Spectators Running Alongside Riders on Climbs

[The Falcon]

the runners have really been ****ing me off this year........i think Contador had to throw a few punches on Arcalis if i remember rightly...one of the worst things was when a Cofidis rider was trying to rejoin a group near the summit of Grand Saint Bernard and these farkwits started running between the group and him they slowed him down as their legs blew out.

 

[spaceboy]

the runners have really been ****ing me off this year........i think Contador had to throw a few punches on Arcalis if i remember rightly...one of the worst things was when a Cofidis rider was trying to rejoin a group near the summit of Grand Saint Bernard and these farkwits started running between the group and him they slowed him down as their legs blew out.

Yes that was pretty clear wasn't it. Very annoying. It seems to be that some of the other ones that are actual cyclists should no better then to run so close. Running with those big *** horns and big flag is just IMHO, stupid.

 

[X'd Out]

Yeah, that guy ****es me off more than anybody. Forget horns through the wheel. If he trips he's going to impale a rider or some helpless fan. What a selfish ***.

Actually I read somewhere that the antlers are made of foam and painted to look real and they are actually very light......who knows

 

[joe_papp]

the runners have really been ****ing me off this year........i think Contador had to throw a few punches on Arcalis if i remember rightly...one of the worst things was when a Cofidis rider was trying to rejoin a group near the summit of Grand Saint Bernard and these farkwits started running between the group and him they slowed him down as their legs blew out.

I'm glad that I wasn't the only one who was getting annoyed by the runners...

 

[Cribbo]

I'm just waiting for the day when a serious cycling fan, who has become fed up with these clowns, 'closelines' one as they run past. Imagine spending 4 hours waiting by the side of the road to cheer your hero as they ride past. Now imagine your perfect uninterupted view spoiled by some drunk fool running between you and the riders. It doesn't take much to make the leap between that feeling and an outstretched arm or elbow.

So don't worry about the riders retaliating. Hope that the spectators will self regulate themselves.

This issue is top of my 'Things that give me the ****'s' list at the moment.

 

[slcbiker]

It does seem really bad this year. Maybe more motos would be the answer, but that also leads to charges of drafting.

Armstrong nearly creamed some kid trying to take a picture in the TT today. That's not as obnoxious as the running idiots, but could have been very bad for both kid and Lance.

 

[titotito]

Actually I read somewhere that the antlers are made of foam and painted to look real and they are actually very light......who knows

Fair enough. If that's true than I take it back ... although he still annoys me.

 

[scribe]

I could have sworn I saw Floyd Landis sprinting next to the lead group last week.

 

[Johnny Colnago]

You guys have no sense of history. Fans have been beating, spitting on, throwing beer at and generally being ***holes since the inception of cycling as a sport.

This is nothing new.

edit: and for the illiterate I am not condoning it just telling you how it is.

 

[craig1985]

Didn't Gianni Bugno punch a fan years ago or was that Claudio Chiappucci?

 

[slcbiker]

Merckx got punched back in the early to mid-70s. Might have cost him a tour.
So not really anything new.

But it does seem to me to be worse in terms of overall crowding and number of idiots this year than in the past few televised years.

 

[mambo#5]

Difference of enviroment my friend. Dont see the crowds constricting his running room...

signing out for the evening.

I have noticed that about the antlers(longhorns) dude. He always chooses his spots carefully, where there are no more spectators and he can run unobstructed. It still doesn't mean, he can't trip but he is got more room to fall.

 

[rhubroma]

I was always fine with spectators running alongside me in the mountains as long as they gave a friendly push. However, watching the Tour coverage, especially today's stage, it seems that "The Runners" have crossed some line of acceptable behavior or decency. I know it's logistically impossible to barricade an entire climb, but I think it is absolutely inappropriate for fans to run alongside the riders, inches away from them, sometimes touching them, often shouting profanity, endangering the riders' safety and generally ruining the TV shots while making asses of themselves. I saw a few spectators get punched today by riders in the lead group, and while I wish every rider would swat away every spectator who violated his personal space and ran alongside him on a climb, the reality is that, whether climber or not, the break in concentration and energy required to punch a drunk, idiotic "spectator" in the head - as minimal as it may seem - is gigantic in its negative effect (on the rider).

