I will admit to being bored to death by the first 130k of stage 11. It was a bunch of "Sky at the front, with a big breakaway puttering along", it was a very monotonous day. The only action was when there were elbows thrown at the polka dot jersey sprint, and those were some weak elbows.
But then it got good, while Kern was creating space (typesetting jokes NEVER get old) for Rolland in the front group, Tejay Van Itowedcadelallday jumped, and was soon joined by Cadel Evans. This was an excellent move, had Cadel been on a good day, but alas, he was not on a good day, and they were sucked back by the Sky Dyson.
Rolland was in a group of four at the front on the descent before the ascent, and found the ground on a tricky corner. He managed to get back up and continue with the lead group though, making both France and Kern very happy. Soiler alert, Rolland would drop everyone else and continue the French domination of stage wins.
But back in the pack, the Sky Saturn rocket was burning away it’s lycra clad boosters, first Rogers, then Porte and then it was finally down to Froome to deliver the Wiggo payload to the line. Then there were attacks, and more attacks. Nibz tried his luck, but Sky lowered the Froome. Nibz was brought back.
It was after this flurry of activity that things took a turn towards the interesting. Froome was able to drop Cadel, and Evans would eventually finish down 2:23 on the day, a time gap which could mean his Tour is done. But it seems that Froome, with about 2k to go felt frisky, jumped and was able to immediately get a gap, distancing Wiggins. In a testament to the quality of the Sky race radios, Froome then abandoned his attack and put his keyster back in it’s rightful place—in front of Hinault, um I mean, Wiggo’s nose. But even though he came back, it was hard to notice that he could’ve jumped away and done some damage. (more on that below)
Later, Wiggo and Nibz had a nice man hug moment as they crossed the finish line, kissing and making up after Wiggo gave Nibz a look that Nibz took issue with the day before. Wiggo started the love fest and Nibz reciprocated. Awwwwww…
And then, in a sequence that could only happen in 2012, Wiggo’s wife tweeted these 41 characters:
@Cathwiggins1981: See Mick Rogers and Richie Porte for examples of genuine, selfless effort and true professionalism.
That Tweet totally didn’t mention Froome—and she even had enough characters left!
Well, Froome’s lady wasn’t having it. And boom! RT with an edit:
@michellecound Typical! RT @Cathwiggins1981: See Mick Rogers and Richie Porte for examples of genuine, selfless effort and true professionalism.
Yeah, it just got real. Later Cath backed down a little:
@Cathwiggins1981 @Rhodos5 I think people read far too much into 140 characters sometimes.
But as of this morning, we still might be in a situation:
@michellecound
To those that have been criticising my comments from yesterday, I stand by them. I know all the facts, all the details that you don’t.
So there you have it, the Twitter battle of the Real House Skyves. Which, because I am a bad person, I might find to be more interesting than the actual racing today.
Thanks for enlightened us.
Froome needs a Wiggo chain drop during the next mountain stage that he can claim not to have noticed at the same time while losing his radio earpiece.
If you spent more time training and getting your riding skills up instead of sitting down in front of your damn computer playing secretary I’m sure the race would be safer….step your game up.
c’mon, really? you are seriously missing the bigger picture here.
at the end of the day, we’re all stupid for competing in such a dangerous, silly sport. are you saying that cat 4/5’s have a lower level of general intelligence than of higher categories? sorry bro, but they might not have the legs or racing smarts, but your head is seriously up your ass if you think that cat 4/5’s are “stupid.” it’s really not hard to distinguish a bad race from a good one, and you seem to be making the assumption that this is the first race the entire 4/5 field has ever done, let alone been racing exclusively at the same events. and all this being said, do you REALLY think that having 10 riders above the USAC field limit made you crash? no, you crashed because you were likely an inexperienced rider, racing among other inexperienced riders. if you crashed, you crashed because of this, not because there were 85 racers instead of the appropriate 75.
complain to the parks dept? SUE??? jesus, you must really be a self-loathing bike racer. rather than try and alleviate the issue, you are proposing to take action which will do nothing to remedy the problem, and create a problem which takes away focus from the real issue.
yes, i agree that a promoter should do everything in their (and the higher) power to make races safer, but your suggestion is just plain dumb. i don’t know about you, but i like being able to race my bike on local courses run by local people. yeah, complaining to the parks department and creating a ridiculous court case will probably “effect change,” but racing my bike is what i like to do, and your intended “change” will only make it harder to do that.
but all this being said, i seriously doubt you have actually tried to voice your concerns to Horrace himself. The dude is a good and smart racer, and i can safely say that the last thing a promoter wants to see is a dangerous race, and a resulting group of unhappy riders.
peace.
“The Real House Skyves”? If there is a god, Peta will jump in soon.
She did!
https://twitter.com/petatodd/status/223448400669057024
Limsanity!
Hello,
Results are posted on USAC for today’s race in Prospect Park.
http://www.usacycling.org/results/index.php?year=2012&id=1883&info_id=51505
David Sommerville
Sommerville Sports
Today’s results…pfftttt – half the field was crashed out. Happens everytime they mix the 5s in with the 4s. Happened last race that this group put on.
The women get 12 laps. The mens 4/5 are mixed in together and only get 9 laps. The women started before the men and before the first lap was completed, the 4/5 field was already overtaking the women. It was like the Spring Series all over again. Charlie I. is the only guy that puts on a good safe race!
Every 4/5 race this year in PP has been a twitchy mess from one to go…Horace, can we please make ’em longer to thin out the field a bit OR for the love of all things holy make it P123, combined 3/4s and give the 5s their own (shorter) race? You know, Charley I styley?
