Okay, I promise this is my last post about the Tour de France for another 330 days.  I just had to share this sensational photo gallery from Australian photographer Mike Hone.  Mike is originally from Sydney but is working in the United States as a designer for Adobe.   He’s heavily involved in the cycling scene in the US and is a former teammate of Tyler Farrar.  He was lucky to get his first press pass to the Tour de France this year and did a similar trip to what I experienced.  Riding, enjoying the Tour, and snapping a bunch of photos.  However, Mike is a REAL photographer, not a happy snap photog like myself.

Here is a collection of his work from the 2010 TdF in no particular order.  I hope you enjoy them as much as I do.

Have a fabulous weekend and ride hard!

As many of you already know the reason I was able to swing my TdF trip was because BMC invited me to their 2011 product launch in Switzerland. It was like winning the lottery. I couldn’t think of anything more perfect since it also allowed me to get back to my primal MTB roots and do the Pass’Portes du Soleil with my good mate Pat.

Both Pat and I attended BMC’s product launch in the small town of Grenchen, Switzerland (pronounced with a strong, back of the throat, German accent). It’s also the capital of many of the Swiss watch making factories.  If you want a good example of Swiss precision, this is probably the best place to visit.

When Pat and I arrived to our hotel in Grenchen we got our first taste of the graciousness of our hosts.  It was a short walk from the BMC HQ and factory and close to some excellent riding in the Jura mountains that we got to experience later with the bikes of our choice.  Unfortunately the Swiss sizing is quite a bit smaller than the Aussie fit so I could barely get into this particular kit shown below (I had also eaten a mountain of Swiss cheese and chocolate the week before, so that may better explain my fitting issues).  Fortunately this kit was won by a lucky reader in on of the TdF quiz competitions.

The launch was primarily to introduce BMC’s new flagship bike, the Impec, along with the new manufacturing facility built specifically for this bike.  One of the highlights of my trip was having dinner with BMC and Phonak owner Andy Riis. He was an intriguing guy to listen to and it gave me and understanding of his philosophy on business and innovation. He’s a very inspiring and down to earth man to say the least.

It wasn’t good enough for BMC to rely on other manufacturers to built their carbon fiber.   Their thinking is that handmade frames can be excellent, however there are human factors that introduce variants in the frame quality and feel.  Being Swiss, BMC wanted to get rid of any variables that alter performance and quality.  They wanted to do away with any uncertainty. The only way they felt they could have absolute control was to create a $40M (AUD) manufacturing facility specifically for their purposes.  They call it “handmade by robots”, or was it “handmade by droids”?, or something like that.  Ah yes…”handmade by machines”, that’s it.

A brief background on how carbon frames are made:

Traditionally monocoque frames are build by a carbon fiber cloth being wrapped around a balloon or foam core that’s the shape of the frame. The carbon fiber is impregnated with thermoset resin and then placed in a metal mold. The frame is then heated until the resin has set.  It’s actually much more complex than that and there are multiple variations, but you get the idea.

Carbon fiber lugged frames are made by individually joining the carbon tubes together.  One big advantage to this method is that it’s highly customizable for a specific geometry and rider preferences.  Monocoque molds are extremely expensive to create so if you need a custom geometry a whole new mold needs to be made.

Both are good methods (assuming the design is good) with many advantages and disadvantages.  Here’s a good comparison of monocoque vs lugged methods.

The Impec Manufacturing Process

BMC takes a different approach in their new factory located down the street from their headquarters.  They weave carbon tubes  to a specification (depending on the load and what function they serve on the bike) which are then joined using injection molded composite parts they call “shells”.  Don’t say “lugs”…they’re “shells”.

Here is a photo of their carbon fiber weaving mechanism they like to call “The Stargate”.  Basically, that orange robot arm feeds this silicon sleeve into the Stargate.  All of the carbon strands are then weaved around the silicon sleeve in a pattern dependent on the tube being made.  It’s fascinating to watch.  The whole process from start to finish is a completely new way of frame building, however the first part of the process shown below is similar to that of another manufacturer (as seen in the first 30 seconds of this video) .

The “Stargate”.  To give some perspective, it’s approximately 2m in diameter

Here’s a video of the Stargate at work:

This is what a carbon weaved tube looks like with half of it resin treated and the other half without treatment. It’s just a flimsy sock until it’s hardened with resin.

The Finished Product

Once the carbon tubes goes through the process of being injected with resin, heat treated, cut, and all joined together by the “shells”, you get the finished product:

The Impec “Noble” version with Di2

This is where they hide the Di2 battery

The Impec Team Version.  You just saw Cadel and George riding this one at the TdF

The Impec uses the BB30, a bottom bracket standard that allows the bearings to be pressed directly into an oversized bottom bracket shell. It eliminates the need for external (or internal) bottom bracket cups. The performance benefits are that you get a substantially lighter and stiffer BB, lets you use cranks with a reduced Q factor, and you saves weight.  You can see that this model uses Campy which doesn’t have a BB30 crank option and is therefore using adapters.

I was squirming in my seat all weekend just itching to ride one of these things. No one said anything about a classroom!

It was a pleasure meeting Andy Riis who joined us for most of the weekend.  He had a helicopter to catch to Rotterdam to see the Prologue. What a rockstar!

The Ride

This is the part I was patiently waiting for the entire weekend. If you’re into buzzwords, here’s how some of the other sites described the ride of the Impec:

Bike Radar: “The Impec gave a great performance and the overall impression was of a bike working as a whole, with every component well balanced and unified. The handling is fantastic, with a rigid front end and excellent stability”

Bicycling:  “Out on the roads, the ride is silky smooth in a way few carbon frames are…There was no perceptible sway to the frame and a welcome absence of road noise. Comfort was paramount, but not at the cost of stiffness. When standing to accelerate or carving fast descents, this machine was all business.”

