GP Ouest France... LIVE!

by Chris... on Aug 25, 2008 9:43 AM EDT in Live Races Comment 41 comments

Who's watching? Where's it at? No sign of a feed from the usual suspects, but I'm sure there are some European ones. Enjoy!

Streaming update: CyclingFans.com still hasn't found one yet, which makes it pretty unlikely that I will. They have a translated stream here.

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15km

Ballan, de la Fuente, and four others have 35 seconds. Very dangerous place. Liquigas is trying to pin it back.

"If writing too much about the Classics is wrong, I don't want to be right."

by Chris... on Aug 25, 2008 10:26 AM EDT reply actions 0 recs

ps

all I have is a live ticker. In French.

"If writing too much about the Classics is wrong, I don't want to be right."

by Chris... on Aug 25, 2008 10:27 AM EDT reply actions 0 recs

Pablo Lastras

has been the man all day. If this group stays away, he doesn’t seem to have a chance, but if there were any justice (which there isn’t), he’d win.

"If writing too much about the Classics is wrong, I don't want to be right."

by Chris... on Aug 25, 2008 10:28 AM EDT reply actions 0 recs

Ballan

My French is really getting tested, but it sounds like there was a reconnection with the peloton, only to see Ballan attack.

"If writing too much about the Classics is wrong, I don't want to be right."

by Chris... on Aug 25, 2008 10:29 AM EDT reply actions 0 recs

Amazingly, whoever is running the Eurosport ticker can’t find anything to say for several minutes at a time. My regurgitation of their ticker is more active than their ticker. Don’t these people love cycling?

"If writing too much about the Classics is wrong, I don't want to be right."

by Chris... on Aug 25, 2008 10:31 AM EDT reply actions 0 recs

10km now

and miraculously the eurosport ticker has found something to say: ballan, David Lopez and Pierrick Fedrigo are away. How, apparently, isn’t important.

"If writing too much about the Classics is wrong, I don't want to be right."

by Chris... on Aug 25, 2008 10:35 AM EDT reply actions 0 recs

This completely sucks

Is the person at eurosport being paid to watch the race and not talk about it? I can’t believe this is a 75-year-old pro tour race. Complete joke.

"If writing too much about the Classics is wrong, I don't want to be right."

by Chris... on Aug 25, 2008 10:39 AM EDT reply actions 0 recs

lol

next time, they should give us a call. we rock at this kind of thing.

by gavia on Aug 25, 2008 11:40 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

5km now

Ballan is being called the winner apparent, as apparently the three are well enough away on the final cote. Lopez tries an attack at 4km, sensibly enough, but Ballan isn’t sleeping.

"If writing too much about the Classics is wrong, I don't want to be right."

by Chris... on Aug 25, 2008 10:40 AM EDT reply actions 0 recs

still 4km

surely the race is about over, but I am waiting for the ticker to update. is it 1998?

"If writing too much about the Classics is wrong, I don't want to be right."

by Chris... on Aug 25, 2008 10:42 AM EDT reply actions 0 recs

under the flamme rouge

one last update remaining for our poor beleaguered ticker operator.

"If writing too much about the Classics is wrong, I don't want to be right."

by Chris... on Aug 25, 2008 10:43 AM EDT reply actions 0 recs

Fedrigo!

so the French media place a reverse jinx on Ballan, anointing him the fave of the break, only to see him go from 150 meters and not quite make it to the line. Victoire for Bweeg, on what has to be their home court, the next province over from Vendee.

"If writing too much about the Classics is wrong, I don't want to be right."

by Chris... on Aug 25, 2008 10:47 AM EDT reply actions 0 recs

More brilliance

the top line of the ticker has 1. ballan 2. fedrigo 3. lopez. Stay tuned.

"If writing too much about the Classics is wrong, I don't want to be right."

by Chris... on Aug 25, 2008 10:48 AM EDT reply actions 0 recs

L'Equipe

says it’s Fedrigo. This, I believe.

