OK....another sprint stage is done and done. Gronevagen (sp? that's a HARD one to spell w/out cheating and looking it up) won finally, good for him!
Also, I was confused this morning during the pre-stage when they were showing TJ...I totally thought they were saying he crashed YESTERDAY during the big climbs day...but no, he crashed THIS MORNING! So what was his deal yesterday then? Today I certainly understand him being off the back dying...he's hurt for sure. So he goes to the hospital after the stage today and tomorrow we will find out how he is. Well, you all will find out...I am headed to Las Vegas (again)...my dad's birthday is Monday. Little bro is flying in from Houston, big bro WAS flying in tomorrow night but his work is sucking his will to live and he had to cancel. So little bro Dave and I will hang out w/ Dad for a day and a half or so...take him out to eat, hot tubbing, and sight-seeing (he lives in an assisted living facility). He will be 88...WOW!
So anyway...I will be away from the TV and computer for the next few days (I drive home on Monday)...I gather tomorrow is another hard stage...likely I won't be able to catch up on viewing as it just doesn't work that way...I MIGHT peek in on my phone to see who won Sat and Sunday...Monday likely I will not look as I can see some/most of that stage when I get home.
OK. Gotta hit the sack...getting up at 3am, ugh. Have a nice weekend...
Viva le Tour!
I hope your Dad had a great birthday, and you and your brothers enjoyed your time with him!
ReplyDeleteI was traveling yesterday (Sunday) also, and thought that today was a rest day as it usually is -- but it wasn't. I am just finishing watching Sunday's stage -- pretty crazy, the peloton is arriving some 16 minutes after the breakaway! I am waiting to see if Christian, Chris or Bob have anything to say about why Tiesj Benoot sat up well before the line (it seemed to me). Maybe he perceived that Impey's speed couldn't be matched?
I will watch today's stage tomorrow. Really enjoying Christian and Chris' commentary I must say!
Hello, Barbara!! That does sound like a really lovely trip! My cousin & I are talking about visiting Lithuania (ancestral home) and Serbia next year.
My trip yesterday was to Cleveland to meet some members of my Dad's extended family -- who he never knew, and they did not know of him -- they are planning a reunion of the extended family and "discovered" my branch through my genealogy research & contacts, invited me up to participate in a "pre" activity. Very nice people (relief!!)
I just read a rumor that Team Katusha (for which our friend Cathy Mehl has been working) is going to fold at the end of this year.
ReplyDeleteSo...back from Vegas...it was a successful mission (Dad had a great time, not that he will remember any of it). AND we (my brother Dave) and I staved off a near catastrophe literally minutes after we arrived at his residence Saturday morning. AND we saw an entire HERD of Big Horn Sheep (rams and ewes) during our Sunday morning adventure (we get up early and go do something fun, then go pick up Dad around 11am for his day of fun). I also put over 1250 miles on my rental car in the 2-1/2 days. All in all a very successful weekend.
ReplyDeleteI was able to catch stage 8 last night before I went to bed...I see TJ dropped out w/ a broken hand (boy did he look banged up...note to self: hitting a sign, NOT GOOD!) It looked like a rather fun stage, sad I had to FF thru most of it...but the end was certainly exciting! Aliphillepe (sp?) was on fire and took back yellow, De Ghent killed it from the entire day breakaway and won the stage, Sagan right in there for the sprint getting MORE points, and the commentating from all parties was again top-notch. I hope to catch up tonight and see Stages 9 and 10 (today IS a rest day, right?) OK..gotta scoot. Need to get home and get the doggies out (they are locked inside all day as we have contractors taking down and then rebuilding a backyard retaining wall...the old one is failing). Jeannie goes home at lunch to let them into the front yard, but they are inside all day otherwise. Later gaters!
OK...so I was able to watch Stage 9 and 10 tonight...boy, Stage 10 was exciting! A real shakeup in the GC hopefuls, those who weren't paying attention really got smacked. Ineos was on their A game, and really hammered those who were not in front at the 25k left to go point. I was sad to see Fuglsang and Riggo were in that group...was really hoping they'd be able to animate things in the big mountains (they still can but they pretty much knocked themselves out of any contention w/ their inattention). Today being a rest day I am caught up, HOORAY! OK..bed time, later gators!
ReplyDeleteStage 11: another 1st time WINNER! (Caleb Ewing)...woo-HOO! I love that about this years Tour....we have almost NO IDEA who is going to win (at least thus far). Today we hit the Pyrnees...two cat-1 climbs...it's going to get interesting now. Will Ineos come out and do the Sky-thing and crush all wanna-bees into submission? And with the TT tomorrow, I think THAT is when Thomas will come out fighting. IF he's not in yellow by the end of today, I think he will be after the TT. The big questions are how will Bernal and Quintana do in the TT. I saw they had Lance on the show again yesterday, I think that's pretty cool actually. Suddenly this year it's OK to say his name on the air. He's no longer the Devil I guess!
ReplyDeleteOH, and the OTHER big question is how will Aliphillipe (dang, I can't even begin to spell his name!) do today and in the TT tomorrow...is he a snake in the weeds with GC qualities? IF he does well today, can he hold his lead in the TT against Thomas? (and how will he do in the REAL mountains that are coming)? All good questions...we will see soon enough! Game ON!
