Saturday, July 3, 2021
Tour de Madness, er France...stages 8 thru 14, with the always open-season to rehash 1 thru 7
I wasn't able to watch the first few stages this year due to the brainiacs at NBCSN NOT allowing Peacock subscribers to have access to the NBCSN replay feed of the A-team crew broadcast...but apparently enough of us complained (on their Facebook page of all places...thanks for that tip Rae!) that they changed it and starting on Stage 5 we suddenly DID!
For whatever reason we still can't go back and get one thru 4...so I have no idea what the crash Roglic had in Stage 3 looked like, but he's not doing well...yesterday in Stage 7 he dropped out of the peleton on a minor climb and lost a few more minutes to the current Yellow. Also Gerrant Thomas dropped back and lost any chance HE may have had yesterday (tho it sounds like he wasn't even the team leader, that would be Carapaz who attacked yesterday but was mostly pulled back).
From what I've seen, there's no clear leadership thus far by any team/rider. Now that Pogacar is the heir-apparent everybody has him marked...last year he was able to slide thru with his team doing none of the management, and snatch it away from Roglic/Jumbo-Vismo in the final day...no pressure there! It made for awesome TV, unless you were on team JV that is. This year with no other team stepping up to control the race it's more wild-west...and I don't know if Pogacar can afford to wait. Stage 8 is underway as I type, and we will know more after today and tomorrow (in the Alps). Right now Wout Pouls is making a bid for yellow and it's looking good...but we all know how fast things can change out on the road. It's been a MAD stage thus far, over 10 inutes ahead of the fastest projected time...and after yesterdays brutal LONG day I'm surprised they are riding this fast this long into the stage.
OK..enough on this...I'll post this and then we go to the comments. Woo-HOO!
Game ON!
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Stage 8...WOW! Some thoughts...Valverde...STILL RACING! Unbelievable...I thought he retired. Roglic and G.Thomas...they were so far back when Teuns won the stage they might as well been in a different country! Don't even know yet if they made the time-cutoff. And speaking of Roglic...I finally got to see his crash in Stage 3...YIKES! No WONDER he's not doing well...he landed HARD on his hip and left side...I mean he BOUNCED off the hip...I'd be surprised if there isn't some long-lasting damage from that. Lets see...Froom on Israel Startup Nation?? I don't recall that...(he was WAY off the back today too...how the mighty have fallen...him and GT..both Tour winners, riding not like that). It was a very miserable day...and tomorrow is supposedly the same. The Yellow jersey fell off and Pogacar takes the yellow with a SPECTACULAR final climb...he was passing the others like they were standing still! A new KOM jersey too (same team, different guy). That's all I can think of for now...it was an amazing stage..so much going on. I still haven't seen the GC standings...will get that in the morning. I'm beat...the annual Tour-Sleep-Depravation-Syndrom (TSDS) has started to once-again set-in. Sleepy-time (oh, I did get the Peacock app loaded on our Firestick, so when Jeannie goes to bed I can watch the race on the bigscreen, THAT is sweet! The 27" computer screen is ok but much less comfy).
ReplyDeleteGosh, how time flies...forgot to talk about Stage 9. Boy, you have to wonder what kind of training Pogacar is doing compared to the rest of the GC guys. It's like he has an electric bike or something! I'd say it's safe to say that as long as he stays safe the only thing in doubt is the rest of the podium...he's like on an entirely different level. Looking at the top 10 after the stage, it's like "what?" Where are the rest of the actual GC guys? I enjoyed the stage tho, loved the breakaway and win for the rookie Ben O'Connor (I won't forget this guy, he's going places!), vaulting him into 2nd overall! I can only wonder about the teams of the OTHER GC guys...letting THAT happen? Are they smoking crack or something? The mountains have only begun and the top 10 looks like a list from some smaller race where the teams send a bunch of guys you've barely heard of (except for Uran in 3rd, Carapaz in 5th and Mas in 6th). But the time behind the yellow is what's astounding, this early in the race, except for the rookie, all the REAL GC guys are OVER 5 minutes down already! And Cobrelli taking third on the stage ahead of Quintana? A FREAKING SPRINTER? On a MOUNTAIN STAGE?? Cats and dogs getting along together? It's just crazy! The world is indeed on a mad trajectory, and so far this years Tour is plunging right along with the madness!
ReplyDeleteIt surely has been an interesting TdF so far! Just finished watching today's stage - you will like the results, I think! Pogacar has been amazing indeed. Some of the big names truly suffering from their injuries, and I'm wondering along with the commentary team if G.Thomas will drop out or try to continue in hopes of recovering enough to be of help to Carapaz. Don't want to make any spoilers...
