How do the teams turn a rider yellow overnight?

[gavroche]

nothing, short of a strike by the riders ,can stop the TDF.
When the route of theTour is planned, all roads surfaces are checked and if they are found to be sub-standard for the riders, the local authorities have to re-tarmac them.
It is a well oiled organisation that leaves nothing to chance, hence its popularity world wide and the most gruelling cycle race on earth.

 

[Mad Doug Biker]

nothing, short of a strike by the riders ,can stop the TDF.

Which may be, but in theory, it only takes a late running train (or an early freight train - their timings tend to be a bit more fluid) and down come the barriers and chop it in half.

I doubt the TDF have right of way across SNCF metals.

It isn't just trains of course, there are plenty of other scenarios (some more likely than others - 60 foot high mutant Rubber Ducks anyone?) where something could happen, so I presume there are emergency back up routes planned into the race just in case?

 

[Speicher]

As I said earlier, MDB, someone will be along shortly to give you the inside track about all this.

 

[Stange]

There was a race last year I think, may have been the TdF where the breakaway got stopped by train barriers, the peloton caught up but then had to wait after the barriers had gone up while the breakway riders re established their gap.

Regarding the jerseys, I couldn't believe that Garmin had a Time Trial KOM skin suit ready for Thor!

 

[Paul Walters]

There was a race last year I think, may have been the TdF where the breakaway got stopped by train barriers, the peloton caught up but then had to wait after the barriers had gone up while the breakway riders re established their gap.

Wasn't there an incident when a few riders dodged through a level crossing barrier before the train arrived, and made a breakaway... weren't they penalised for the infringement, as the rest of the peleton had to wait ?

Notwithstanding mutant rubber ducks, I love the effect the odd dog, or handbag, or even traffic island, has on mixing up the peleton.

 

[yello]

Or the UCI. People seem to have a hard time running sport organisations eg FIFA too in a way that doesn't cause controversy at regular intervals.

So you can understand why ASO get p*ssed of with UCI trying to tell them how to run the race!

When the route of theTour is planned, all roads surfaces are checked and if they are found to be sub-standard for the riders, the local authorities have to re-tarmac them

Indeed. A number of my local roads are like silk to ride, courtesy of the tour passing this way.

I love the effect the odd dog, or handbag, or even traffic island, has on mixing up the peleton.

Me too. I know efforts are made to eliminate such chance events but they do make it more interesting. Peprhaps that yellow shirted individual who so radically effected Contador's situation ought actually be thanked! Don't suppose it was a relative of the Schlek's by any chance was it

 

[Will1985]

Regarding the jerseys, I couldn't believe that Garmin had a Time Trial KOM skin suit ready for Thor!

As I said above, it's an officially provided garment with sections which can be screen printed on (chest, back, and side panels of legs). Same applied for the other classification leaders - if you look closely at pictures of Gilbert, Thomas, Evans, the cut/design is different to their teammates. The classification jerseys have their own sponsors, and the position of those logos cannot be moved or impeded.

 

[Mad Doug Biker]

There was a race last year I think, may have been the TdF where the breakaway got stopped by train barriers, the peloton caught up but then had to wait after the barriers had gone up while the breakway riders re established their gap.

That makes sense, thanks.

Wasn't there an incident when a few riders dodged through a level crossing barrier before the train arrived, and made a breakaway... weren't they penalised for the infringement, as the rest of the peleton had to wait ?

The 2006 Paris - Roubaix I beleive.

Notwithstanding mutant rubber ducks, I love the effect the odd dog, or handbag, or even traffic island, has on mixing up the peleton.

I always feel more sorry for the poor dog getting hit than by the cyclist, dangerous as it is, I don't know why, I just do.

 

[seraphina]

Also, France goes out of its way to minimise level crossings when planning train track layouts - IIRC there isn't a single level crossing over their TGV network high-speed railways (they're all bridges or tunnels) so there's much less chance of having to cross one.

 

[oldroadman]

Also, France goes out of its way to minimise level crossings when planning train track layouts - IIRC there isn't a single level crossing over their TGV network high-speed railways (they're all bridges or tunnels) so there's much less chance of having to cross one.

You wouldn't want to have to cross a TGV line with the train coming at 300km/hr....!


The level crossing rule is all in the UCI regs. Simple really.

If a break is stopped with less than 30 sec lead, everyone starts together and hard luck on them.

If they have 30 sec or more, then they get the lead reinstated and the peloton (or chasers) start at whatever intervals they were at when the stop happened.

If the break goes through and the peloton/chasers get stopped, hard luck.

It does happen! It happened to me a few times, both to advantage and disadvantage. Mind the trains were slower and ran on coal then..
Which is why routes are designed so that there is rarely a crossing and they are avoided in the last 50+ km of a stage.

And riders get DQ instantly for dodging round barriers - safety issue - quite right too.

 

[HLaB]

It does happen! It happened to me a few times, both to advantage and disadvantage. Mind the trains were slower and ran on coal then..
Which is why routes are designed so that there is rarely a crossing and they are avoided in the last 50+ km of a stage.

And riders get DQ instantly for dodging round barriers - safety issue - quite right too.

Did it not happen to Robert Millar in the Vuelta!

 

[Mad Doug Biker]

Also, France goes out of its way to minimise level crossings when planning train track layouts - IIRC there isn't a single level crossing over their TGV network high-speed railways (they're all bridges or tunnels) so there's much less chance of having to cross one.

With all due respect, it would be suicide to put a Level Crossing on a TGV line anyway!
No, I was thinking more of the little country lines that are ok to have LCs, and I have certainly SEEN the TDF riding over some in the past (wasn't there one or two at the beginning of this years tour?), hence why I was asking.

Thanks for all the replies by the way.

 

[Mad Doug Biker]

Oh OHH I ACTUALLY saw a train on yesterday's stage!

 

[VamP]

Some teams might come pre-prepared with a yellow bike, but this is how Tommy got his:

Yellow Colnago

I guess Europcar are exceeding expectations this year