ReplyDeleteThis HAS been a very good Tour so far! I've enjoyed every stage! and I agree, it is nice to not have one sprinter dominating, although of course Sagan probably already has the Green Jersey locked up. Still, I like seeing that he stays in the mix on just about every stage.
ReplyDeleteI'm bummed about TJ though, I really had hopes for a high placing for him. I think the NBCSports crew jinxed him, asking him about whether he would be trying for GC. And what happens the day after that interview? Collapse. Maybe he needs hypnotherapy.
SO disappointed about Fuglsang, Porte and Uran's time loss in that split. Can only hope that the cycling gods grant them a day with the opposite result!
I generally skip watching the ITT, just check in to see the results and standings, so tomorrow will be my "rest day" !
I also saw an interview about Lance participating in the Hincapie Grand Fondo. In that TdF interview yesterday, though, I was surprised that he brought up 2009 when he was so clearly competing with Contador for team loyalty, and not coming off well at all. Guess he hasn't gained all that much insight!
ReplyDeleteInteresting that Lance is allowed to ride a Grand Fondo...(his lifetime ban from cycling includes Grand Fondos as they are sanctioned races). He's mentioned several times about the stress of having Co-leaders and his year with Alberto (his comeback year). Sounds like all was even more not-good than the public knew. Good race yesterday, Simon Yates was the man! (boy, he BARELY held off the other 2 in the sprint finish tho...they all had a shot which is nice to see). Today should be interesting...will Thomas pull off a huge ride and take yellow, or will Alaphillipe (sp?) pull off a big ride and keep it? And then, how much time will the other contenders lose to Thomas? (and also, how will Bernal do? He is SO young, his interview the other day he pretty much inferred he is working for Thomas rather than being a co-leader). Anyway, happy Friday, just a little more than a week to go in this fantastic race! (and btw, now it's 12 stages with no repeat winners, and after today likely be 13...they haven't said how long it's been since that has happened...back after Stage 11 it has been since 1992 having no repeat winners, which is before I started road riding and watching the race...I bet 13 will be many years before that!)
ReplyDeleteHowdy! Can't believe it's been over a week since I've been here (more on that later) but I have been watching the Tour everyday & have some thoughts! ;) :)
ReplyDelete1st, my heart just broke when seeing Tejay not able to keep with the GC guys on Stage 6's penultimate mt. (Which was the day I stayed home with ice pack simulants applied to my face & was downing pain pills, but the bright side was I got to see that stage LIVE! The down side is that I was so miserable, I barely could pay attention). Anyhoo, then the next day he slammed into that sign? Don't know HOW he finished the stage with a broken hand! And normally, I'd have been thrilled with Stage 10's CROSSWINDS CHAOS but NOT THIS TIME! Not with Team Deathstar (AKA 'Ineos') being the prime beneficiaries! And not with 5 of the other GC hopefuls losing major time! Noooooooo! I tell ya, I'm still not 100% believing that Geraint will win, but damn, was he SANDBAGGING everyone the past few weeks?!
I looked at the LIVE Cyclingnews blog this morning during the TT & I don't want to say too much BUT you should watch at least the last 10-15 guys. Some of the gains & losses were expected but there were some surprises too.
I've also been watching Lance & George's 'Tourcast' & I get such a kick out of their back & forth. :) This is Lance's 3rd year doing this & it's gotten bigger each year. And I guess I waste my time reading more than you, Matt as there has been quite a lot written the past 10 years about how bad things were on 2009's Astana TDF team. Some of which I do NOT believe (Contador's camp spread a bunch of crap at the time).
Anyhoo, this weekend is 2, count 'em, TWO mountain stages with UPHILL FINISHES! This Tour REALLY begins NOW! Some GC guys are already too far down to even get to the podium but I think that the current (post-TT) top 7 or 8 have a shot. Maybe they all don't have a real chance at the TOP spot, but with the REAL mountains not even begun yet, we don't know how the fellas will really fare.
I'm just crossing my fingers for ANYONE other than Team Deathstar!
Also don't forget, ANYTHING can happen at any moment...to anybody. Flat tire in a bad spot, BAM! Lose a minute. Crash? Lose time or worse. Hit a freaking SIGN even? Been done...poor TJ. I was REALLY hoping he could get the curse of the Bambino (or whatever Hex is on him) off finally and DO SOMETHING BIG at le Tour. Alas, not this year. I was watching the stage at breakfast (as I do every weekday morning)...the 2nd guy to start (from Houston)..one of the 3 remaining Americans...(dang, for the life of me can't remember his name) was just starting when I had to leave...I really hope he puts in a humdinger...he is capable it seems! Anyhoo, you are right-on Susie, the REAL Tour starts TOMORROW! (Sorry you were feeling so bad on your sick-day/watch the tour LIVE day...nothing worse in my book that wasting a perfectly good sick-day actually being SICK! The best way is playing hookey and doing something FUN! Now THAT'S a sick-day! Or as I call it, I'm SICK...OF WORK-day. All I know is that my saddle time has gone to almost ZIP the last month and a half...and Tour time doesn't help any...every night after work I have the dilemma: ride and get home late (and still watch the stage and stay up LATE) or go straight home and watch the stage and get to bed only marginally late. I say every year I'm going to ride more during le Tour, but it never happens. OK...work calls...gotta scoot. Have a great TOUR Weekend!