Please give me a good stiff backhand if I ever start using jargon like this.  It’s a $10k-$15k bike (depending on specs).  Of course if feels absolutely beautiful!  I’m not gonna use bunch of marketing hype to describe how this bike rides.  You guy are smarter than that.  However, one perceivable point that Pat and I definitely agreed on is that the Impec rides very smoothly. “Compliant” might be the marketing term I’m looking for.  We rode hard over a short cobbled road and it was quite remarkable how it sucked it all up.  Other than that, yes…it’s a fantastic bike, as it should be.  It’s a nimble, comfortable, lean mean race machine. If you’re blaming a bike for hindering your race results then go back and take a good look at your training.  Well, maybe Andy Schleck has a different opinion…

I think you’ll either love it or hate it depending on your taste on the aesthetics. I’m personally a fan of the black Noble version one shown above.  I like the way they hide the DI2 battery and love the stealthiness of it.  The Race version is a bit flash for me but it depends what you’re into.

You can see more product specs on the Impec here as well as the 2011 lineup here.

Just as a side note, BMC had to bring the production of the Impec forward so the finishing shown in some of the photos is not as perfect as it’s going to be.

This is the lineup of bikes we took out on the 77km circuit that BMC uses for test rides

What a dream it would be working there at BMC HQ.  This is their lunchtime loop!  They do work extremely hard though.  Maybe being a product tester would be the job for me…

Markus Eggimann (in the stars and stripes), Brand Manager for BMC, said that this wasn’t going to be a race.  Oh please…what do you consider a race then?!

Here’s Pat and his “always on” helmet cam.  He never takes it off!  I’ll try to add some footage of our ride later…

There’s Markus at the front again. A true Jens Voigt hardman

It was about 38°C on our afternoon ride.  A welcome change from 7°C in Australia

It’s tempting to wish the Tour de France would go on for another month, but all good things must come to an end.  However I still have TdF fever and don’t really want to stop talking about it just yet.

I had the experience of a lifetime at my first TdF.  I wouldn’t have changed a thing.  I decided early on that it would be crazy to drag my wife around to every single stage trying to catch a glimpse of the race going by.  It’s logistically challenging to see a decisive mountain top section or the finish of the stage.  Thousands of others are doing the same thing and were much more committed than I was.  I was riding the Col du Tourmalet four days before the race arrived and there were hundreds of campervans already parked on the mountain.  It felt like it was me and Contador in the breakaway with thousands of fans cheering me on!

The way that Mrs CT and I decided to see the Tour was to place ourselves in Morzine (the Alps) to see the finish of stage 8, lurk around for the rest day and go for rides with the PROs,  then see the start of stage 9.  This worked out perfectly since we could stay in one spot and get to see a significant amount of action.  We then made a roadtrip to the Pyrenees while getting in some awesome riding, exploring some medieval villages, all while cultured ourselves with heaps of French “gastronomy” as they like to call it.

I was always a fan of the Alps when watching the TdF on television, but after arriving to the Pyrenees I was blown away at how stunning this region was.  We could have spent the whole month there.  We stayed in this small village called Bonnefont. You’d struggle to even find it on a Micheline map, but it’s perfectly situated to watch all the stages in the Pyrenees (a short drive or a solid ride away).  Years ago couple keen Melbourne cyclists named Ian and his wife Denis renovated this beautiful French home in Bonnefont and created a B&B called La Joie de Vivre.  They’ve since sold it and moved back to Melbourne but we were lucky to get the details of the new owners, Liz and Rob.  The access to phenomenal riding and the Tour stages was perfect.  Staying with Liz and Rob was like going home to Ma and Pa.  The food was divine and they seamlessly included us with the other guests and their friends.  We felt like family after the first day with them. It would be a crime for me to keep this all to myself and not share this place with you.  I can’t tell you how good of a time we had staying with them.  If you’re looking for a quiet getaway just outside of the Pyrenees with some of the best food, riding and company in the region, this is a place worth considering.  We’ve already reserved our room back there for next year!

Obviously there are multiple ways you could see the Tour de France.  There are two ways in particular that I saw people experiencing the Tour that I’d love to try someday:

1. The only way I’d ever attempt to chase the race around France is by joining an organized tour.  Doing it this way is more expensive than doing it on your own, but their knowledge of the local roads, the itinerary, the hotels, and the transfers would pay for itself in a heartbeat.   I underestimated how organized you have to be in order to see a stage is in a good spot.  The challenge is half the fun of the experience, however it can be a big waste of time if you’re only there for a couple weeks.  Having a tour company who will get you to the right place at the right time without getting lost and stressing about accommodation would be well worth the extra money.  Top Bike Tours and Phil Anderson Tours are two Australian operators I saw a lot of while I was over there.   I had the chance to ride up to Avoriaz with Uncle Phil (one of the highlights of my trip!) and I think it would be an amazing experience going on Tour with him, even for just his stories alone!

2. These Flying Fosters blokes had the right idea and looked like they had an absolute blast.  Eleven mates, two motor-homes, and a twelve day roadtrip hitting the best parts of the Tour de France. These guys rode some of the most epic climbs in the Alps and Pyrenees,  saw some key stages of the Tour, and looked like they had more fun than anyone in France.  It probably cost them dearly after getting a prang in one of the vans and filling up the watertank with diesel fuel, but those will be laughed about in a few weeks time. I bumped into them on Mt Ventoux (what are the chances??) and was secretly wishing I was in their caravan for a few days.

I don’t think anything can accurately describe the feeling of what it’s like watching a stage of the Tour de France in person. It’s absolutely thrilling.  All my life I’ve been watching the Tour de France on television but being there in person completely immerses you in the energy of the crowd, the festivities, and the history surrounding the Tour.  The advertising caravan before the race arrives, the sounds of the television helicopters as the peloton approaches, the sirens of the Gendarmerie’s motorcycles to clear a path in the crowd, the horns of the team cars, the French announcer on the loudspeakers, then the race itself!  There’s no other sporting event that even comes close to creating this type of atmosphere, excitement and raw energy.  I’ve never seen so little of the Tour de France than I did this past month, but at the same time I’ve never been so engaged and wrapped up in it.

Seeing as I’ve only been to the TdF once now I’m far from being qualified from giving much helpful advice, but my mate Tim has some great material over at TdFTips that’ll help you with your planning when you go over to France next year (you HAVE to go!).

This experience has made me even more keen to make the trip to the Giro and the Vuelta.  These Tours have a flavor of their own and would provide a completely different experience.  So much to do, not enough money or time…

Now, let the post-tour crit circus begin!