"If writing too much about the Classics is wrong, I don't want to be right."

by Chris... on Aug 25, 2008 10:50 AM EDT reply actions 0 recs

si...

follows voeckler’s win. sweet.

by gavia on Aug 25, 2008 11:40 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

A Bweeg back to back

I like that

by Monty. on Aug 25, 2008 12:41 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

And with that

this ridiculous media horror show is over. I’m due back at the 21st century.

"If writing too much about the Classics is wrong, I don't want to be right."

by Chris... on Aug 25, 2008 10:50 AM EDT reply actions 0 recs

then McQuaid is impresed that people just hate the ProTour

ENECO + DownUnder + Plouay + Pologne = Merde

by King of Doping on Aug 25, 2008 10:56 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Props to Chris for plowing the lonely furrow today

See what happens when you go on vacation? Pro cycling collapses.

"I won! I won! I don't have to go to school anymore." -- Eddy Merckx, after winning his first bike race

by ELVISGOAT on Aug 25, 2008 11:00 AM EDT reply actions 0 recs

apparently!

next time I’ll leave emergency contact info.

"If writing too much about the Classics is wrong, I don't want to be right."

by Chris... on Aug 25, 2008 11:14 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

who puts on a bike race on a monday?

by gavia on Aug 25, 2008 11:41 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Props also to that dude's parents

for naming him “Pierrick.”

Thanks for the great coverage!

by plinytheelder on Aug 25, 2008 12:29 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

By the way I love reading these tickers after the race is done, they’re so compelling for not knowing what’s going to happen. Fédrigo is first mentioned at 100km to go, but only as an aside, as someone who might help Voeckler. Then he appears again at 20km, and at 18, where he catches the breakaway group alone! (shades of Cancellara in Beijing). Then he attacks again with Lopez and Ballan, and the final group is set. He and Ballan fend off Lopez’s attack at 4km. Then, after it looks like they all might be caught at 1km because they’re all staring at each other, the guy still has enough strength to win the sprint! That’s great stuff. Even mother nature cooperated – it was a cool day and started to rain at 72km – might as well have been the Flèche Wallone! (Well OK slight exaggeration.) Guess when it’s your day it’s your day.

by plinytheelder on Aug 25, 2008 12:59 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

Liquigas and its hair

Because I can’t transfer a photograph here is a link to CN where, in the photos from Oeust Plouay, 2nd batch, 7th photo down, is a disturbing sign of the follicle future for Liquigas. The one captioned “Pozzato was watching the Slipstream/Garmin riders too much in the spring.” Pellizotti in the background. Let us count the ways.

Seems that lots of the field didn’t finish, including Jens! That’s two out of the last two for him.

by NE Observer on Aug 25, 2008 9:52 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

just say no

photo linkie

by lyne on Aug 25, 2008 11:04 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

if it looks like a dead caterpillar

shave it off

by lyne on Aug 25, 2008 11:07 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

no way, those dudes are hot, the lame pubescent moustache rounds out the look very nicely thank you

by plinytheelder on Aug 25, 2008 11:46 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Lyne, thank you.

I’ve just given up on photo links.

I think the hair (both Pippo & Jennifer) is pretty horrifying too.

by NE Observer on Aug 26, 2008 7:00 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

gah!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

that’s an outrage. who do i write to?!

make. it. stop.

by gavia on Aug 26, 2008 12:09 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Gav - get your butt over there and get this corrected.

They are ruining our hotitude threads. Yuck.
Benna is still hot though and should just be pampered to keep him happy. :-)

"The most wasted day is that in which we have not laughed."

by nikki on Aug 26, 2008 10:06 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

I've literally just got back from Switzerland,

have logged in to see what I’ve been missing, and am confronted with that! Aaaaargh! What is the world coming to? Pippo, just find your razor. Now. On the plus side, have missed the cafe and glad to be back!

by Albertina on Aug 26, 2008 3:09 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs