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Old 07-15-2021, 09:34 AM   #21
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One thing I've noted while watching coverage is how often the commentators use the word "suffering" to describe riders. Seems more common for cycling than for other sports.
A former roommate of mine was a pretty serious cyclist (Cat 2 racer). He always used to say that the whole point of cycling was to make others suffer. Home training rooms for cyclists are often called "pain caves" and long rides "sufferfests" so this sort of thinking is pretty common in the sport.
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Old 07-15-2021, 12:35 PM   #22
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Surprised at the negative comments on the long time announcer (Phil Liggett), I've always like him, can't be easy covering a 5-6hr stage when most of the time there isn't much action. Like the pairing with Paul Sherwen better than Bob Roll, they were much more in sync.
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Old 07-15-2021, 01:41 PM   #23
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Surprised at the negative comments on the long time announcer (Phil Liggett), I've always like him, can't be easy covering a 5-6hr stage when most of the time there isn't much action. Like the pairing with Paul Sherwen better than Bob Roll, they were much more in sync.
Phil is having trouble remembering names and identifying riders, but his enthusiasm for the sport and the riders is so genuine. I think some of the issue is probably due to age and some may be due to broadcasting remotely. I believe he's in England again this year while Bob Roll and the others are in Connecticut, and I think it's probably just easier when they can sit next to each other in their little portable studio in France. Hopefully next year they'll be back on site. (I've also noticed the last couple of years that baseball broadcasts are much better when the announcers are at the event rather than remote.)

I also liked Paul Sherwen, but I think Bob Roll does a pretty good job with the commentary. If you ever have a chance to hear him give a speech, he's fun to listen to and is quite engaging in person. I also find Adam Blythe, the British guy who joined them on the moto last year, quite funny and think he's been a good addition to the team.
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Old 07-15-2021, 01:58 PM   #24
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I’m watching too. I’m an amateur competitive cyclist (Cat 3 in cycling terms) and enjoy the team tactics that develop as the race unfolds. Some of the tactics are very subtle and commentator Phil does a great job in breaking it down and explaining.
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Old 07-15-2021, 02:22 PM   #25
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I've been an avid cyclist my entire life, but have no interest in racing--maybe because I'm not particularly fast, though I'm a good climber. I saw the Tour de France once by accident while I was bike touring in France. For a couple of hours preceding the peleton, there was one advertising vehicle after another with a loudspeaker blaring. It was pretty unpleasant.

Having said that, I've biked up many of the famous climbs of the Tour with panniers, including the Col du Tourmalet in the Pyrenees, Mont Ventoux, and Alpe d'Huez. The latter was the last big climb I did in France, and it was a bucket list item for my friend who I was touring with. Alpe d'Huez nearly killed me, figuratively speaking. The grade varied much more than the others, and one of the steepest sections was at the very beginning, and I think that discouraged me a lot. It also was an unseasonably hot day.

When I biked up Mont Ventoux on a beautiful Saturday, there were hundreds of cyclists riding up the mountain, mostly on rented racing bikes from one of the outfitters in the area. I was riding my touring bike with full panniers, the only cyclist with panniers I saw climbing up the mountain that day. I took the easiest of the 3 approaches, and only the final 6 km were difficult. Few of the racing types who were passing me in those final 6 km deemed me worthy of conversation. One French cyclist was impressed by the fact that I was doing the climb with panniers and he actually slowed down a bit to speak with me. When he found out I was American (this was shortly after the Lance Armstrong scandal broke), he asked me jokingly if I was taking performance-enhancing drugs.

I'm another one who can't stand Phil Liggett. He always seems to sound excessively excited to me, even when nothing particularly interesting is happening.
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Old 07-15-2021, 02:27 PM   #26
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DW watches every minute of every stage. Then she follows a couple podcasts for more in-depth discussion. I usually watch 15-20 minutes of each stage, plus the ending. Mostly, I enjoy the scenery and the aerial photography, which is beautiful.
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Old 07-15-2021, 03:37 PM   #27
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Phil is having trouble remembering names and identifying riders, but his enthusiasm for the sport and the riders is so genuine. I think some of the issue is probably due to age and some may be due to broadcasting remotely. I believe he's in England again this year while Bob Roll and the others are in Connecticut, and I think it's probably just easier when they can sit next to each other in their little portable studio in France. Hopefully next year they'll be back on site. (I've also noticed the last couple of years that baseball broadcasts are much better when the announcers are at the event rather than remote.)