A few weeks ago Alejandro Valverde agreed to an interview where the questions were asked by you, the readers of Cycling Tips.   As you all know, Alejandro is under a two year suspension for his involvement in Operación Puerto. He has contested the decision, is fighting to prove he’s innocent, and has announced that he is launching a lawsuit against CONI’s anti-doping prosecutor Ettore Torri .

Thank you to Jarrod Partridge (from Cycling Tribe) for conducting this interview.  Alejandro’s English is limited so this had to be translated.  It’s difficult to dig too deep and have a good dialogue under these circumstances, but I’m pleased with Alejandro’s openness with us.

If you have any follow-up questions for Alejandro please feel free to post them in the comments section under the post.  I’ll do my best to invite him over here to clarify.

CT. As a rider I love the adrenaline rush I get when competing, especially in the closing kilometre of a road race. Your stage 1 victory of the 2008 Tour De France from Brest to Plumelec is still one of my all time favorite stage finishes to watch. Did you ever think coming into the final bend with 300m to go that Kim Kirchen had stolen the victory? -Pete

AV. This is indeed one of the most beautiful victories of my career. Also because it gave me the opportunity to wear the yellow jersey. I was feeling very well that day and I knew the final by heart. I knew where I had to attack and also that Kirchen did it too early.

CT. When did you first realise you had what it took to be a pro? You hear stories of top Pro riders as juniors and young seniors dominating at domestic level on barely any training. I think it’s largely mythology and urban legend, but I’m interested to know what that realisation feels like, and how it comes for a world class pro. Stories of creaming your local chain gang on a rusty old bike, age 13, would be great! -On_the_rivet

AV. I have always been attracted by sport. I started doing athletics at school but because my father and my uncle were real cycling fans who rode their bike each week-end (my father competed with the amateurs) I decided to imitate them and went with them on their rides.

I started competing myself when I was 9 years old. I finished at the second place in the first race I took part in and won the second one. From that day I never stopped winning races. I knew I wanted to become a professional rider but of course I also knew it was a long way before making my dream come true.

CT. Describe Neil Stephens’ influence on the Caisse D’Epargne team. -Psychlist

AV. Neil is a great director, a very experienced one. He is very organized and professional. That is very important to direct a team. He was a rider himself so he also knows what you think, how you feel. He is very human and that is also important to motivate the riders.

CT. Your positioning and setup on the bike has always looked ‘perfect’. How did you get your positioning to look so textbook? -Pete

AV. I don’t know if it is perfect but I worked a lot to make it as perfect as possible. It is true that I feel very well on my bike but I am also very perfectionist and try to improve my position all the time most of all in the time trials.

CT. I’d like to ask about timing of attacks. You’re similar to Rebellin, in my opinion, in that he’d usually only make one attack, but make it stick. What goes through your mind when making an attack – how do you choose the time? Is it just gut feeling, or is it an analysis of the strength of the opposition, wind, distance to finish, parcours. Do you plan attacks in advance on the road? -Bob

AV. There is of course a good part of feeling the race in it but it is also important to study all the other elements. I like to look at my adversaries to check how fresh they are. Of course I also study the route in advance. It is very important to know how and when you should attack but as I told you most of the time it is a question of feeling: I just know this is the right moment to attack.

CT. How do you train to have such great climbing ability and aerobic capabilities, yet still have such a fast finishing kick? -Alex_26

AV. I am very fortunate because I don’t have to train too much to be in good shape. I am not a pure climber but I can manage with most of the difficult climbs. I use to train a lot in altitude in Sierra Nevada. That is very important most of all in order to prepare a three weeks race. It is true that I am also very fast. At the beginning of my career I was also very fast in massive sprint but becoming older and now with three children I prefer not to take too many risks any more in bunch sprint.

CT. If the two year ban remains, how do you see yourself becoming a better bike racer when you can’t race? How do you think it affects your potential to be a Tour De France contender? -Nick D’Ambrosio

AV. I keep on training every day exactly the same way I did when I could race. I also have exactly the same way of living; I keep on caring about what I eat. In fact my life is exactly the same it was before the ban except the fact that I don’t compete. So I expect I will need only a few races to find the competition rhythm again.

CT. How do you see your case as being different to Basso, i.e. someone who has never failed a test but has been linked to an “intention to dope”? -Notso Swift

AV. Each situation is different and the one case has nothing to do with the other one but I am not there to judge the others. My case has nothing to do with Basso’s one. I am innocent and I will fight till the end to prove it.

CT. What are your thoughts on riders releasing all their values? (blood results, VO2 max, power outputs etc). Surely if a rider has nothing to hide he would freely present his figures and have nothing to worry about. This would strengthen/repair the bond between pro riders and their fans who surely deserve transparency. -Andy, BikePure

AV. I believe everybody is free to do what he wants to with his values even to publish them in the medias if likes to. Anyway I believe it should be sufficient the UCI to know those values. I believe it would be better for cycling and young riders to read about cycling and sporting achievements rather than to read about blood values. Anyway I have nothing to hide and if that is what interests people, why not.

CT. I want to believe you but I don’t understand how you can be innocent if your DNA is linked? Please explain. -Hollywood

AV. My DNA was taken for a reason and used for another one in rather strange circumstances. When I proposed to give my DNA so that it is analysed in a neutral laboratory in Switzerland, the CONI refused that. What else can I say? I believe it is very clear.

editor: further clarification with Alejandro on this point:

“When the ‘trial’ took place in the CAS, Alejandro requested to have the possibility to give his DNA so that it was analyzed in a neutral laboratory in Switzerland under control of the UCI and tha AMA. The Italian CONI denied this right to Alejandro. The CONI used the DNA it took in the Tour de France 2008 within the framework of a normal antidoping control to the team in the hotel when the race came through Italy. They analyzed it by themselves in Italy. To us of course it seems very strange that they did not accept a neutral analyze of Alejandro’s DNA to be done in a neutral laboratory. ”

CT. Do you think Operation Puerto has made cycling cleaner, or just made the cheaters smarter? -GrahamWKidd

AV. It is a difficult question to answer. What I know is that controls are each time more numerous and more specific but I don’t know if they are linked to the Operation Puerto.