ReplyDeleteSpeaking of the commentary team, they have really gelled in my opinion and I really enjoy both the pre and post stage segments, as well as the addition of Adam on the motorbike (with his prerecorded segments also). I am so glad that they are including the prerace segment in the replay - seems to me that they used to cut that.
Valverde is not only still racing, he has been winning or getting on the podium in multiple races! Hah, did you see this tweet from DeGendt?
"Year 2032. Evenepoel and Pogacar each won 6 Tours now. Van der Poel will be competing in 17 disciplines at the olympics, aiming at 17 medals. Van Aert won Paris-Roubaix for the 7th time. Valverde announced that he will continue for another year as he doesn’t feel his age yet"
Froome's riding is understandable, as he is here basically to ride as rehab from his big injuries - remember there was question about if he would ever be able to compete again. & how about that Bahrain team? I never expected them to make such a good showing. I have to wonder how the sprints would have gone if Caleb Ewan hadn't crashed out. Bling Matthews seems to have lost a bit off of his top speed, although he is still staying up there in the points competition - and poor Sagan! Nothing like the Sagan of old - not winning for 2 years I think I heard.
ReplyDeleteHey IA! So sorry I've been absent & before I get into some Tour chat I want to explain my absence the past few months : as bad as 2020 was for the world, 2021 has been WORSE so far for me. I'm trying to remember what I told ya'll the last tine I was here & I think I was waiting for my 2nd shot, then to get my next tooth extraction (& eventual implant) & to get my roof replaced. So, the shot went ok. 5 days later, the insurance adjuster came & despite him saying he would contact me with "the results", I hear nothing for 3 days. So I called his cell & his message said he was OUT for the next 2 weeks!. I called my insurance company & was connected with the "claims coordinator" & she tells me that due to all the wind & hail damage, my roof replacement is being covered! I just have to pay my $1000 deductible. When I hung up the phone, I burst into tears of shock & relief! Due to the "housing boom", prices for wood, shingles, etc have all skyrocketed & the roof alone would have cost at least $11,000. The inside damage will cost somewhere between $2-4,000. And I hadn't saved up that much money for the roof!
ReplyDeleteAnyhoo, I thought things were turning up for me. HAH! I did select a contractor, signed a contract & gave him a HUGE check & thought I just needed to get on the schedule & they say, "oh you need to check with your HOA if you need "approval". Turns out I did & they had to MAIL me a form & I had to send color photos of the new shingles AND I needed 4 of my neighbors to sign off that they are made aware. I said I'd NEVER signed anything for any of my neighbors & they ALL got new roofs within the last 4-5 years! Anyway, I got the signatures & photos from the contractor & mailed it back the next day (last week of May)& I JUST now (July 3rd!) got the approval!
But the roof saga unfortunately pales in comparison to my health issues the past month. 1st, I got my tooth extraction in May & as usual, the surgeon pushed, pulled, cracked, drilled, pulled some more & an HOUR later, got the damn thing out. (My teeth are not normal - crap above the gum line but then the roots refuse to come out). The 1st 30 hours after were HELL & then the next 8 days were not great either but since I didn't get an infection, I was "ok" until I felt something "loose". It felt like the tooth in front of the extraction was broken & for the next week until I went back for the 'checkup", I was trying to think how I was going to pay for ANOTHER implant & crown in addition to this one AND the other one I knew I had to do later this year. But good news - the loose thing was a temporary thing they had placed in there!
Once again, I thought things were looking up. HAH! Friday 6/11 I woke up with a pain where my gallbladder used to be. And pain in my back, directly behind. It felt like the pain I'd been feeling for months when I walked more than a hour & figured I was "overdoing it". As soon as I sat on the sofa, the pain would go away, so I didn't worry that much. Now, it didn't go away & got worse & worse. On that Sunday afternoon, I called Kaiser & told them I had to see my Dr 1st thing Monday. They said "10:30". I could not sleep at all that night from the worsening pain & called them again at 3Am & said I needed to see someone sooner. They said come in at 8 to see the 1st Dr available...