30 miles is long enough to make a first year racer a dangerous, wobbly sprinter, but not long enough to drop aforementioned less fit new racer prior to the field sprint, who then nearly kills us gunning to get his entry fee back. in the future can we just pay him not to sprint? It would be cheaper than an ER copay.
I think Horace is going to see a dramatic drop-off for the next race with the 4/5 field. I don’t know any sane 4 that would race in that when the last one AND this one had major crashes that took out a large portion of the field. Lots of 4s were saying they were done with these races. At least van Dunk had the sense to make changes to his when the crashes started piling up.
I’m gonna bet that there’s no drop off in registration for the next race, crashes will happen yet again, and people will rehash the same complaints from every other race.
…the more things change, the more they stay the same…
have any of you actually tried to talk to Horrace about this IN PERSON? voicing your complaints anonymously like this doesn’t do much and gives a bad name to a guy who actually gives a shit.
Sofiane Threadlock – you right. Horace is a good guy and he does give a crap about the sport. I will reach out to him.
horace may be a nice guy and he may care about racing but his races are a shit show. even though his races are dangerous, riders will continue to show up. why? because most are stupid and don’t know the difference. it’s cat 4/5’s we’re talkin about.
if talking to him won’t help, there’s another way. according to the rule book cat 4/5 races are limited to a maximum of 75 riders. complain to usa cycling, the officials, and even the parks dept.
there were 85 finishers yesterday when there should have only been 75 starters. field limits are there to keep the races as safe as possible. if you crashed, threaten to sue. if the promoters, officials and usa cycling can’t follow their own rules in a sanctioned permitted race, you’d have a good case and you’d probably effect change.
nice guy/contrite former doper act plays well, but God only knows the truth any more with these guys.
is allen lim still the cook for garmin?
a real meat & potatoes guy. special meat.
mmmm, floyd like meat too!
Lim to Radio Shack
Lim to a Non-extradition Country
Looks like you moralizers got your clean race which is as dull as dirty dishwater
Complaining to parks is a bad idea. they’ll just revoke his permits and those races will be gone. Goodbye 7-8 races!
Talk to Horrace in person if you are concerned.
well said sofiane!!
And for all you complainers go back to wearing your Zipp 808 dimpled skin suits and chronic secretary work in from of your computer.
you are an ass(even if I do agree with you)
There are 24 Cat 5’s shown from the results, with 11 finishing in the main group. That is 1/3 the race if they all even showed up, didnt get dropped, flatted out or other reason.
So when it came down to the final lap when the crash happened it was MAYBE 15-20 Cat 5’s left in a group of 65+ riders.
Again, a 1/3 to 1/4 ratio of Cat 5’s to Cat 4’s.
Why all this Cat 5 Hate?
Just wait because in 2 weeks or less all the Cat 5 guys will be Cat 4’s!!!!
Its that time of year when the 10 and out upgrades are in full effect.
…
It’s all in how you look at things.
A Cat 4 is 10 races away from being a Cat 5. It only saves as protection from new racers in the spring. 5-6 weeks later they will upgrade to Cat 4. Your only solution is to stop that secretary thing and start that training thing.
**I will smack the shit out of anyone that want to complain to Parks and/or threaten to sue. We are very blessed to live in an area that has such convenient and plentiful racing; almost at our doorstep. On most weeks you have the opportunity to race 4 times and all within riding distance. No warmup necessary. If you have a problem with a particular race or promoter speak to them directly.
I can’t put a finger on it. stop being a sissy. maybe you deserved to crash this way we get rid of you before you you upgrade. maybe this is the point you will say to yourself, “you know what, I don’t think cycling is for me”. you dumbass. go play golf our take up fishing or something.
you punk. grow a pair of balls. you ass wipe
Didn’t take long for the memory of Dave Jordan to fade and idiot park racers revert to their childish cr*p.
You’re all healthy amateurs, riding your bikes in circles, rather slowly, for your own health and entertainment.
Consider yourself blessed. Life is fragile!
The cat 5 bashing is ridiculous. Why don’t you look at your own team and to ask when was the last time your roster has new faces? I bet 50% of the NYC teams haven’t had new riders in ages. Years after years you have the same guys racing for the same team. How does this framework would make NYC racing to grow larger??? Or this becomes more of the little boy’s club thing??? You think CRCA and Charlie I can sustain NYC racing without attracting new riders? Could you imagine all riders are racing in the Master field one day….? Sad day in the NYC racing scene, that I am sure.
If you don’t want to take your chances in the last lap of a 4/5 race, identify a couple of like minded riders and get off the front. If that doesn’t work, then back off and soft pedal it in, knowing you gave it your best shot.
Bernie Eisel to cat 5 for crashing out Cav in stage 5
To teach them how to ride.
You’re all freds.
your all idots
Real pro Swedish photog Christer Hedberg on vacation in NY shot the Maltese. Pre race shots up now:
http://www.christerhedberg.se/2012/07/16/lou-maltese-prerace/
I knew two minutes of typing would give lots of entertainment.
the reading comprehension skills here are amazing. reread my post.
i was complimenting horace on being smarter than everyone at usa cycling. (@ sofiane)
of course! i should have spent those two minutes training. then i wouldn’t get caught in the cat 4/5 crash. (@ vincent)
hmmm. i wasn’t even there.
i’m just giving my useless opinion on the prior posts. (@ antonio and kylian)
if the cat 4’s say the race is dangerous and there are always crashes, why do you think they keep coming back? (@ logan)
what makes you think i’m a cat 4? i’m just another guy with an internet connection.
the problem is, most of these fucks don’t even know what one is..!