CT. What measures would you recommend the various anti-doping authorities should enact to catch cheats? -Mark

AV. I believe the anti-doping authorities know exactly what they have to do and how they have to enact. They developed many new measures like the biological passport for example and I believe they have already results thanks to that.

CT. What is your view on the criminalization of doping worldwide? Would this provide enough of a deterrent? -Alexroseinnes

AV. It is important to deal with that problem but unfortunately I don’t have the key. I believe we have to trust the authorities which are in charge of that problem.

CT. The public view of cycling and doping has changed greatly over the last 12 years. This seems to have now affected the attitude of the whole peloton. Do you feel you are stuck between the OLD way, and the NEW way? How has your attitude toward doping changed in the last 12 months given what you have been through? -James Foran

AV. I don’t know exactly. Of course things have changed over the last 12 years. Everything is changing through the years but I turned a professional rider only 8 years ago so I don’t know how things were 12 years ago. My attitude is the same as it has always been. I am innocent and clean. All the controls I did the last years prove that and I will fight till the end to prove that to everybody.

CT. Alejandro, what keeps you motivated during the tough times, i.e. the last 12 months? -Toneredd

AV. Cycling is all my life. I really adore my sport. I cannot imagine myself without riding my bike. Of course sometimes it was not easy to go for hard training sessions because I had the impression I had a weight of 20 kilos behind me but once I was on my bike I just forgot about everything else.

CT. How can cycling deal with the problem of doping? Are you in favour of lifetime bans? -Specialist

AV. I believe each situation must be analysed separately but anyway there are anti-doping authorities in charge of that problem and we have to trust them and leave them do their job.

CT. Does it frustrate you that without real knowledge or Pro Cycling and evidence that would stand up in a criminal court, people point their righteous finger at you as the “bad guy” but don’t stop to mention that you are a victim of violations to your rights and privacy as a person? -PeterT

AV. Of course. What would you think if you were condemned for something when you know you are innocent and that there are absolutely no proofs against you?

CT. I can close my eyes and feel the sensation of being alive and free that comes with simply riding down the road on my bike, alone or otherwise. Could you please share something of what the feeling of simply riding a bike is for you  -Simon Cadzow

AV. I understand your feelings pretty well because I feel exactly the same when I ride my bike. When I am pedaling I forget about everything else. Nothing exists but that wonderful feeling.

CT. Alejandro, thank you for your time and openness in answering these questions.  All the best in your court case and getting back to competition.

I hope this spoiler didn’t come as a surprise to anyone

I always feel so empty the morning after the Tour de France finishes.  Tired, used and beaten up. This year is worst than most.  After being there in amongst it all and understanding what the hype is all about I’ve become even more of a cycling fan than I already was.  It was already a dream come true getting to go to the Tour this year and even if it never happens again my life will still be complete!


The scandalous part of last night’s final stage that got everybody talking was Radioshack’s jersey change.  I was watching twitter and people were all fired up over the race officials making them change back from their “28″ branded jerseys.  I was thinking it was a stupid as well, but after considering it I thought the officials made the right call.  All of the Radioshack riders originally signed in with their regular jerseys and then switched. This would have been confusing for race officials and the rest of the riders.

This isn’t the first time that Lance’s teams have done this.  In 2003 after Lance won his fifth TdF, his USPS team wore a special jersey with the old U.S. Mail logo from the 1970s marking the centennial of the race. Also, in 2005 when Lance won his seventh victory, his Discovery Channel team wore a slightly different jersey featuring seven yellow stars.  The ASO didn’t make them switch their jerseys back then, but the main difference was that Lance had won the Tour in both occasions and they probably signed in with those jerseys (I made up the latter fact. Not sure if it’s true).

Lance isn’t stupid.  The guy is a marketing machine.  Of course he knew that the officials would not allow Radioshack to wear those jerseys after signing in with the other ones.  As much as I dislike many of the ambiguous and senseless rules that the UCI makes, these ones are fairly clear.  They do bend the rules from time to time as we’ve seen, but this final stage is about the yellow and green jerseys, not Radioshack and Livestrong’s day for self promotion.

The rules state:

1.3.035 Each team may have only a single design for clothing (colours and layout) which may not be altered for the duration of the calendar year.

1.3.028 “Save in cases expressly provided for in The Regulations, no distinctive jersey may be awarded or worn.”

It was a big publicity trick that got the jerseys talked about a thousand more times than if they didn’t have to change them.  Just watch them sell like hotcakes.

What did you think of the 2010 Tour de France? Exciting? Boring?  Personally, I think it was probably the cleanest Tour we’ve ever seen. I think it was reflected in the racing and the lack of “superhuman” performances we saw (except for Jens chasing back onto the groupetto after crashing at 70km/hr!).  Most of the drama came from crashes and misfortunes of riders instead of dominating attacks in the mountains.  I don’t think we’ve ever seen so many crashes and battered riders.  Stage 2 in Brussels, Stage 3 on the cobbles, Stage 4 on the descent of the Stockeu, Cadel, Gerro, Hansen Jens…the list goes on and on.  Of the 197 men who started the TdF, 170 finished.  27 riders abandoned due to crashes, illness or disqualification.  Usually there’s a couple positive doping test during the Tour which creates it’s own dramas, but there were none that I heard of this year (except for Xavier Florencio who failed Cervelo’s internal test for ephidrine in his saddle cream before the race even started. WTF?)

Thank you for your participation in the TdF trivia competitions, you comments and opinions and for simply stopping by.  It’s been a joy writing about the TdF nearly every day and your visits and interaction makes it well worth it.  I have lots of little things that I’ve stored away from my trip to Switzerland and France throughout the last month that I’m looking forward to sharing over the coming weeks.  Viva la Tour!

Could you think of a better backdrop for the final stage of the TdF?

Lance will be in retirement v2.0 now, but I think we'll be hearing lots more of him in the coming months.