(CONTINUED from above)
ReplyDeleteThat 1st Dr was WORTHLESS! Did not lift my dress to look at either the abdomen or back & barely touched the area. Then she says it "sounds like a back issue". I was incredulous. I told her I'd had back problems for 30 years & "THIS WAS NOT A BACK PROBLEM!" (I felt like Richard Dreyfus in JAWS) Then she tells me to come back at 7:30 that night for a CT Scan. WTF?! Or go to their Urgent Care Floor after getting a blood test. So, that's where I went. There you go through the "routine" of answering why you're there to 4-5 people in various rooms. They stuck me on a IV to give me morphine & 'contrast" for the later Scan. The Dr was nice (again, no looking at my body under my clothes - is this COVID related?!) but most of the time I'm in the room alone. After the scan & the blood test, I'm told I have an "inflamed colon". They give me 2 antibiotics & a pain pill prescription & I go home after 5 hours. The pain med had NO EFFECT at all on me, none (began with a "V" & had never had it before). I took the 2 antibiotics that night (1 was to be 3 times a day & the other twice/day).
I got up at 5 the next morning to take the 3/day pill & an hour later, I threw up. Threw up again 3 more times over 3 hours, shaking uncontrollably each time. Seems 'Flagl" & I do NOT "get along". In addition to the nonstop pain, I'm now so nauseous, I can't even drink anything let alone take more pills or even eat so back to Urgent Care. This time for 10 hours. Was put into a room with a hospital bed & hooked up to another IV, with 3 different bags, one after the other (took over 2 hours). None of the nurses/Drs I saw this time were the same as the day before. I got an MRI this time. This Dr at least LOOKED at my back & abdomen but no different diagnosis. She replaced the 2 awful antibiotics with one I only needed to take once/day (yeah) & gave me a prescription for Oxycodone. It helped but not even the IV bags completely got rid of this awful, unrelenting pain. On Thursday, I noticed the pain was 'different" & looked down & in the mirror as much as I could for my back & here were these 7-10 areas of raised bumps.... The size of dimes-quarters. The worse was right under my right, er, boob which is where the worst pain had been since the beginning. I'm thinking - is this SHINGLLES?!!! With all tests, (2 days of blood & urine, CT Scan & MRI) they can't detect this? Apparently not. BACK to Urgent Care 6AM Friday morning where again I saw ALL different nurses & Drs. Yes, it's Shingles. I get prescribed an anti-viral (in addition to the antibiotic I'm still supposed to take for the "inflamed colon"). This Dr says the stress of the inflammation may have triggered the Shingles. I get one piece of paper with a paragraph about Shingles. For 2 weeks, the pain is every day, ALL day. I barely sleep & have to force myself to eat so I can take the medication. Can't exercise of course as I can barely stand up. OH, & the Friday after the Shingles diagnosis, I had the WORST HEADACHE I've had in my life. I could not stand up or even lean over TO stand up without unbearable pain. If I lived with someone who could drive, I would have gone back to Urgent Care yet again, but I just suffered & prayed it would go away. STILL don't know what caused that headache! Thankfully, it was mostly gone the next morning. Last Friday night, the nonstop 24/7 pain of the past 2 weeks finally went away! I still had flashes of pain in the various areas but the nonstop pain seemed to have just vanished. At least until the next morning. But then that night, it went away again. I'm HOPING it's gone for good!
I tell you, Shingles is weird! It's different in where it shows up for everyone & my areas of "rash" look nothing like what I see on the internet! Right now, I'm only feeling areas of occasional pain but I feel AWFUL late at night for some reason, just nauseous & weak. I finished all the meds a week ago so don't know why I'd be feeling so crappy. A week ago Sunday, I started walking my laps again but was only able to walk 30 (I'd had been waking over 300/day). I've been able to increase since & am now only about 15% below where I was. And this past Saturday night, I re-started my floor exercises after not being able to do any for 3 weeks & even though I cut back all the reps for each exercise by 30-40%, it was hard & the next day, my abds hurt so much I was shocked!
ReplyDeleteBesides the constant, unrelenting pain & the fear, the worst thing was that this happened during the Olympic Trials which Matt knows I USUALLY look forward to for over a year! I was miserable throughout & missed one of the swimming nights entirely as I was in Urgent Care that day until after 11pm at night (no TV in there).
I have been able to watch the Tour the past week & since I feel better, have actually enjoyed! SO EXCITED FOR CAV! I burst out in tears when he won that 1st stage. Years ago, I had been hoping he'd at least tie Merckx & thought he would but then his illnesses & crashes & injuries & age seemed to have ended his chances for this ever happening. I swear, seeing his Phoenix-like rise from the ashes is such an inspiration! DON'T EVER GIVE UP! :)
When I was rocking back & forth with pain the past 3 weeks, the ONE thing that kept me from losing it entirely was that I was SO THANKFUL this didn't happen last year during COVID (i.e before I got vaccinated) & thankful it happened now instead of NEXT year when I hope to finally go to Italy for 2 weeks in the early summer. I canNOT imagine if something like that starts while you are out of the country!
