Do the fans spoil the racing ?

[bobmcpartland]

Watching todays stage finish on top of the col du Tourmalet, I was annoyed by the behaviour of some of the fans.

I believe that there are times when they stop riders from attacking because they are running alongside the riders and in my opinion they are spolining the racing.

What do you think can be done to stop it?

 

[theyoungest]

What can be done to stop you from using this ridiculous font?

 

[bobmcpartland]

Is this better?

 

[MacRoadie]

Is this better?

Yes, much better...

 

[The Hitch]

The fans make it that much better. These guys travel up huge mountains, often on foot and wait for hours and hours to see riders fly past for about 10 seconds. No sport should forget that it is the fans which keep it going.

 

[bobmcpartland]

Hitch I agree it's the fans that make the event the spactacle that it is, but I think some of them take it too far. I wonder what the riders think about it.

 

[joe_papp]

I understand the excitement one can experience while cheering the riders up a mountain. I think that most of the dudes running along side the riders are selfish boors, however, and they have no concern for the danger they're creating and for the negative effect their blocking causes.

Obviously I never rode the Tour so I can't speak to those conditions, but many smaller UCI stage races I've done had mountain stages with thousands of spectators lining the climbs, and the ones who run with you are jerks! I personally loathe them. They're annoying, the often times stink (especially reeking of beer) and some of them have gone so far as to steal bottles off my bike! lol.

I think there is a big difference between a swelling crowd that lines a climb, chokes it off even but is stationary, and the jerks who sprint alongside the riders, screaming insults at them from only inches away, using up precious oxygen and polluting their space

 

[Fourier]

I actually think it is much better now than it used to be. Remember when fans used to pour water on riders, push them up the climbs etc

 

[El Pistolero]

I understand the excitement one can experience while cheering the riders up a mountain. I think that most of the dudes running along side the riders are selfish boors, however, and they have no concern for the danger they're creating and for the negative effect their blocking causes.

Obviously I never rode the Tour so I can't speak to those conditions, but many smaller UCI stage races I've done had mountain stages with thousands of spectators lining the climbs, and the ones who run with you are jerks! I personally loathe them. They're annoying, the often times stink (especially reeking of beer) and some of them have gone so far as to steal bottles off my bike! lol.

I think there is a big difference between a swelling crowd that lines a climb, chokes it off even but is stationary, and the jerks who sprint alongside the riders, screaming insults at them from only inches away, using up precious oxygen and polluting their space

You're Robbie Mcewen right?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K7O1yMRYSQo

(I'm not being serious)

 

[El Pistolero]

Yeah terribly annoying as usual. The organisers should have fenced off more of the climb near the top. There was a moment when neither could have attacked.

Contador took the brunt of it; at one point he seemed to be engaged in conversation with a Luxembourger. I thought he might lash out like he did on the Verbier.

Yeah, in an interview on Sporza the interviewer asked "what were you guys talking about during the climb?"

Contador said "nothing important"

Really suspicious if you ask me.

 

[rzombie1988]

I don't mind the fans as long as the don't mess up the riders. Sometimes they can actually add to the drama of the race. I worry though that one of these days one of them will do something stupid and knock one of the contenders out of the tour.

 

[El Pistolero]

I don't mind the fans as long as the don't mess up the riders. Sometimes they can actually add to the drama of the race. I worry though that one of these days one of them will do something stupid and knock one of the contenders out of the tour.

Tour de France of 1975.

 

[bobmcpartland]

Tour de France of 1975.

Was that when Merckx was punched in the stomach ?

 

[Carlo Algatrensig]

It does add to the atmosphere but I can imagine for the riders it can be annoying as there are times when they are so close it can be dangerous like today when some people got into the gap between the riders and the motorbikes behind them.

 

[benpounder]

I think there is a big difference between a swelling crowd that lines a climb, chokes it off even but is stationary, and the jerks who sprint alongside the riders, screaming insults at them from only inches away, using up precious oxygen and polluting their space

Or using their flags as if they were matadors...

Perhaps this will also put to rest the claims about much worse US fans are - heard last two TdC's.