Even though the last stage of the TdF is largely cerimonial, these guys know how to put on a show once they hit the Champs-Elysees

Even though it looks close, Cav is two bike lengths ahead

In the past three weeks we went from saying that Cav is washed to him winning five stages. There's no doubt he's still the fastest sprinter on the planet

Contador's five Grand Tours will undoubtedly put him in the history books with the best

Love him or hate him, you gotta love him!

Nobody cares about the Teams Classification, but it was one last attention grab for the outlawed #28 jerseys

The four jersey winners, Schleck, Contadore, Petacchi and Charteau

You're a fairly cool cat until you do the fingerbang Alberto!

TdF Trivia Prizes

The Stage 16 CyclingTips kit prize presented by Wattbike worth $350 goes to ***RohanS***. Congratulations!  Please get in touch with me and provide sizing and shipping info. (cyclingtips at gmail dot com)

The Stage 17 prize presented by Apres Velo cycling apparel worth $250 goes to ***MarkR***.. Congratulations!  Please get in touch with me and provide sizing and shipping info. (cyclingtips at gmail dot com). Also, if you want to buy any Apres Velo clothing on their website, enter the code “cyclingtips” at checkout and you’ll receive a 20% discount.

Thank you to all the sponsors for their generous support of Cycling Tips and for giving away these fantastic prizes.  Be sure to check out their TdF specials and other offers below.

Wattbike – Long time supporter of Cycling Tips.  If you want a way to improve your cycling this winter on one of the best indoor ergos on the market, check them out. Also, thank you for giving away over $1000 of Cycling Tips kits throughout the past three weeks.

BMC – In the very near future I’ll be doing a post on their 2011 product line and their new flagship bike, the Impec.  BMC is the brought me to Europe and gave me the experience of a lifetime.  They also contributed some fantastic TdF prizes including a BMC team kit and messenger bag.

<C-4> Bicycle Components: Check out the new wheels and hubs they’re importing into Australia. Product review for their CA3.0 wheels can be found here.  Thanks to C-4 for providing the titanium skewers as trivia prizes.

Bike Force Docklands: A keen supporter of Cycling Tips and they have prices that can actually compete with the online bikeshops.  Thanks for Bikeforce for their accessory pack giveaways during the TdF.

Cycling Edge: Long time supporter of Cycling Tips and top shelf products.  Moots, Independent Fabrication, Parlee, Edge Composite and Topolino Wheels.  Head on over to South Melbourne and check them out – even if it’s just to dream!

Avanti Plus: Click here to find out more about their Tour de France promotions and deals.

Scott: Enter to win a Scott Addict R3 road bike valued at $3500.

Ride the Worlds: A once in a lifetime opportunity to ride the same closed course as the PROs will be racing on for the 2010 UCI World Championships in Geelong.  Thanks to them for giving away some free entries to this event.

I’ve arrived safely back here in Melbourne and it seems like a lifetime ago that I was riding the exact same roads as the stage that just took place.  I was able to see the first 50km of the race from Singapore airport but the rest of the details are a mystery to me.  From what I read we didn’t see the fireworks we were hoping for between Contador and Schleck on the Col du Tourmalet.  Nonetheless, after riding it twice myself  over the past week I would have loved to have seen the stage.

As always, here are a few Sirotti photos of the action that took place and a quiz below.  Have a great weekend and enjoy catching up on your sleep!

As miserable as the weather looked up the Col, I would have loved to have been there!

All Contador had to do was follow Schleck to keep his lead. I wanted fireworks!

Good ol' Canucklehead Hesjedal climbs to 4th on the stage and 8th on GC

Klöden suffering up the Tourmolet and placing 13th

Matty Lloyd!

Schleck takes the stage win but needs more than 8 seconds on Contador in the final ITT. Not gonna happen...

The French have had a successful Tour this year. Anthony Charteau secures the polka dot jersey.

Paulinho and Levi coming in 42nd and 43rd

Poor Cav. He looks absolutely spent. Will we see another stage win out of him? I certainly think so!

Does anyone have any doubt that Contador will take the overall?

Schleck looks a lot more chipper on the podium than he did after Stage 15

"Just managed to put away a couple of coffees in Luz St Sauveur before the rain hit . Will make for an interesting finish up Tourmalet!!!!" - July 22, Andrew Gent

TdF Daily Quiz

Today’s prize is presented by Apres Velo cycling apparel.   A Men’s prize pack worth $250 that includes a zip jacket hoodie, Life Spent Behind Bars T-shirt, True Religion fitted t-shirt, socks, drink bottle and coffee mug.  Click image for larger detail.  All you gotta do to enter to win is answer the TdF quiz questions or give me a comment about last night’s stage. Also, if you want to buy any Apres Velo clothing on their website, enter the code “cyclingtips” at checkout and you’ll receive a 20% discount.

1. How many times has the Col du Tormalet been featured in the Tour de France?

A. 41 times

B. 68 times

C. 80 times

2. Previous to this year, how many times has the Tour de France finished atop the Tourmalet? Hint: answer on page 256 of the RIDE TdF Guide

A. 18

B. 12

C. once

3. In which year did Lance Armstrong win a stage that featured the Col de Tourmalet?

A. 1999

B. 2001

C. 2002

Bonus. What was my time up the Col de Tourmalet in last week’s L’Etape du Tour?  Hint: result can be found here.

A.01:48:07

B. 02:00:11

C. 02:07:03

—————————————————

This Ad Free post brought to you by:

Wattbike – Long time supporter of Cycling Tips.  If you want a way to improve your cycling on one of the best indoor ergos on the market, check them out. You won’t be disappointed.

BMC – In the very near future I’ll be doing a post on their 2011 product line and their new flagship bike, the Impec.  BMC is the whole reason I’m here in Europe at the moment and I cannot thank them enough.

<C-4> Bicycle Components: Check out the new wheels and hubs they’re importing into Australia. Product review for their CA3.0 wheels can be found here.

Bike Force Docklands: Keep an eye out for their weekly Tour de France promotional offers.  This week is 20% off all bikes!

Cycling Edge: Long time supporter of Cycling Tips and top shelf products.  Moots, Independent Fabrication, Parlee, Edge Composite and Topolino Wheels.  Head on over to South Melbourne and check them out – even if it’s just to dream!

