Hip Redux
What?!?
Interestingly enough I found an article about what Olympic sports get caught the most - and ARCHERY and EQUESTRIAN were up there. ??? Boxing, weightlifting, cycling... I get. But archery?
Did they mention what they got caught with? I'm guessing it was something that helps calm the nerves, helps you focus, etc. for archery.
The original article didn't so I googled. You know your doping, Fuzz!
10. Archery and Pistol ShootingUnlike most Olympic sports, huge biceps won’t get you very far in these two events. A steady hand will. That’s why the International Olympic Committee (IOC) has banned beta-blockers for archery, pistol shooting and other sports that require balance—these drugs reduce anxiety, prevent muscle spasms and help shooters steady their hands. The biggest case of beta-blocker abuse to date was revealed after the 2008 Olympics in Beijing, which saw North Korean Kim Jong Su (pictured) stripped of two medals for his use of propranolol.
The original article didn't so I googled. You know your doping, Fuzz! 10. Archery and Pistol ShootingUnlike most Olympic sports, huge biceps won’t get you very far in these two events. A steady hand will. That’s why the International Olympic Committee (IOC) has banned beta-blockers for archery, pistol shooting and other sports that require balance—these drugs reduce anxiety, prevent muscle spasms and help shooters steady their hands. The biggest case of beta-blocker abuse to date was revealed after the 2008 Olympics in Beijing, which saw North Korean Kim Jong Su (pictured) stripped of two medals for his use of propranolol.
More likely that I read something about it in the past and had it in the back of my mind. Makes sense though. I do remember reading articles about college kids taking Ritalin/Adderall to help focus when studying.
Labrat
Froome abandons...
5K 20:23 (Vdot 48.7) 9/9/17
10K 44:06 (Vdot 46.3) 3/11/17
HM 1:33:48 (Vdot 48.6) 11/11/17
FM 4:13:43 (Vdot 35.4) 3/4/18
DAMMIT.
He was looking pretty beat up in yesterday's stage. Ugh.
From an article I just read. Sounds like a really difficult day today.
Froome couldn't stay clear of the crashes over the past two stages. On Tuesday he was involved in a crash in the peloton when a couple of riders around him touched wheels and Froome was the collateral damage, falling hard on his side leading to some road rash and a potential wrist injury.
Then the Hell in the North that is Stage 5 came on Wednesday, which didn't promise to be fun for Froom with injuries and the cobblestone roads awaiting. But Froome never even made it to the cobblestones, instead crashing twice and the second time he didn't get back on his bike.
A very difficult stage was made even tougher on Wednesday as heavy rain hit Belgium and northeast France leading to crash after crash. The rain was so bad that they had to remove two of the nine sections of cobblestone roads from the stage for safety.
Froome was the biggest casualty of those crashes and after some hesitation following his second fall of the day, Froome elected to sit down in the back seat of the team car, not a new bike.
After yesterday's snore of a stage, today was simply marvelous. The cobblestones completely destroyed the unity of the field and Vincenzo Nibili proved that wearing the Yellow Jersey confers superhuman powers on whomever is wearing it. Nibili put over 2:30 on Contador and American Andrew Talansky put 30 seconds on Contador as well. I watched Contador's reaction to Froome's attack on Stage 2 and he didn't look all that strong. I think he's vulnerable. Then again, in the Tour, a rider that's strong now can lose it later and a rider that's struggling now can gain strength as the Tour continues.
Short term goal: 17:59 5K
Mid term goal: 2:54:59 marathon
Long term goal: To say I've been a runner half my life. (I started running at age 45).
Just finished watching today's stage.
Holy crap.
Carnage! I can't say I've ever seen so many riders hit the pavement before. Ouch.
I'm so glad Nibali was able to put time on Contador. Wheeeee!
Caretaker/Overlook Hotel
Yes, horrible (though interesting) day today.
I don't know what to say. I know that when they interviewed Tejay Van Garderen today he was pretty much over it. He took a spill himself, but still pulled in a respectable time in about the 4th or 5th group. His words were that, "..the ASO needs to rethink having stages like this in the tour!" (yikes)
BUT......I can't deny that as "interesting" as the stage was today, it was certainly saddening to see Froome go and the others crash as well. Tejay's biggest point was, how much less interesting the tour will be going forward with a favorite like Froome out.
???
Randy
The biggest problem was the rain - not the cobbles. Unless they neutralize the stage, I can't imagine what the organizers could do about it.
Good point. And, yes, they did say that repeatedly. Froome's crashes started *before* the cobbles and that's not the cobble's fault. I just don't know if it wasn't already in the minds (and bikes) of the riders already because the bikes do get set up differently than they would have for an otherwise smooth course which *may* have influenced some of the handling issues with the rain.
(shrug)
Uffda
I don't watch bike racing outside of the TDF. How common is it for a rider to give up?
- Andrew
It's pretty uncommon for an overall contender to abandon. Beyond that, you'll have about 15% of the riders in the Tour abandon or get timed out in any given year.
It happens in every grand tour, and certainly the TDF has seen it's fair share of abandons - less common with the big names because they are usually protected. Many years it depends on how many crashes there are! lol Sometimes a rider will get sick, as well, and will have to abandon though that is less common.
And then as LTH mentioned, once the race hits the mountains, people at the back can get pulled for not hitting the time cut off.
According to today's broadcast, there have only be 3 defending champions that have pulled out of the TdF.