tour d'usure…

[alecstilleyedye]

i'm very surprised there hasn't been talk of a riders' strike over the attrition rate in the tour so far, especially as far too many have been caused by things other than rider error.

surely aso should be rethinking how many vehicles are allowed to share the same space as the riders; if you watch the live coverage it often looks like a queue of traffic what with team cars, commissares and other hangers-on.

i seem to recall riders striking in a recent giro, over concerns about the course…

 

[Smokin Joe]

It's always been thus, and the riders accept it as part of the job.

If you are a pro cyclist you know you are going to crash regularly, and sometimes hard.

 

[Flying_Monkey]

It's always been thus, and the riders accept it as part of the job.

If you are a pro cyclist you know you are going to crash regularly, and sometimes hard.

I'm certain that the second sentence is true, but I'm not sure that the first is - there seem to be more cars and motorbikes around the top races recently, and behaving worse. And even if you accept the occupational hazards of you and other riders, getting hit on closed roads by a car must seem a bit hard to take...

 

[Smokin Joe]

Barry Hoban had a nasty crsh during a TdF when he hit one of the team cars, and i believe Simpson fell victim to a similar incident.

You're right about the number of vehicles in the convoy now though, there are far more than there used to be. I did a few races as a motorcycle escort when the National Escort Group was in the process of being formed, and even with only a third of the riders to worry about compared to Le Tour and just a handful of vehicles in the convoy the level of concentration you need to pass riders safely and avoid getting tangled in the bunch leaves you mentally drained by the finish.

 

[yello]

I did a few races as a motorcycle escort when the National Escort Group was in the process of being formed

Off topic, I know, but I had to pick up on this.

I too did the training for this group. Attended sessions, my riding was assessed, I was told I'd passed.... and then nothing. I heard not a dicky bird from anyone. Any idea what happened?

 

[Smokin Joe]

Off topic, I know, but I had to pick up on this.

I too did the training for this group. Attended sessions, my riding was assessed, I was told I'd passed.... and then nothing. I heard not a dicky bird from anyone. Any idea what happened?

I had a similar experience. I passed the riding assessment, then moved to Wales (from Essex) and did the second part by post, a questionaire with multiple choice if I remember right. Then like you, nothing.

It wouldn't have mattered in the long run because in the ten years I've lived in this county I don't think there has been a single road race run, despite the fact that we have very low traffic density and perfect terrain. There is a limit to how far I would have been prepared to travel for events.

 

[yello]

I wonder what became of it then. Shame, a lot of people put a lot of effort in.

On a related theme, I did once act as a camera bike in a corporate sports event at Richmond Park, Rosslyn Park rugby club and the roads in between. The cameraman sat on the back telling me which way to go etc... this often conflicted with IAM training and sometimes the law! Ah well, you only live once. It was great fun actually... I've never ridden a motorcycle down the Thames towpath before, with cameraman and camera as pillion. It might have been easier if I had a trail bike! Not so easy on a lardy road bike! That's the closest I'll ever come to camerabike on the TdF - which, I admit, I'd love to do.