Avanti Plus: Click here to find out more about their Tour de France promotions and deals.

Scott: Enter to win a Scott Addict R3 road bike valued at $3500.

Ride the Worlds: A once in a lifetime opportunity to ride the same closed course as the PROs will be racing on for the 2010 UCI World Championships in Geelong.

Photo by Robin Wilmott

Jens, you are as hard as they come.  You chase back onto the groupetto using kids bike with toe clips after crashing at 70km/hr.  What else would you do?  Chapeau you bloody legend.

From Bicycling.com:

I came over the top only 20 seconds down on the front group, but about 2 kilometers into the descent my front tire blew and I thought, “Oh God,” and I went down. Just one year after my horrible crash, and there I was tumbling on another mountain descent. And let me tell you, about the only place that feels good right now is my right ankle. The rest of me is all road rash. Plus I’ve got five stitches in my left elbow and then there are some ribs that are not in the right place! I may have to get x-rays, but I hate x-rays (the radiation), and plus, if I’ve got a fractured rib, what can anyone do about it?

The worst thing of all was that I almost got forced out of the Tour for a second year in a row. The problem was that the first team car was behind Andy Schleck, and the second had decided to go up ahead to hand out water bottles at the foot of the next climb. As a result I had no bike, because mine was shattered.

So then the broom wagon pulled up and was like, “Do you want to just get in?” And I said, “Oh no, I don’t need YOU!” But there I am with blood spurting out my left elbow and no bike. Finally, the race organizers got me a bike, but it was this little yellow junior bike. It was way too small for me and even had old-fashioned toe-clip pedals. But that is the only way I could get down the mountain, so I had to ride it for like 15-20 kilometers until I finally got to a team car with my bike.

Then, I still had to get up to the grupetto. All I can say is that that desperate times need desperate measures, but I got up there. And once I did it was grupetto all day long.

Needless to say, I had plenty of time to come up with a fitting book of the day. It’s from the Disk World series by Terry Pratchett. In it, the protagonist is Conan the Barbarian, who is a 70-year-old who has just survived everything. At one point he, and his other old warrior friends capture this village, but then they find that they are surrounded by an army of tens of thousands, and his only reaction is, “Oh man, it’s going to take days to kill all these people!” And that’s the way I was today when I was lying on the ground. I just thought, “Oh no, I’m going to Paris this year, I’m going to Paris. There’s just no way you are going to get me out of this race for the second year in a row!”

Also, Bicycling.com just informed me that editor-at-large Bill Strickland will be having a live chat about his thoughts on the TdF 10-11 a.m. EST. If you’ve ever heard his speak you’ll know that it should be very insightful.

More Random Jens Voigt Facts here.

Shut Up Legs

I have a few small and medium sizes of SHUT UP LEGS t-shirts sitting at home.  I’ll check on the exact quantities when I get back to Aus.

I’ve had dozens of emails asking about them since Matt Keenan mentioned them on SBS the other night during the TdF coverage.  If I can get a minimum order together I should be able to order some more.  I’ll keep you posted!

UPDATE:

Another t-shirt idea a reader came up with and sent me today. LMAO!

I’m sad to say that this is our last day in France for the 2010 Tour.  I’m usually ready to go home after a month of being away, but this has gone by so fast and we’re just getting settled into one of the most beautiful places in the world  – the Pyrenees.

We had intended to climb up the Tourmalet to watch today’s stage but the logistics proved to be too difficult. Or should I say, the 35km climb from where we are staying proved to be too difficult!  In any case, we planted ourselves in a small town at the base of the Tourmalet to take part in the festivities and watch the riders come through.   We still had a fantastic time and managed to get a good ride in as well.  What more could we ask for?

I have to say, there was a part of me hoping that Lance would pull off the stage win today.  When I think back over the years he’s given me some exhilarating moments while watching the Tour.  Sure there is a big elephant in the room with the allegations against him, but that doesn’t take those moments away from me.  It would have been nice to see him leave the sport gracefully.  He’s a completely different rider than he was a year ago and it’s hard to say why there’s such a drastic difference. My guess is there is some heavy stuff going on in the background with the whole Landis affair that’s taking up a lot of his energy. I think we’ve only seen the beginning…

It’s been a hell of a month here in Switzerland and France and I have BMC to thank for bringing me here.  I also have all the other Cycling Tips sponsors to thank just as much because they have helped pay for my hotels, food, transport, etc.  It’s been a dream come true being able to do the Passportes du Soleil, watch the TdF in person, and ride L’Etape du Tour. Most of all, thank you to everyone who comes to read CT every day. The comments, opinions and interaction is what makes it so interesting to read.

I’ll be offline for the next couple of days while I travel back to Australia.  In the mean time I put up a twitter feed of all the TdF riders in the right column of the page (better late than never).

I can’t wait to get back to riding in the wind and cold and staying up until 1am watching the rest of the TdF!  ;-)

McEwen was miles behind the groupetto at the base of the Tourmalet.  He was riding in last place all alone. I have no idea how he climbed back up to 90th place at only 35mins down on the stage.  He tweeted “What a day.rode 3hrs over 1st 3 mtns alone chasing grupetto.2nd half of stage simple in comparison.Aussie steel- bends but doesn’t break ;)”

Can anyone spot Mrs CT in this photo?

Cycling can be a strange sport sometimes due to the unwritten rules of etiquette.   In stage 2 from Brussels to Spa we saw some nasty crashes that brought down half the peloton on some dangerous roads where the cyclists themselves decided to neutralize the race.  The very next day we saw similar carnage over the cobbles where the riders took advantage of the splits and misfortune that occurred.  The different circumstances in each stage were subtle but to anyone who knows the sport of cycling it’s obvious what is appropriate for each situation.

Last night we saw another rule of etiquette broken – Alberto Contador attacking Andy Schleck while dealing with a mechanical.  Schleck attacked, popped it into the big ring, and dropped his chain.  Contador, most likely under DS direction (they have satellite TV in the team cars and knew exactly what was happening), attacked Schleck to gain enough time to claim the yellow jersey.  I couldn’t believe my eyes when I saw what was happening.

