Vuelta viewing!

 So I canceled my Peacock Premium at the end of July (costing me $10 a month for the Premium Plus which has NO commercials!), which I was using to watch le Tour the last few years. I saw a comment on Strava a few days back by a guy over in Spain right now road-touring with his wife (on Mt bikes, doing almost all dirt roads) and he mentioned watching the Vuelta Hilights on Peacock...didn't know that was an option. So I logged into my 'free' Peacock account and sure enough, there is a 20 minute daily Highlights that I can see with my free account!!! I had NO IDEA!! It's commentated by Bobke and CVV too! They haven't shown them in person so I'm assuming they are in a room (or rooms, not certain they are even actually in the same room) and obviously not in Spain.

ANYWAY, as good as the race is, turn on your Closed Caption and watch the text as the video unfolds each day...OMG! Whatever speech-recognition software they are using is attempting to convert real-time audio-commentating into text is SO overwhelmed with the names of the riders, and the things it comes up with is just HILARIOUS! Roman Bardet is mentioned a LOT in the first few stage highlights, and holy smokes, each time it converts it into something else (most of the names come across as at least two words). If it wouldn't be so time-consuming I'd start a log of each rider and the attempts at his name throughout the Vuelta...seriously, it's as entertaining as the race! I'm only up thru Stage 6 so far.

I won't talk about any of the race in case you want to start going thru the highlights (in case you already aren't)...but I will talk briefly about Stage 1...a Team Time Trial in Barcelona. It started late in the afternoon if not in the actual evening. The first few teams got daylight, but it started to rain, and then was raining pretty hard as it got dark, and the final teams finishing in utter darkness in the rain. That was just INSANE! It's not like the riders have lights on their helmets and/or handlebars like recreational riders do. LOTS of crashes as the guy in front sets the pace and the guys behind can't see anything and try to take the line of the guy in front of him...which is difficult to do even in daylight on a dry road (thus the crashes in the descending turns we see all the time in races). Everybody has different turning skills and confidence...some guys are born descenders and just FLY thru the turns...others without the skills and confidence are much more tentative descenders (such as myself). If I were to TRY to follow a fast descender thru a twisty descent and hold the same speed on the same line, I'd be crashed out in no-time. You'd think it would be easy to just take the same exact line as the guy in front of you, but it doesn't work that way.

Anyway...Stage 1 has a pretty surprising result and a lot of angry racers after. And being the Vuelta, after that things start to go UP pretty quickly (much like this years Tour)...I know the Vuelta and the Giro both are notorious for a LOT of huge days. 

OK...I'll end this for now but hope to see you come back here and there to talk about the race...I will say that Jumbo has BOTH Roglic and Vingegaard (just watch the CC text whenever either of those names are mentioned...you'd think Roglic wouldn't be too bad...NOT SO! But Vingegaard...that's usually a three word concoction of whatever words the software can come up with). 

Tour de France, Stages 16 thru 21

 2nd rest day is done, and now Stage 16 (the ITT) is done, and not only done, but WELL DONE! Wout had the 3rd best time, Pogo had the 2nd best time, and HOLY SCHMOLY, Vingo just left FLAMES in his wake, beating Pogo by 1:38!! NOBODY expected that! I was thinking 5 to 10 seconds, and that being either way...but this? I think I will drop the rest of the extra letters from both of their already shortened name, now they are just V and P...they are both too good! The rest of the peleton is just wondering what planet they are from! One thing I will say, after watching V finish and pull his helmet off, that man can suffer like nobody I've ever seen! Riding a bike hard and fast requires that, and to be a pro endurance athlete in any sport requires that...but sheesh, to endure that amount of pain when you are all alone, no teammates or even enemies to draft behind and use for morale, just you and your heartbeat banging in your head, legs screaming in agony, and to hold it to the end. #1 and #2 in the GC standings going 1 and 2 in the ITT, that's pretty rare (usually one of the TT specialists spoils the party for most of the top GC guys). P set the fastest time of everybody at the moment he crossed the line, so it's not like he had a bad day or was slacking off...he beat ALL of the rest of the peleton, and then about 20 seconds later his world was rocked by V's scorching ride. Seriously...that's incredible...I will shut up my fingers now...I'm speechless after that performance!

