Hail to the Heroes
by Chris Fontecchio on Aug 9, 2008 1:07 PM EDT
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I realize that there's a post-race thread below the Casper doping story, but I wanted to add a few thoughts to the mix.
- I don't like to overuse the word "hero," but... 3168 comments (and counting) in nine threads? Are you kidding me? I literally passed out in my chair from 12-12:45, and had to call it an evening shortly thereafter, with 80km still left in the race and the sand inexorably flowing through the hourglass of my kids' sleep cycle. At that point, at least a couple dozen stalwarts were actively chatting away, including east coast holdouts being joined by early risers, as well as west coast drunks diehards, midwestern stalwarts, and Europeans watching the race at a perfectly acceptable hour (as usual). Our traffic peak for the last hour was on par with a Tour stage (200+). My hat's off to all of you!
- The race finale was excellent, it appears, but I'll have to watch it later today on NBC, which has exclusive rights to butcher the coverage. If nothing else, we can say that the climbs didn't play out like an Alps stage, though the conditions eliminated all but the most determined. Anyway, I'm planning to curl up with the video later and scroll through the threads a second time as the race unfolds, so I get the best commentary possible.
- While it was nice to see a race from the start -- a rare treat -- the slow first few hours allowed me to watch a lot of the opening ceremonies on TV. Unreal. I'm not a ceremony guy, but... that was art. Unfathomable technology nicely blended with pure human movement and coordination. The brains behind it belonged to Zhang Yimou, now on the shortlist for coolest human ever (non-phlianthropic division). I kid you not. NBC had a legitimate China hand on the broadcast to interpret stuff that Bob Costas, in three lifetimes, would never understand. Huge props to them too. But the story was Zhang's genius and China's incredibly deep well of fascinating cultural subject matter. If/when the Chinese regime ever stops behaving like xenophobic bullies, my Sinophilia will be as unstoppable as Cancellara on a bridge effort, or Spaniards chasing a championship of any kind.
- BTW, the over/under on Spanish gold medals is somewhere around 275. I'm sure they've bagged a few more in the time it took to type this post.
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lol
i can’t believe how many comments there are here. crazy!
you kidz are out of control. in a good way :-)
tidbit of the day? the new york times apparently reads the cafe. today’s front page article describes nbc as playing whack-a-mole with the internet streams. i believe that was predicted in exactly those terms here a few days ago. really, they should at least give us credit ;-)
oh, and i so heart me some cancellara.
Yeah, umm
I think some of those threads are best experienced in contest. You know – stay up late, have a couple beers, and get a little punchy near the end. The downside is that you will definitely not be feeling up to your planned training ride the next AM. Can’t really recall the last time I was up until 5:30am and it didn’t involve traversing multiple timezones.
(Oh, and don’t take a quick disco nap with 50k to go. You might wake up to see that someone has seized your laptop. Not only might they try posting under your name, but might also cancel your planned dates for the weekend.)
"Punchiness" factor...I was definitely anticipating.
But, that’s what makes it memorable, right?
I’m glad there’s not a 3 week Tour of China…no way I could take that.
I was only
keeping your options open so you could go out with one of the Olympic beach volleyball ladies.
definitely context is everything - may I recommend some alcoholic beverage before attempting the later threads
fair warning
That's no race
A couple of victory laps for Emma Johansson is all it is.
Carlos Sastre - Tour de France winner - Born From Jets
The good news
is that the threads will be preserved for all time, out of context. Good times!
"If writing too much about the Classics is wrong, I don't want to be right."
by Chris Fontecchio on Aug 9, 2008 4:24 PM EDT up reply actions
waking up today at around 5 am
to watch the race made me realize what you guys and gals have been through the whole season! I’m impressed by all of you for doing that(and 5 am is not THAT bad, but after a late night crab party with lots of vodka and beer, it was really a tough one for me today), so kudos to all of you!!! Also for staying up so late, very impressive my fellow cycling fanatics!!
I had a blast again this morning (except the hangover&trying to stay awake), thanks again everyone!
Crab party?
