sky crashes => Froome neutralizes the race
-Froome crashes and breakes all rules by running => ASO gives Froome a massive time bonus

What a **** joke this formerly epic race has become. So sad to see

Or, in reality, broke no rules by running.

 

[WillemS]

Re: Re:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UpF9UnG3kfU

Looks like the first moto wanted to get closer to the action, slowed down in a stupid place, and caused a pileup.

As someone who has been at multiple tour stages, I still can't understand the need for spectators to stand, literally, in the middle of the road.

 

[Eyeballs Out]

Re:

An iconic day in Cycling, Chris Froome travelled 50m without looking at his stem

Disappointing that Froome's running style is a bit "normal". Elbows and knees in, steady head. Almost fluent in fact. I was hoping for something a bit more quirky

 

[Billie]

So basically

- the ASO cancells the top of Ventoux because today's riders can't even fight trough a little wind
- Team Sky crashes => Froome neutralizes the race
-Froome crashes and breakes all rules by running => ASO gives Froome a massive time bonus

What a **** joke this formerly epic race has become. So sad to see

Or, in reality, broke no rules by running.

POint 14 of the regulations is quite clear. Anyone who tries to do (part of) the course without a bike should be eliminated.

 

[TMP402]

Re:

https://twitter.com/noswielrennen/status/753685957501739008

It's funny, I don't remember seeing Froome run with his original bike at all, I just remember him put it to the side and then run.

 

[WillemS]

So basically

- the ASO cancells the top of Ventoux because today's riders can't even fight trough a little wind
- Team Sky crashes => Froome neutralizes the race
-Froome crashes and breakes all rules by running => ASO gives Froome a massive time bonus

What a **** joke this formerly epic race has become. So sad to see

Or, in reality, broke no rules by running.

POint 14 of the regulations is quite clear. Anyone who tries to do (part of) the course without a bike should be eliminated.

Can you quote that point?

 

[vedrafjord]

Point 14 is intended to stop secret car/train trips like in the early days of cycling. Not running when a TV moto has run over your bike. Intent matters. Unless you're like that old Onion headline.

Jurisprudence fetishist gets off on technicality.

 

[webvan]

Re:

This is the closest footage I have seen so far...

The only clear thing is that there were too many people, the bikes were too close to each other, and there are people that wants to film the wheel number or something, ridicously near.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2e2CZBjFJIY

Cellphones are extremelly dangerous...

Nice footage, it seems the driver of the TV motorbike they piled into takes his eyes off the road by looking to the left for some reason. Did he run into someone for that reason? Very dangerous thing to do (taking your eyes off the road) ever so briefly as I found the other day...

 

[WillemS]

Re: Re:

https://twitter.com/noswielrennen/status/753685957501739008

It's funny, I don't remember seeing Froome run with his original bike at all, I just remember him put it to the side and then run.

A later replay shows the first part of his run, with bike, and shows how he places it against a motorcycle.

 

[TMP402]

So basically

- the ASO cancells the top of Ventoux because today's riders can't even fight trough a little wind
- Team Sky crashes => Froome neutralizes the race
-Froome crashes and breakes all rules by running => ASO gives Froome a massive time bonus

What a **** joke this formerly epic race has become. So sad to see

Or, in reality, broke no rules by running.

POint 14 of the regulations is quite clear. Anyone who tries to do (part of) the course without a bike should be eliminated.

It's not as clear as you claim. It says:

"Willfull deviation from the course, attempt to be placed without having covered the entire course by bycicle, resuming the race after having received a lift in a vehicle or on a motorbike."

Meanwhile, other UCI rules say:

1.2.108
Unless otherwise stated, each rider shall, in order to be classified, complete the race entirely through
his own effort, without the assistance of any other person.
1.2.109
The rider may cross the finish line on foot, provided that has his bicycle with him.
(text modified on 1.01.05).

 

[WillemS]

Re: Re:

This is the closest footage I have seen so far...

The only clear thing is that there were too many people, the bikes were too close to each other, and there are people that wants to film the wheel number or something, ridicously near.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2e2CZBjFJIY

Cellphones are extremelly dangerous...

Nice footage, it seems the driver of the TV motorbike they piled into takes his eyes off the road by looking to the left for some reason. Did he run into someone for that reason? Very dangerous thing to do (taking your eyes off the road) ever so briefly as I found the other day...

Well, this footage at least shows Porte wasn't dropping Froome at that moment, like some claimed was happening.

 

[TMP402]

So basically

- the ASO cancells the top of Ventoux because today's riders can't even fight trough a little wind
- Team Sky crashes => Froome neutralizes the race
-Froome crashes and breakes all rules by running => ASO gives Froome a massive time bonus

What a **** joke this formerly epic race has become. So sad to see

Or, in reality, broke no rules by running.

POint 14 of the regulations is quite clear. Anyone who tries to do (part of) the course without a bike should be eliminated.

Can you quote that point?

Wilful deviation from the course, attempt to be placed without having covered the entire course by bicycle, resuming the race after having accepted a lift in a vehicle or on a motorbike

 

[bigcog]

Re: Re:

https://twitter.com/noswielrennen/status/753685957501739008

It's funny, I don't remember seeing Froome run with his original bike at all, I just remember him put it to the side and then run.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UpF9UnG3kfU