2023 Tour de France, Stages 10 thru 15 (thru the 2nd rest day)

Wow, the race is just a half-stage from being half way done...it always sneaks up on me...one day it's the start, then a few stages, and BAM...half way! 

Today's stage wasn't the most exciting to watch, but it looked VERY HARD for the riders...it was hot, quite fast, and did I mention HOT? 97 at the finish...yikes!

Crazy that Vingo and Pogo were off the front early on...can't recall seeing that before! Lots of possibilities, tho I was really rooting for Nielands (the solo breakaway guy)...held off some serious firepower until about 2k, really gave it his all. And then won by Bilbao (wasn't he the breakaway guy on Stage 1, name the same as the finish town I recall, but he couldn't hold off the speedy guys tho he was pretty close. In the end the Peleton finished a ways back, no change in the top riders whatsoever. Gosh, this seems to be the first day that I can recall that there wasn't any fireworks in the top of the GC ranks! Poor Nielson had a long day, didn't get any points and was off the back (on purpose maybe, saving energy for tomorrow?)

Tomorrow is another 'hilly' stage. Hope it isn't quite so hot, that really makes a ride hard (at least for me, I SUCK when it gets hot...my body goes into survival mode and I can barely make the bike move. 

And hey, I'm done with the stage and can actually do something ELSE for a bit before bed! I have the TV all to myself thru the end of the Tour now (Jeannie flew to Hawaii for a girls trip, she got there just this afternoon).  All right...I'm out.

2023 Tour de France, part 1

 Well well well...here we are, it's THAT time again! Thought I'd resurrect the old Asylum for a month or so. Renewed my Peacock Premium Plus subscription (only need to pay for 1 month, and I get the Plus that means no commercials which is a serious bonus for only $5 more). Anyway, I just watched the Team Presentations. Hopefully it will be a great Tour, lots to be looking forward to!

First of all, Cav is BACK! And the question everybody is asking is "can he win ONE MORE STAGE?" I sure hope so...he sure deserves it. Sagan is there, Pogacar is there, Uran is there (not even team leader, I guess that means he's not planning on being a contender?), Bernal is there, Ewen and Kristoff are there, gosh...my brain is overloaded from all the teams and all the riders names I DO recognize...there are a LOT! Not many Americans tho...Quinn Simmons is there, who else, oh, can't forget Sepp Kuss! And who else...hmm, gosh, can't think of anybody else (American that is). Lets see, oh...Vingegaard (his spelling and pronunciation still boggle my mind, I might just spell it phonetically...Vin-ga-go....how's that?) Who else of note (to my sad little brain)...Mas, and hey... Bardet is still riding, he's got to be getting close to retirement. Of note, Roglic is NOT there this year. So much for that dogfight to the end...unless Vin-ga-go can step it up and take on Baby Face! We shall see soon enough!

Well, for now that's all I can think of...can't wait to see/hear the boyz back together again...mostly that is...I was looking to see who's onboard this year... copied this from the Peacock Live Coverage page: 

 NBC Sports’ cycling play-by-play caller Phil Liggett, universally known as the ‘voice of cycling,’ will cover his 51st Tour de France alongside analyst Bob Roll. Liggett and Roll will be on-site at each stage, along with reporters Steve Porino and former professional cyclist Christian Vande Velde.

 Paul Burmeister will host daily pre-race and post-race studio coverage alongside Sam Bewley and Brent Bookwalter, who make their NBC Sports debuts as cycling analysts.

So no more Chris Horner, that really sucks! Wins the Giro and can't get a team, was part of what I thought was the best combination they've ever had and not gone. He's the Rodney Dangerfield of Cycling...can't get any respect! 

 OK...need to get dinner. I have FIVE whole days off...taking tomorrow off, then Monday off, and Tues is the 4th of July, so back to work on Weds for me (yep, still working...I'm looking at the end of January to retire finally). 

Susie, congrats on your recent retirement, Rae, hope you come back, always great to hear from you two. Anybody else going to stop by? Please do and leave a comment. Tour Time is always one of my favorite times of the year!