ReplyDeleteOk, now here's my teeth update! :) My appointment was at 2:00 last Wed & I arrived early at 1:40, thinking they would want to do the around-the-head x-ray that the previous oral surgeon did for both my extractions/implants but nope, this was not done at all. They didn't even bring me back to the chair until 2:40 & the Dr didn't get to me until 3:00. For someone who had BARELY SLEPT FOR 2 FREAKIN MONTHS worried about this procedure, it was not starting great! Also, the Dr had told my dentist back in May that after examining my x-rays, he'd decided he wouldn't be able to do the extraction followed immediately by the implant & I would have to wait/heal for 2-4 months before that next step (as in my previous implants). I don't know whether he forgot or decided it was ok to proceed but he did the implant. And the second he puts the flipper-thing (like a tiny retainer with a fake tooth attached) in my mouth, both he & the assistant go "OH NO!". It broke. I was then left alone in the chair for over 35-40 minutes while I guess they were discussing what to do & I started to feel PAIN. I'd never felt pain DURING one of these things before (that usually starts after) so was kinda concerned. Anyhoo, the Dr finally came back & said the "flipper" had to go back to the lab to be fixed (2 weeks) but he would create a composite tooth now & bond it to the teeth on either side. He shot me up with more anesthetic & was almost finished & he BROKE it & had to start all over! I was finally done at 5:30. They gave me a pain pill before I left the chair...
ReplyDeleteThe other thing that kinda freaked me out is that when I went to have my previous implants, um, implanted by a different oral surgeon, I was taken to a STERILE room, made to put all my hair under a surgical cap & the Dr & assistant came into the room suited up like they worked in a Hasmat facility! This time the extraction & implant was done in an area that did not even have 4 walls! Other dentists & assistants walked by & would ask him questions about other stuff! I've always been a "perfect patient" so didn't say anything but wanted to shout "PAY ATTENTION TO WHAT YOU'RE DOING!"
So, the next day was PAIN, as I expected but Friday felt a little better so came into work & I went to regular Advil instead of the prescription pills - MISTAKE! Last weekend was prettee bad BUT it didn't feel 'infection-bad', so I felt fortunate. My mouth continued hurting every day until yesterday & it makes everything difficult. You can't concentrate fully nor relax. I can't bite INTO anything, i.e. use my front teeth, & all I've been able to eat is noodles, pudding, ice cream,etc & while I usually LOVE all these foods, when it's the ONLY thing you can eat, it gets old fast!
All of you with "good teeth" - now you know HOW LUCKY you are! :)
Alrighty, have a great weekend, everyone! And Matt, I'm glad you were able to celebrate with your dad & brother. And wow, 1250 miles! Where all did you go?
Wow Susie, that doesn't sound like much fun, not much fun at ALL (your teeth)...makes me cringe thinking about it!
DeleteMy 1250 mi last weekend....450 to LV (where my Dad lives)...each way...then Sunday we drove over to Pahump for the day (and my little bro and I were switching hotels to Pahrump for Sun night)...then drive back to Vegas to drop Dad off, then back to Pahrump..that's about 60mi each way...THEN, and before we picked up Dad on Sunday we took a little jaunt...left about 6am to the Valley of Fire State Park, which is about 25mi north of LV...drove all thru the park, hiked and took a bunch of pics, then back to see Dad and spend the rest of the day w/ him. A LOT of miles in 3 days...but we pack a lot into that time.
And Stage 13 is in the books (I'm a bit late posting this)...stunning is what I'd call it! If only I'd put a grand down on Alaphilipe to win...I bet the odds were HUGE against him! Anyway, it was pretty fantastic to see the surprise on Thomas's face, and his director...they were stunned that he lost time, not gained time. LOVED IT! We've got a serious race now, and Superteam Ineos/Sky is on their back-feet for the first time that I can remember!
ReplyDeleteOH! Another LATE comment on the ITT stage 13...but what a sad thing for that young Jumbo rider Wout van Aert (Sp?) who caught the barricades on the sharp corner with his handlebars and crashed out...they talked to him in the hospital today (Sunday, Stage 15)...he is a really exciting young rider (won a stage already)...very sad to see him out. Certainly a name to watch for in the future. Sure glad he's ok...apparently he had a rather serious cut on his leg (looked to be up in the Femoral artery area high on his thigh)...he said there was "a lot of excitement" in the responders to his crash over that cut...and they got him on the ambulance pronto, and the Dr's say he's out of cycling for 6 months (though in the interview he said he'd be back much sooner than that). Hate to see anybody go out, and he was possibly a threat to win the ITT, his times were that fast...even though he didn't think so, he thought he was going slow. OK...back to the next post as Stage 15 is on my TV right NOW!
ReplyDelete