Tour de France

[Jerome Stanek]

In most any competitive event it would be. The gendarmes on the world tours use FLIR cameras to monitor the bikes on the road.

For the blood doping, they combat that now with blood testing that looks at red blood cell oxygenation. The pros get tested constantly.

They did a documentary on these motors and they could not detect them without taking the bike apart.

[Greg Funk]

They did a documentary on these motors and they could not detect them without taking the bike apart.

That seems unlikely. They have found motors in bikes (Femke Van Den Driessche) without disassembling the bike. It shouldn't be that difficult to detect a motor/battery shielded by some carbon fibers.

[Jack Frederick]

I, too, was burned by the Great American Cheat armstrong and I have not watched a lot of the Tour since. I picked it up at about stage 12 this year watching the Alps stages and the past couple days in the Pyrenees. McNulty and Koos, two young American riders have done very well. Vingegaard in the Yellow Jersey and , Pagacar, in white, the winner of the last two Tours have been the race. Pogacar sitting 2:25 behind the yellow had to make a move to make up that time while in the mtns. They broke from the Peloton on the second to last climb and were away. On a very fast and tricky descent on fresh pavement they were each other’s wheel. Pogacar was leading and spun out going down on the shoulder. He was back up quickly. Vingegaard not wanting to take advantage of the fall waited for him to recover. As Pogacar caught up they shook hands and continued the race with Vingegaard winning by over a minute, extending his lead and barring some catastrophe pretty much guaranteeing the win on Sunday in Paris. It was worth watching this years Tour to see that one moment of sportsmanship.

[Frederick Skelly]

On a very fast and tricky descent on fresh pavement they were each other’s wheel. Pogacar was leading and spun out going down on the shoulder. He was back up quickly. Vingegaard not wanting to take advantage of the fall waited for him to recover. As Pogacar caught up they shook hands and continued the race with Vingegaard winning by over a minute,...... It was worth watching this years Tour to see that one moment of sportsmanship.

Wow. I haven't seen that kind of behavior in a long time. That's refreshing.

[Maurice Mcmurry]

Lance Armstrong and Floyd Landis were a big let down. I watch old Eddy Merckx and newer Peter Sagan youTubes sometimes.

[Alan Lightstone]

... On a very fast and tricky descent on fresh pavement they were each other’s wheel. Pogacar was leading and spun out going down on the shoulder. He was back up quickly. Vingegaard not wanting to take advantage of the fall waited for him to recover. As Pogacar caught up they shook hands and continued the race with Vingegaard winning by over a minute, extending his lead and barring some catastrophe pretty much guaranteeing the win on Sunday in Paris. It was worth watching this years Tour to see that one moment of sportsmanship.

That's actually normal Tour etiquette. It's occurred many times before. The handshake, however, was a very nice touch.

[Jim Barkelew]

I began following the Tour since the mid-80’s when the great American rider Greg LeMond began winning the Tour. It is just a great event. It is hard as h*** to follow, but so pleasant to watch the beautiful scenery. Phil Liggett and Bob Roll, the announcers play very well together.

Me too. Not sure why but the scenery, speed, danger, team strategy, and exceptional athletes. Notice the idiot spectators running beside the riders can't keep up going uphill. As far as the past cheating I assume those who don't watch because of it, don't watch football, baseball, basketball also.

Jim

[Greg Funk]

That's actually normal Tour etiquette. It's occurred many times before. The handshake, however, was a very nice touch.

I've seen riders wait when a contender is delayed because of something outside their control, e.g. mechanical, fan interference, crash in a group etc. I've never seen it when one rider makes a mistake on a downhill.

If Vingegaard had been behind at the time no on would have batted an eye if he pressed on without waiting.

[Lee Schierer]

That's actually normal Tour etiquette. It's occurred many times before. The handshake, however, was a very nice touch.

According to the commentary during the race Vingegaard and Pogačar are good friends.

[Michael Weber]

I get almost as excited as Arlo. Almost.6DCB659D-126C-4B1F-97F5-14137F5EE12F.jpg

[andrew whicker]

I finally finished the extended highlights last night. What an excellent experience. I never watched a full TDF before. Those guys are beyond amazing on a bike. 19 days of extremely hard riding and they can still put down a 25 mile / 1400 ft gain TT lap w/ a 31.6 mph average on the 20th day!! That is crazy. Can't even imagine.

The beginning of the last stage was fun to watch. I enjoyed how much Pogacar was enjoying himself even though he couldn't catch the yellow. The race between them was a great show of two amazing athletes.
I'll be watching extended highlights of the women's soon.

[Patrick McCarthy]

According to the commentary during the race Vingegaard and Pogačar are good friends.

I heard that comment too, BUT i also heard Tadej tell a commentator he did not have Jonas' mobile number . . . . which i think he would if they were good friends.

But agree wholeheartily, the sportsmanship was impressive, so much so that i was happy with Jonas Vingegaard winning the tour.

[Matt Day]

Count me as a previous watcher. Watched every state for about 10 years, just can’t afford the time these days. It’s a huge commitment to watch and follow it!

[andrew whicker]

Yeah, each extended highlight was around an hour.