Have to scoot right now, but I hope to come back & chat about the Tour over the next 2 weeks. VERY sad about Roglic! I'd wanted him to win this year. :(
Hey Susie...SO glad to hear from you! I had a feeling things might be hard for you when you hadn't checked in for so long..glad to hear you survived! Shingles...on top of everything else...yikes! (my brother had them years back, said they were quite horrible, so I got Shingles shots even tho I've never had Chicken Pox to the best of my knowledge...Mom couldn't remember for sure, and I actually remember my brothers both having them when we were kids, and I'm pretty sure that I didn't have them). Boy...roof (and all the ordeal surrounding that), Shingles which was like 4 different things before you were finally diagnosed...(and even then you still suffer)...all the diff doctors and still you had to keep going back...that sucks! And yes, SO very glad you didn't have all that CRAP happen LAST YEAR! Imagine how horrible THAT would have been! So there...a silver lining in all that suckage!
ReplyDeleteSo...it's good to have you back...now we're only missing Barbara...yooo hoo...you out there?
Anyhoo...I was VERY HAPPY to hear when Cav won his first race in a while last week...and the 2nd, OH YEA!! He is SO CLOSE now...I haven't watched todays stage (well, I'm listening to it as I type) but I'm really hoping he can pull it off today. If not him, then I'd like to see Sagan break HIS drought.
OK...gotta get back to THE CREW! (agree Rae about the broadcast crew...I couldn't BEAR to watch the race without them...I think Adam is a lock as he is a natural out on the moto in the race. Still miss Phil (as I think EVERYBODY does)...but Bobke and Phil are good together, so it's the next best thing.
Ahh...Tour time! I LOVE JULY!!!! (and yes, even tho I vowed to NOT let my own saddle time suffer this year, it is...such as tonight...it's VERY easy to make excused NOT to ride, and then come home and watch the stage...same thing every year no matter how hard I try to NOT let that happen. I can ride the other 11 months...Tour is only 23 days. I'm over it.
Later gators!
I'm HERE! I have been reading, but having problems commenting from my iPad, so here I am on my laptop. I am LOVING this Tour this year! (and I'm going to send this as a test, because I'm tired of writing long posts and having them go into never-never land)
ReplyDeleteYAY, that worked! Much like last year, I am so enjoying the daily parade of young guys winning stages. And the tears. (I don't think we ever saw LA drop a tear, in all those years.) And I am also enjoying seeing a certain old guy winning the sprints! I'm a leadership consultant, and Cav is a stellar example of what I tell young leaders all the time - when your opportunity comes, BE READY!
ReplyDeleteSusie, I'm so sorry to hear about the shingles. EEK. I KNOW I would be in agony. I can't stand an itchy tag on a T-shirt! I did have chicken pox (child of the 50/60s when EVERYONE got them), and I got the vaccine a few years ago as soon as I hit 60, then found out that I had to get another two because the first one turned out to be not so effective. I had a much worse reaction to the 1st shingles shot than I had to the COVID jab.
I'm following the Freedom Challenge Ride Across South Africa, which is going on at the same time. I first learned about it when Jill Homer did it 10 years or so ago. Then when I was in South Africa in 2016, I got to know a guy who has done it many times and won it 4 or 5 times. What a beast. It's a 2300KM self-supported, self-navigated (no GPS or other digital assistance allowed) mountain bike race through the wilds of South Africa. Beautiful and brutal territory. In the middle of winter, which can be well below freezing up high, and fairly hot on the flats. What a difference from the Tour where you get a mechanical and immediately have a new bike placed under you. These guys are penalized 6 hours if they have to order in a replacement bike, 4 hours for a wheel, 3 for smaller parts like a shifter. It takes 14-20 days. Last year a group of 4 RAN it. And they are getting more entries every year.
ReplyDeleteHey...everybodys here!! Woo-HOO!
ReplyDeleteanyway...Im in Las Vegas for a few days...drove over EARLY this am...(left the house at 3:30am). It was just a teensy bit hot today (116F)..felt like I was going to melt when outside in the sun...really fricken HOT out!
We are here till Tues when Jeannie flies home n my brothers both show up (for our dads birthday...we still try to get together even tho hes now passed)...we are driving up to Zion for 2 days of hikeing/camping...hopefully a bit cooler up there.
