Tour de France Moments

[dgdrls]

It was a fantastic tour,

two of my favorite moments

Jonas Vingegaard waits for Tadej Pogacar after crash in 'incredible' sporting moment at Tour de France
Vingegaard aspetta Pogacar | Tour de France 2022 - YouTube

Hugo Houle dedicates win to his deceased brother
Hugo Houle dedicates his Tour de France stage win to late brother Pierrick | Cycling on NBC Sports - YouTube


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[kantuckid]

One of our sons was able to attend the bicycle world championships held in Italy around 1998, while in college in Hungary. 800,000 people were in the crowd estimate that day he was there. I suspect it's lots more for the tour de France.
 In the USA we do nearly nothing to support this sport. That same son competed in bicycle road racing in college at U of KY, but it is not an NCAA sanctioned sport here. That university recognizes it as an inter-collegiate sport but gives nothing towards it.
 Thus, the reality is that the USA isn't as competitive as many other countries, such as where Pogacar (Slovenia) & Vingegaard (Dutch)come from.
It's a very healthy activity, with much carry over exercise value, too bad we don't encourage competition here so much.  

[JD Guy]

As a former distance cyclist I have a real great admiration for those who,can go 100 miles in a day and then tackle another grueling ride the next day and keep it up for a week or more with very few days off in between. The climbs through the alps or Pyrenees are really where races are won or lost!

I was never competing though just for the challenge to see if I had the guts😁

PS Many of us cyclists are not just guys wearing funny looking shorts and helmets, we also run chainsaws 🤣

[kantuckid]

My wife & I ride our Mtn bikes recreationally. We don't wear those "funny shorts" :D.
Interesting to note that my bad knee which is now on it's 12th cortisone shot and very close to replacement bothers me barely at all when I'm on my bicycle. That knee isn't being asked to carry my body weight nor the side forces of being on foot. Very therapeutic!
Last winter I did 200+ miles on my bike on trails and paths in FL.
 Our oldest son rides more seriously but no longer competes in Mtn biking. When younger he did mtn bike competitions, a very grueling sport. He now rides roads mostly and does distances up to 100 miles on a Sat. or Sun. ride. He's single and tells his Mom when to turn on her SPOT ap on her cell phone so he has someone keeping up with him as he rides public roads. 
Not to sound like money matters most but he has several bikes that cost more than some folks cars. One is a custom-built carbon fiber from the UK, others are a bit tamer. He often rides a hybrid bike often that has tires that cross from road to off-road well. 
Our former road racing son no longer rides much as family & golf have dominance over his recreational time.
Today's NYT's has an article about how females have been mostly ignored by bicycle racing.   

[dgdrls]

Back around to 2023

 Day 2 brought this nonsense  

Tour de France 2023: Stage 2 Was Plagued By Tacks Strewn on the Road

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[beenthere]

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How do you keep track of the race events? 

A televised broadcast ??

[dgdrls]

@beenthere 

I follow on-line here  https://www.letour.fr/en/

I record cycling races here  https://www.fubo.tv/stream/cycling/
Fubo does a good job bringing many one day and multiple day events

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[jasonb]

I didn't get to watch it live but Vingegaard could not follow Pogacar today.  Hopefully, this will be a fight to the finish on stage 20.