However, after watching the stage replay it was perhaps not as simple as that.  Contador was faced with a difficult decision.  Sanchez and Menchov were smashing it and Contador couldn’t afford to yield and wait for Schleck.  What would Sanchez and Menchov have done if Contador held up and waited?  No one could know.

We’ve seen many examples of riders yielding for others in race deciding moments.  Armstrong waiting for Ulrich on stage in 2001.  Hamilton rallying for Ulrich and the others to wait for Armstrong in 2003 when he crashed after getting hooked up on a fan’s bag.   Those are a couple in recent history.

There’s no doubt that Contador is more than capable in being the race leader, but does he really want to acquire yellow in this fashion? In my eyes Contador is as classy as they come. I would have loved to have seen him take over the lead by a one-on-one battle up the Col du Tourmolet or in the final ITT. Did he really have a choice in the heat of the moment? All I know is that I can’t wait to be watching on the Tourmolet tomorrow!

What are your thoughts?

An emotional moment as Laurent Fignon and Bernard Hinault stand on the podium

TdF Daily Quiz

The Stage 9 Wattbike CyclingTips kit TdF trivia prize goes to ***BruHaHa***.  Congratulations!  Please get in touch with me and provide sizing and shipping info. (cyclingtips at gmail dot com)

Today’s Quiz

Today’s quiz prize is brought to you by <C-4> Bicycle Components.  They will be giving away one set of titanium skewers (weighing only 54.5g for the pair) to anyone in Australia who can answer these trivia questions or give some insight/opinion to today’s controversial stage.

1. Who has won the TDF white jersey more times, Andy Schleck or Alberto Contador?

2. Another unwritten rule of racing in the Tour is that riders not attack in…?

A. Their underpants.
B. The first 5 km’s.
C. The feedzone

3. What happens to the final lap of the last stage on the Champs Elysees in Paris if it is wet?

A. The race is neutralised.
B. Nothing, riders just crash a lot.
C. The winner is awarded at the start of the final lap instead.

4. True or False – If a rider leads two classifications, he can choose the jersey he wants to wear.

Yesterday I did one of the most spectacular events of my entire life – L’Etape du Tour.  I’m absolutely spent as I write this but I’ll do my best to capture what it’s all about.

Every year the ASO holds an event that lets you and up to 10,000 other keen cyclists complete a stage of the TdF on closed roads.  This year it was Stage 17, Pau to le Col du Tourmalet.  181km and 3 massive mountain passes to be conquered.  Some people race it, most people are out to challenge themselves to simply complete the grueling stage.  It’s no easy feat and gives you a glimpse of what the athletes of the Tour de France put themselves through for 21 stages.  It’s truly remarkable.

Many people I spoke to began their day by waking up at 4am to make it to the start line for a 7am departure.  I was number 4684 so it was in my best interest to get into the starting pen as early as possible since there was no order as long as you got in the proper staging area.

When the start gun went off there were about 4500 other cyclists that needed to get rolling before I even clipped in.  I was surprised that it only took about 15 minutes before I began riding.   I told myself that I wouldn’t try to smash the whole course.  I just wanted to doddle along, take photos, meet some people, enjoy the scenery and understand what this event was all about.   However, the energy, the excitement and the buzz of having 10,000 other cyclists surrounding you couldn’t hold me back.  I was going as hard as I could politely yelling “Attention, a la gauche!”

I had a few Aussie mates up in the 2000’s and my primary goal was to catch them and then sit in.  Not much different than a typical handicap race.  I’d catch onto the swarms of riders racing past me and hop from one to the next.  The Aussies were well ahead of me and it took me until the sumit of the first climb, Col de Marie-Blanque, to catch them (actually, they were waiting for me at the top, but that’s not as good of a story).  Col de Marie-Blanque is a difficult, narrow, never ending, steep climb where hundreds of riders were forced to walk.  We’ll be sure to witness some good action in a few days when the TdF riders make their ascent.

The descent down the Col de Marie-Blanque was phenominal.  Closed roads, banked switchbacks, newly paved bitchuman.  Every cyclist’s dream!  We saw some nasty crashes though.  There were riders flying past us who were clearly out of their comfort level and paid the price.

After some beautiful rolling terrain we came to le Col du Soulor.  This is a much less demanding climb of only 6-7% but still about 15km long.  The scenery took your mind off the heat and the fatigue.

By the time we got to the Col du Tourmalet many riders were beginning to crack.  It was extremely hot, over 150km and 3000m of climbing to this point.  More than enough to give most people a good lashing.  It was easy to think that there was only one more climb left and trick yourself into thinking it was managable, however that would be severely underestimating the Col du Tourmalet.  This was one of the hardest climbs I’ve ever done – especially with all the climbing behind us that day.  Before the signs that say you’re on the Col du Tourmalet, there’s a heavy slog of a climb approaching the mountain.  At this point the road was littered with spent riders laying in the shade.  Fortunately thousands of spectators lined the roads with freezing cold melt-off water dumping it over us as we rode by.  I’m absolutely gutted that my photos (below) didn’t turn out because of this, but hopefully it gives it the “mood” of the race.  If you squint really hard the pics should become nice and sharp.

I just read in the newspaper this morning that 3000 people didn’t finish yesterday’s L’Etape.  Anyone with enough training and willpower can do this, however it’s not to be taken lightly.  Nearly all of the cyclists I saw were more than competent. There were no mountain bikes, kids, or gorilla costumes in the line-up.  I think anyone who took part deserves a big pat on the back.  If you ever get a chance, don’t hesitate to take the time and the trouble to give it a go. You’ll never regret it.

I wouldn’t have experienced one of the most spectacular cycling days of my life without the help of BMC to get me an entry.  I cannot express my thanks to them enough for this.  The one challenge of many to L’Etape is that people who don’t have a French mailing address need to go through an agent to get an entry.  In Australia, the only agent I’m aware of who can get you an entry is Bike Style Tours.  It’s $450 AUD, but that’s on par with everyone else I’ve asked from other countries.  Expensive yes…but more than worth it for this experience of a lifetime.