So...I havent seen a stage since Tuesday...so the last 3 Ive missed (I will try to catch up on my laptop via the Peacock when I get a chance...but hasnt been a spare moment the last few days).
OK...gotta hit it...Im BEAT! Was a long day of driving/walking/melting...go pour myself into bed and hopefully congeal back into a human over the night.
yay...some free time to watch stages...finished Stage 11 (double Ventoux...wow!) What a rough day that would be...LOVE IT! Cant take anything away from Wout Van Aert...he was a stallion! And Pogacar did good, even tho it seemed he was in some trouble (uhm...team-mates?) but he ended up holding his gap on his rivals (even increased it a bit w/ a small bonus)...Rigo is looking pretty good, and even tho hes 2nd, he is STILL over 5 min back...wow! I would like to see him podium...hope he can keep his form and not have a bad day. Now I can work on stage 12...stupid hot here again...showing 116 again. Thats just INSANE! OK...heading out for dinner into the hair-dryer-air.
ReplyDeleteOh, Susie, I am SO sorry that you had to go through that! and sorry, but the know-it-all RN in me has to make two points - NO it is NOT due to Covid that those "doctors" didn't even do a basic physical exam in someone with severe abdominal pain!!!! UNBELIEVABLE!!! and if you had "colon inflammation" you REALLY need to follow up with your regular MD to find out WHY.
ReplyDeleteThis has really been an interesting Tour! Glad you are here with us, Barbara! I was wondering recently how Jananne and Theresa are - came across the photos I took with them at the Tour of Missouri - hope they are well and still following cycling.
WOW for Cav! (could he have done it if Sagan and Ewan hadn't crashed? don't know but kinda hope so!) SAD for Sagan - he just hasn't been the same (kinda seems since his marriage fell apart, but IDK...) I hope that it really was just his injuries this year.
Im still catching up (just finished watching Stage 12 last night while everybody else went to the Garth Brooks concert)...so Sagan dropped out! He must have been hurt more than I thought from his crash...so very sad, really wanting him to pull off a win.
DeleteIve also wondered how Theresa and JD are doing...maybe they will swing by (they are still listed as followers).
Now I am wondering if we will see Valverde pull off a special ride somewhere in the next week? but I noticed in an earlier stage that he seemed to be all in to support Mas - giving him his bike - something I've really never noticed him being for previous team "GC leaders" before. Sentimental fool that I am, I would like to see the old guy do it!
ReplyDeleteThis tour is flying by - can't believe we are in the last week now. I really want to visit the Carcassone area now -- so lovely and interesting..
Off topic - I don't remember if I mentioned it before, but I've been driving a
Honda Fit, which I got after the tree crushed my previous car. I really like the Fit, especially the cargo room (I can get my bike in without having to take the wheel off, as well as being able to carry some furniture and such). So, when I realized recently that Honda had discontinued the Fit last year, I started thinking about makings and a trade for a new one - there were still plenty at dealers. Last week, though, when I looked around at what was available, they were flying out of dealers! The last one in town sold while I was trying to get down to the dealer! And prices for used ones (19s and 20s) were zooming - but so were trade in offers. I found two 2019s with very low miles, one in Cleveland, one in Kentucky, negotiated with both. Thought hard, decided this would be my car for the next 10 years, w/extended warranty, getting an upgraded (EX for the same OOP that I paid for the LX) safety features: gritted my teeth, closed my eyes and jumped! It was delivered to me yesterday! Now I have to learn how to use all the bells and whistles that are new to me. First time I have ever had more than a basic model!
Good on ya Rae getting a new(er) Fit! They are nice cars, have a LOT more room inside than youd think looking at them...I assume you get pretty great mileage in it? Nice to have the newer car bells n whistles...n for forward thinking about your car for the next decade (thats what my VW Golf TDI wagon is...even tho its a 2015 model, it had only 38k on it when I got it delivered a year ago...and it will be MY car for the next decade, and same as you, I can carry my bikes with front wheels on if I want...and being a wagon I put up the jail-cell barricade thing so the monsters (Sophie and Abbey) ride in the back cargo area and cant come up into the passenger area spreading hair everywhere when we take them for hikes...I thought theyd go crazy back there but actually they lie down and sleep while we drive...so I was very pleased with that!)
DeleteOk...back to cycling...watching Stage 13 right now...not sure what all has been planned for today, but its early and Im drinking coffee and watching the stage...ahhh!
So...just finished Stage 13...CAV WINS!! Ties Mercyxs record!! Unbelievable!! On with Stage 14.
ReplyDelete