I hate to say add more motorcycles, but there should be police bikes hovering near the lead groups who are authorized to run down "The Runners." I'm surprised Armstrong hasn't already employed a team of private, moto-mounted body guards to do just that.

Thanks for your imput. Well there are just those risks, you know, and as society becomes sicker (shooting pellets at the Tour), so too do the risks increase.

Cycling needs the fans on the roadside, though, it's part of the spectacle. So there aren't any easy solutions and I certainly don't have any.

 

[Animal]

Didn't Gianni Bugno punch a fan years ago or was that Claudio Chiappucci?

Bugno was brought to a halt by an idiot right on the inside of a hairpin bend on a climb.

He bashed the guys face with his front wheel (or at least made a move to) while picking his bike up off the ground.

 

[Carlo Algatrensig]

Bugno was brought to a halt by an idiot right on the inside of a hairpin bend on a climb.

He bashed the guys face with his front wheel (or at least made a move to) while picking his bike up off the ground.

I remember that incident. He'd just gone clear of the main group on a climb and some idiot stepped out on a hairpin bend and took him and Robert Millar down.

Didn't Wladimir Belli get thrown out of the giro a few years back for punching a spectator aswell?

 

[VeloFidelis]

I remember that incident. He'd just gone clear of the main group on a climb and some idiot stepped out on a hairpin bend and took him and Robert Millar down.

Didn't Wladimir Belli get thrown out of the giro a few years back for punching a spectator aswell?

Yes it was Gilberto Simoni's nephew that he punched on the Mortirolo. A beautiful right to the chin that put him right on his ***. Belli was DQ'd for his efforts at self defense.

 

[frizzlefry]

Remember the Tmobile guy that hit the dog.

 

[Wergeland]

Sandy Casar had a run in with a dog in the tour a couple of years ago as well.

Remember Hushovd was hit with a piece of cardboard that a memeber of the crowd was waving. It penetrated his arm in the final 500meters of a sprint. A few years ago I think. There was a lot of blood.

 

[Clemson Cycling]

Anyone else's college get some representation at the tour?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yrHL85I1UwA

 

[biker77]

I like the antler guy. He has some personality and, as noted in a previous post, chooses good spots.

I am personally hoping for some mob justice on one of the fat guys trying to run. It is only a matter of time until of the fatties falls over and takes some riders with him.

 

[pedaling squares]

Actually I read somewhere that the antlers are made of foam and painted to look real and they are actually very light......who knows

They would have to be. No way that guy has the neck strength of a bull elk!

 

[psychlist]

Yes it was Gilberto Simoni's nephew that he punched on the Mortirolo. A beautiful right to the chin that put him right on his ***. Belli was DQ'd for his efforts at self defense.

I recall a big group of them wearing pink t-shirts that said "Simoni Tifosi" or something like that?

I thought the disqualification was bull****.

 

[craig1985]

Remember the Tmobile guy that hit the dog.

If I owned a pair of Lightwheels I would have demanded a refund!

 

[michaeld05]

it amazes me that the race officials dont do a bit to assist the riders, ac had to swing for someone in the tt on the climb and the yellow jersey group was mobbed yesterday on the ventoux, so much so that when wiggins was yo-yoing in and out he turned around and shoved some guy in the face when he was waving a flag around his face

its mental!

i can understand the exictement etc, etc, but the fat american that was running alongside was just too funny. did a good job though, he followed for about 200-300 metres

 

[ThisFrenchGuy]

I think officials have already much to do and that there are already many motos (A.Schleck complained he was blocked by one as he was climbing the Ventoux).

It's up to the people to be respectful, and for the most part they manage.

But the riders often had to push guys this year, I saw that a dozen of times and I am not sure there was as many last time I followed the TdF that closely.
I know accidents and sometimes aggressions (like this year guy shooting with a pellet rifle) are risks that come associated with the setup since a very long time, but wonder if the runners have gotten worse.