They must all be Californians...

[MacRoadie]

I thought, based on this forum, that Californians had a lock on dressing like idiots and acting stupidly on climbs. Must have been a mass exidus from Cali to France this month...

 

[ericthesportsman6]

There are always crazy Dutch and Basque fans on TDF climbs...

 

[montagna lunga]

"roadie"? even if you ARE from So Cal, f.u.

 

[Buffalo Soldier]

Lots of Americans also

 

[Dead Star]

The whole thing's becoming too big for its boots now. The number of complete arses running alongside the riders to get themselves on tv or for photos/videos. Still amazes me there aren't any more accidents with them falling in front of riders or cars/bikes etc. It's happened once before hasn't it?

 

[Buffalo Soldier]

Something has to be done about this craziness indeed!

 

[this_is_edie]

Let's not forget the Aussie in a bikini that the gendarme got in a neck hold. that was sweet to see.

 

[zapata]

how about this?
http://twitpic.com/5u4j3s

 

[jsem94]

He should've punched even harder.

 

[hrotha]

I thought, based on this forum, that Californians had a lock on dressing like idiots and acting stupidly on climbs. Must have been a mass exidus from Cali to France this month...

The Californians copied it from the Tour, and took it to a whole 'nother level.

 

[zapata]

He should've punched even harder.

Suspect he gave it his all, but it's hard when you weigh 60 kg, and none of that weight is on your arms..I hate those morons, wish there was a way to fine and ban them, but it's hard when it's on open roads. Fotballfans acting similarly stupid get banned from the grounds for life.

 

[Maxiton]

how about this?
http://twitpic.com/5u4j3s

Fantastic! Glad he did that. He should have gotten the combativity award!

 

[frenchfry]

Suspect he gave it his all, but it's hard when you weigh 60 kg, and none of that weight is on your arms..I hate those morons, wish there was a way to fine and ban them, but it's hard when it's on open roads. Fotballfans acting similarly stupid get banned from the grounds for life.

I believe the gendarmes were attempting to control the stupidity, but there were just too many idiots. Drives me crazy, these are not cycling fans.

 

[jobiwan]

I just know that I wouldn't go anywhere near Dutch Corner!!

It was getting ridiculous around the 5-6 km mark.
What if Andy or Cadel actually had the strength to put in a big attack?

It's probably a good thing for Andy the barriers came late, I think Cadel probably could have gone a lot earlier than he did!

Still, it was a great atmosphere! Just wish that they respected the riders a bit more!
Wonder how many people there were?

 

[thirteen]

Fantastic! Glad he did that. He should have gotten the combativity award!

he did
...............

 

[Maxiton]

he did
...............

Excellent!

 

[mewmewmew13]

how about this?
http://twitpic.com/5u4j3s

Thank you for posting this!
had to pass it along many times...

 

[The Hitch]

To be honest i like it but i prefer it further down the race on initial climbs or on straights where there arent that many fans.

Its not that great when they are on the more crowded bits of the mountain and get into riders faces.

Didi and that antler dude with the flag get it. They do it 60 k from the end often, when there isnt that much going on and often the riders are in the mood for a bit of fun.

Thats why Flecha took antler guys flag and everyone laughed. It was a while from the end, the riders were in the mood to have a nice distraction.

They also appreciate the fans at that stage.

Do it when the riders are riding into the red, emotions very high and its annoying.

That way the fan also gets a lot more tv time too.

 

[Thomsena]

The dutch were a disgrace. The scenes with Voeckler were awful.

 

[MacRoadie]

The Californians copied it from the Tour, and took it to a whole 'nother level.

Based on what we saw today, the pendulum appears to have swung back in the Euro's favor...

 

[Alpe d'Huez]

Many have said the best place to be is about 3-5k from the top of the penultimate climb. The riders will be spread out and slow enough to see them, but the frenzy won't be quite as much.

 

[zapata]

Based on what we saw today, the pendulum appears to have swung back in the Euro's favor...

At least two of the ones I saw were wrapped in the Stars and Stripes..but european idiots are no better than american idiots, of course. I think the ratio of Idiots to Normal People is the same in all countries.

 

[hrotha]

Based on what we saw today, the pendulum appears to have swung back in the Euro's favor...

Well, you know how it is. It's an arms race.

The Tour has the advantage of attracting peoples of many different nationalities, with different sensibilities as to how embarrassingly you can dress to appear on TV. California has the advantage of a developing cycling culture, where many take the freak show they see at the Tour as the norm.

 

[biokemguy]

copying this guy

Maybe the guy getting punched was copying this guy.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/biokemwalton/5762292424/

He was a nice guy and made many of the riders laugh.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/biokemwalton/5762291512/

 

[zapata]

I blame the devil, actually. I know a lot of people like him, and he's entirely harmless and well-meaning, but he's obviously inspired these other jackarses. I wish they would turn their cameras away and not show them on TV. Even though it would be pretty hard to do that and still show the race.