I also liked Paul Sherwen, but I think Bob Roll does a pretty good job with the commentary. If you ever have a chance to hear him give a speech, he's fun to listen to and is quite engaging in person. I also find Adam Blythe, the British guy who joined them on the moto last year, quite funny and think he's been a good addition to the team.
+1 to everything you said. But I miss Jens Voigt and the younger Bob Roll when he was less professional and more colorful. I wonder if Bob cleaned up his act because he's just more mature or if it's because of going from OLN to the bigger network.
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Old 07-15-2021, 03:52 PM   #28
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A small, guilty part of me misses the old days of rampant doping, EPO, and other performance enhancers. Watching Lance or Jan Ullrich sprint up French mountains and still having enough breath to chat on their radios was unreal and ever amazed me.

Carapaz and those two Slovenians are still very impressive, but a fully-juiced Armstrong would thrash today's elite.

I also don't mind the crashes. I like collision and combat sports like hockey and boxing, and the big crashes bring the same excitement for me. It's a bummer when fan favorites like Sagan crash out and it's tragic what happened to Froome a couple years, but the danger is part of the draw. Also, a crashed rider who dusts himself off and finishes the stage in tattered and bloody glory makes a great story.
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Old 07-15-2021, 03:54 PM   #29
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Loved Phil in his prime. You can tell he's a bit off his game but still like that voice.
Bob Roll is no Paul Sherwin but has a great sense of humor though I agree he was funnier a few years back.

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Old 07-15-2021, 04:50 PM   #30
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Another great stage. Pogacar won and now has the polka dot jersey (KOM). Odds are good he’ll have three more jerseys to add to his collection on Sunday.

As for commentary, I’ve heard that EuroSport coverage is much better. Harder for us to get in the US, but maybe possible with a VPN.

As for me, I don’t mind the commentary and the highlights on the NBC app work well enough. And as someone else mentioned, part of the fun of watching the tour are the views. Can’t wait to visit France again!
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Old 07-15-2021, 11:14 PM   #31
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I have watched very little in recent years, after giving up cable TV subscription. But I do enjoy the race, the spectators, mountain scenery, motorbikes, etc. Watching the final few km and sprint when finishing in town and the daily podium awards.

I did see part of a stage last week. Took notice the dual front wheel motorcycle and discovered that it was "Yamaha Niken". The added traction should provide a big benefit with chasing down the mountain. I was always fearful that one of the motorbikes was going to crash when trying to chase on a descent, either because of a loss of traction or spectator interference.
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Old 07-16-2021, 04:54 AM   #32
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It may be a weaker field this year but Pogacar's win yesterday was still one to remember. Back to back wins in the high peaks is quite the feat.
Cavendish made it through the mountains and now has a good chance to break Eddy's record.
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Old 07-16-2021, 05:00 AM   #33
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It may be a weaker field this year but Pogacar's win yesterday was still one to remember. Back to back wins in the high peaks is quite the feat.
Cavendish made it through the mountains and now has a good chance to break Eddy's record.
Sepp Kuss, the American who won a stage earlier, pulled his leader to within a couple of seconds of the win yesterday. If Seth's team had been pulling him, he might have had the legs to win a second stage.
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Old 07-16-2021, 07:08 AM   #34
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I find Pogacar’s performance this tour and especially in the final time trial last year a little too good to be true. I used to give riders more benefit of the doubt when they pulled off something so amazing, but time always proved they were doping. Armstrong, Landis, Contador, etc.

I watch about every race I can, men and women’s. Just totally addicted to the sport right now. The GCN app was great for much of the year (for instance, they had Cavendish’s breakthrough wins in Turkey). I’m thrilled to see Kuss finally giving us an American we can root for.

This Tour has been a bit boring to me because of how Pogacar has dominated from so early. Looking forward to seeing MvdP in the Olympics. Such an exciting rider to watch.
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Old 07-16-2021, 05:06 PM   #35
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I really enjoyed watching this stage video up the mountains. Great scenery, great aerial views. Those French villages look so delightfully quaint.
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Old 07-18-2021, 07:09 PM   #36
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Well that was a nice 3 weeks.
Onto the Vuelta!

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Old 07-18-2021, 07:12 PM   #37
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Well that was a nice 3 weeks.
Onto the Vuelta!

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Do you think Pogacar is beatable?
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Old 07-18-2021, 07:35 PM   #38
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Well that was a nice 3 weeks.
Onto the Vuelta!
Olympics first! Looks like the Mens and Womens events will start during prime time (PDT) on 7/23, 7/24 and 7/27, but we'll be watching the finishes on the TiVo the next morning since no bike race is enthralling enough to keep me awake until 2:00 AM.

Here's the schedule: https://olympics.com/tokyo-2020/olym...nd-results.htm Tokyo is 16 hrs ahead of PDT, 13 hrs ahead of EDT.
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