Sounds like an excuse to drink.
"If writing too much about the Classics is wrong, I don't want to be right."
by Chris Fontecchio on Aug 9, 2008 4:25 PM EDT up reply actions
that is...... we have all kind of excuses for drinking
but the Swedes are worse…..! ;- D
The crabs do actually taste fantastic, but since they are traditionally served with a lot of snaps and beer/wine…... Yep, you get the picture…. Loads of salt+alcohol= mega hangover…...
If I had to choose
I would rather get up early to watch than have to stay up late like that. Man, that was rough… and it was only like 2:30 AM or so out here on the west coast. Cycling just seems like a breakfast sport to me now. But I did notice that 4 or 5 beers makes the comment threads gut bustingly funny
Spot on Jimbo
I have become used to the early 4:00 am and 5:00 am starts. The racing until 2:30 am just about killed me…ouch!!
Me too
if you get up early, your energy tends to track the race. staying up late, fading as the race speeds up… that wasn’t pretty.
"If writing too much about the Classics is wrong, I don't want to be right."
by Chris Fontecchio on Aug 9, 2008 4:25 PM EDT up reply actions
ha …. I logged in near the end of the race and was 8 threads behind !
you guys are PASSIONATE …. nice one
by cyclingchallenge on Aug 9, 2008 2:31 PM EDT reply actions
I stayed up until there was only
175K left.
I don’t like to throw around the word ‘hero’ any more than Chris does but I think it applies to me in this case.
"I have come here to chew bubblegum and kick ass... and I'm all out of bubblegum."
You've seen the movie... you've read the book...
... now… Eat The Sandwich!
I know, it said "als" instead of "ist"... don't give me any crap...
Erm, 'Europeans watching the race at a perfectly acceptable hour'??
I got up at 4am!! That’s not an acceptable hour in my book! ;-) And to prove that it took LOADS out of me, this afternoon I fell off my bike WHILE STATIONARY, the the middle of the high street. Now I don’t do that when I’ve had a refreshing night’s sleep!
Thank goodness, no.
Foot in pedal not coming out of pedal issue. I now have a red left knee. What a twat I must have looked!
This
fellow is your mayor, right? So long as he’s around, you’ll never need to worry about being the biggest twat on a bike in town.
(Sorry. It’s never funny when you have to explain. I have sinned.)
Ah yes, dear old Boris.
He does look rather comical on a bike. And then there’s our darling leader of the opposition. Mr Cameron attached his bike to a bollard and then expressed surprise when it got nicked. Ha ha ha…....
brilliantly so, yes
almost like that word that means that the word sounds like it means. if you know what i mean.
Onomatopoeia
... and it’s… uh… not such a nice word in American english…
I know, it said "als" instead of "ist"... don't give me any crap...
Check the etymology on that one
before you start waving it round randomly.
Albertina....yo fellow Valverde fan...
....nice hug between Valverde and Sanchez right after the race!! Someone in the race thread mistakenly said Contador…but Contador was nowhere to be seen. Such great mates, Sanchez really took care of Valverde during Worlds last year….and reading the stories on the spanish sites…Valverde was genuinely happy for Sanchez.
Here’s hoping the Spanish streak continues…Valverde for Worlds….wahoooooo!!!!
Contador must have abansoned
because he was at the finish showered and in his official spanish olympian outfit. He hugged Sanchez on camera too.
Methinks
he’s got his eye on the time trial?
"If writing too much about the Classics is wrong, I don't want to be right."
by Chris Fontecchio on Aug 9, 2008 5:38 PM EDT up reply actions
yep
and according to the stream I saw, Contador was all over Sanchez, they were hugging and almost kissing each other….......
yep.. saw that from the rtve video
link posted further down the thread….
"Wizard's first rule. People are stupid. They will believe anything they want to be true or fear to be true." -- Terry Goodkind
hug from cance too
"Wizard's first rule. People are stupid. They will believe anything they want to be true or fear to be true." -- Terry Goodkind
Thank god the feed got cut here
It sounds like an episode of the teletubbies.