Tim from TdFTips has some excellent advice for riding L’Etape as well as making your way around the rest of the Tour.  Tim was there riding his second L’Etape yesterday and I finished along his side.  Click here to read Tim’s experience of the 2010 L’Etape. His photos turned out much better than mine! Be sure to check out his website if you’re planning a trip to the Tour. It’s definitely helped me in my last minute preperations.

If you stay up late to see one stage of the TdF this year, don’t miss stage 17.  I can tell you first-hand how magnificant this stage is and I can guaratee we’ll be seeing some spectacular racing by the PROs up these three mountain passes!

I’m off to catch stage 15 today, but here are some photos of yesterday’s L’Etape du Tour.  I’ll caption them later when I get a chance. Enjoy!

The start of the climb up the Col du Soulor

This is what I rode on for over 100km.  Mavic neutral support came to the rescue just before the ascent to the Col du Tourmolet and made the situation manageable.  There was no way that my day was going to be ruined!

Just before the ascent up the Col du Tourmalet

I’m sure most of you have seen thousands of photos and video of Mont Ventoux and feel as though you’ve ridden it yourself.  In any case, I thought I’d share a few more with you after my ride up there today with a ripper of a headache (I have to thank Mrs CT for stepping up to the plate and filling in for me after my Bastille Day celebrations last night).

In case you haven’t heard, it’s HOT here in South Eastern France right now.  The mercury went up to 40C yesterday and 35C today.  The top of Mont Ventoux was a sensational 24C with light winds.  The winds can sometimes get extremely bad up there so I was very lucky to get such a good day for the ascent.

Mont Ventoux has had some fascinating bike racing history laid out on its roads.  I remember the last time I was here I saw “Pantani” painted everywhere from his last victory on the mountain.  Coincidentally, the last time I cycled this road was the day he tragically passed away.

As much at this climb is built up to be extremely difficult by the legends that live on it, it’s got nothin’ on Mt Hotham (a nasty climb in the Australian Alpine region).  According to my GPS Mont Ventoux never gets over 10%.  In fact, it’s much the same as riding Mt Hotham.  Moderate at the start, nice false flat to recover on in the middle, and then kicks up again at the end.  However, Mt Hotham gets much steeper, harder to get a rhythm, and is longer.

Here are a few photos of the ride. It’s absolutely spectacular. Hopefully these give you a sense of what it’s like. Enjoy!

The village of Sault is where I started the climb up Mont Ventoux. This is the beginning of the ride coming out of Sault

Lavender fields everywhere at the beginning of the ascent. You can smell it for miles!

This is where it starts getting up to 10% and more difficult after 45mins of climbing

The landscape starts getting more barron and the road gets steeper

Look who I bumped into! The whole Hampton Cycles Aussie crew were out on Ventoux. What are the chances?

Still 3km from the top

Check out these guys' TdF adventures at http://fostersflyingtours.blogspot.com/

C'est Moi

Shut up legs!

The Tom Simpson Memorial

Lots of little momentos that people have left

click here for ride data (no powermeter used and lots of stopping for photos…)

This Ad Free post brought to you by:

Wattbike – Long time supporter of Cycling Tips.  If you want a way to improve your cycling on one of the best indoor ergos on the market, check them out. You won’t be disappointed.

BMC – In the very near future I’ll be doing a post on their 2011 product line and their new flagship bike, the Impec.  BMC is the whole reason I’m here in Europe at the moment and I cannot thank them enough.

<C-4> Bicycle Components: Check out the new wheels and hubs they’re importing into Australia. Product review for their CA3.0 wheels can be found here.

Bike Force Docklands: Keep an eye out for their weekly Tour de France promotional offers.  This week is 30%-50% off all clothing!

Cycling Edge: Long time supporters of Cycling Tips and top shelf products.  Moots, Independent Fabrication, Parlee, Edge Composite and Topolino Wheels.

Avanti Plus: Click here to find out more about their Tour de France promotions and deals.

Scott: Enter to win a Scott Addict R3 road bike valued at $3500.

Ride the Worlds: A once in a lifetime opportunity to ride the same closed course as the PROs will be racing on for the 2010 UCI World Championships in Geelong.

Hi folks, Mrs. CT here.  Wade and I have been out all evening celebrating Bastille day with our new local friends.  I’ve never heard his French so fluent after a few glasses of red!  However, he is now passed out face down in bed so I thought I’d hijack the blog tonight since someone has to hold up the ship.

Here’s what we caught of the Tour today after we checked into the hotel and had a cold one by the pool:

A few guys were well ahead of the main peloton. I didn’t recognise anyone in the front bunch although they seemed to be focusing on some guy in a black and red kit with long blonde hair sponsored by some Euro bank.  They all look the same.  Maybe he’s important, not sure?  He only came in second so he must not be very good.  Anyway, isn’t it a given that they’re supposed to let a French guy win on Bastille day?  Everyone in the peloton rode harder on their rest day in Morzine.  I could have ridden faster than them!  Even Wade said it was a boring stage (although for some reason we were still watching it) so I hope you managed to catch up on some sleep last night and save those lates nights for some better action.

Today’s Quiz: Bringing your bike on vacation

(Sorry, no prizes today. I didn’t know what I was allowed to give away. Maybe his bike? ;- )

1) When you ask your partner if it’s ok to bring your bike along on your trip and she says “it’s up to you“, what she really means is:

a) Of course, but its going to cost you twice as much as that bike is worth in shopping purchases
b) Not on your life.  There’s no room for me, you and a bike on our annual vacation
c) It’s up to you, but you know what’s in your best interests if you don’t want to be sleeping on a separate bed with your bike

2) When against better judgement you decide to bring your bike on vacation, what is the best time to go for a ride?

a) After you’ve generously booked your partner an afternoon at the spa
b) On route to a fun filled destination with your partner
c) When your partner is still fast asleep at 5am

3) When driving along a beautiful winding road with incredible scenery on either side of you, the appropriate comment is the following:

a) Wow! This would be an amazing ride. Can you pull over so I can cycle the rest of the way?
b) First chance I get, I’m coming back here with my mates on a vacation of our own
c) No comment. Bite your tongue, smile and pretend you’re having a great time

Happy Bastille day everyone and Wade will be back with updates tomorrow (after he rides Mt Ventoux with a hangover…)