 

[El Pistolero]

Was that when Merckx was punched in the stomach ?

Yeah, the French didn't want a Belgian to break the record of Anquetil.

 

[Big GMaC]

I understand the excitement one can experience while cheering the riders up a mountain. I think that most of the dudes running along side the riders are selfish boors, however, and they have no concern for the danger they're creating and for the negative effect their blocking causes.

Obviously I never rode the Tour so I can't speak to those conditions, but many smaller UCI stage races I've done had mountain stages with thousands of spectators lining the climbs, and the ones who run with you are jerks! I personally loathe them. They're annoying, the often times stink (especially reeking of beer) and some of them have gone so far as to steal bottles off my bike! lol.

I think there is a big difference between a swelling crowd that lines a climb, chokes it off even but is stationary, and the jerks who sprint alongside the riders, screaming insults at them from only inches away, using up precious oxygen and polluting their space

Er, how slow were you climbing?

 

[yetanothergreenworld]

Contador took the brunt of it; at one point he seemed to be engaged in conversation with a Luxembourger. I thought he might lash out like he did on the Verbier.

I saw that too! Some guy with two mean fistfulls of Luxembourg flag ran up next to Contador and looked to be giving him a piece of his mind . . . Contador wisely swerved over to the other side of Schleck.

Also, I feel like I saw more a** cheek on today's stage than in the last two or three Tours combined.

 

[bobmcpartland]

I saw more a** cheek on today's stage than in the last two or three Tours combined.

You're right, one day someones going to get their front wheel stuck up someone's a**e !

 

[PCutter]

For me the most annoying fans are the ones who have such a lack of personality that they need to play dress-up and run along side. Borat's yesterday, Sumo wrestlers in the ToC, etc, etc.

 

[scribe]

I understand the excitement one can experience while cheering the riders up a mountain. I think that most of the dudes running along side the riders are selfish boors, however, and they have no concern for the danger they're creating and for the negative effect their blocking causes.

Obviously I never rode the Tour so I can't speak to those conditions, but many smaller UCI stage races I've done had mountain stages with thousands of spectators lining the climbs, and the ones who run with you are jerks! I personally loathe them. They're annoying, the often times stink (especially reeking of beer) and some of them have gone so far as to steal bottles off my bike! lol.

I think there is a big difference between a swelling crowd that lines a climb, chokes it off even but is stationary, and the jerks who sprint alongside the riders, screaming insults at them from only inches away, using up precious oxygen and polluting their space

Talk about pedaling backwards!

 

[henryg]

I think the fans add to the excitement. It's a great site to see the riders flying with fans screamimg encouragement but those that stick signs and flags in the riders faces and run along screaming in their ear are a-holes.

 

[MCPC141]

Cycling Fans or TV wannabees?

The crowds and the cheering certainly contribute to the atmosphere, and the sport is unique in how close the fans can get the battleground and the athletes themselves.

But this business of waving flags (ESPECIALLY those attacthed to a flag pole) and generally getting in the line of the riders is not on.

Many of the fans seem to just want to get their face/****/dumb banner on TV.

I was on top of Ventoux last year, and up there crowd seemed a bit more respectful than the large bunch of mugs on Tourmalet yesterday.

AS probably got much to closer look at the Basque flag on occassion also. Cheer for your bloke, but don't try and put off others.

Agree barriers should've started much, much earlier, but police or whoever did a great job for that last bit keeping crowd back (except for muppet in Barcelona FC shirt).

 

[Greg Johnson]

Hitch I agree it's the fans that make the event the spactacle that it is, but I think some of them take it too far. I wonder what the riders think about it.

I agree. Got that feeling from yesterday's stage. Even most of the people that run along side are fine, it's just a few of them that do silly things, get too close etc. that is taking it too far.

Not that it played a role in the race's outcome, Schleck shouldn't have to turn around and look at a guy who has just hit him in the head with a flag. Run, enjoy, whatever, but don't become a factor in the race.

Cheers
Greg Johnson

 

[scribe]

Those dudes in the borat banana-suits wrecked my eyes.