Yes it was sooo sweet wasn't it?
I love the way that Sanchez kind of squeaked when Valverde appeared and rushed to greet him :) I’m sorry Valverde wasn’t there in the final sprint but it was lovely that one of their super team won, and I do like Sammy. We had a little bottle of Spanish wine tonight and even drank a toast! But Valverde=so hot, especially when he has his race face on ;)
Spot on Albertina..
...Alejandro is muy caliente in his riding gear!!!
I love that Sanchez won the gold….very well deserved…great rider….and nice man….and when those tears started to stream down his face…dang, I started to get all chocked up!
Sanchez and Valverde are pretty close. The Spanish websites had Valverde stating that the Italians had him on a tight leash and it was up to Sanchez to get gold for Spain. He was more excited about Sanchez winning. Yup, it was great to see Sanchez scream out “Alejandro!”
Thought it was interesting to see Sastre at one point in the race tell Contador to get up front and do some work….very interesting that Sastre had to tell him.
Lucky #8!!!! Viva Sanchez!!
The only thing I really remember
about watching the favourites group go past at Alpe d’Huez was Valverde’s face. He looked so fierce and determined and hot that I didn’t get round to looking at anyone else! I also had an emotional moment watching that ceremony. So happy for him!
Here’s a nice pic to brighten up your day: http://www.cyclingnews.com/photos/2008/olympics08/index.php?id=/photos/2008/olympics08/1/_DSC3981
Oh-la-la
Huge gracias for that lovely shot…...that bike is so purdy….and so is the rider….yeowza!
I say the Spanish luck will continue with Valverde winning Worlds….YES!
Yes please! Or Bennati, one or the other :-)
Have a look at the first one on here. So nice.
http://www.bettiniphoto.net/index.php?&sid=180f608989c593b3e8b73a2ce8960d8c&lng=ita&function=search
(And I’m not really spending my whole evening scouring the net for Valverde pics. Honest ;-)
please, don't feed the wild animals
"Wizard's first rule. People are stupid. They will believe anything they want to be true or fear to be true." -- Terry Goodkind
by umwolverine on Aug 12, 2008 10:11 AM EDT up reply actions
Valverde was there first
and then he got a huge hug from Contador (who had already changed into his street clothes)
from the live stream, yes valverde first, then contador
from the video below from the rtve website, contador, then valverde…
:
http://www.rtve.es/mediateca/videos/20080809/victoria-samuel-sanchez-desde-dentro/248707.shtml
original link provided by King of Doping a bit of the way down this thread
"Wizard's first rule. People are stupid. They will believe anything they want to be true or fear to be true." -- Terry Goodkind
by umwolverine on Aug 10, 2008 12:44 AM EDT up reply actions
I usually avoid
biking on the high street. Clean and sober in the saddle, says I.
"If writing too much about the Classics is wrong, I don't want to be right."
by Chris Fontecchio on Aug 9, 2008 4:26 PM EDT up reply actions
Good plan.
To top it off, I got soaked. And then got lost trying to find a station in a one way system full of 10% climbs. But I had a great morning!
Oh dear god... what happened...
... I… I’m not hungover? At all? And well rested even though I got up at 8AM? I have six dead Pilsner’s here as proof! Damn synthahol. I don’t understand…
Had a great time last night… time to go feed the 39 cats and prepare for my odious life as a shut-in… by which I mean going to REI to buy a new day pack… my tried and true North Face Wasatch unlashed itself from the back of the Triumph and dragged against the rear tire for about 5 miles before I got home on Thursday from work. Burned through the outside pocket… the inside comparment… through my new NorthFace wash bag that was inside (that I bought in Glacier National Park last month) and half way through my shampoo bottle inside of that. On the plus side, my rear tire has a healthy sheen and amazing amounts of body.
I know, it said "als" instead of "ist"... don't give me any crap...
And I have really good form coming out of the Tour de France...
I know, it said "als" instead of "ist"... don't give me any crap...
Hey they're starting the NBC TV coverage of the race now
on the west coast.
Boy what a fab night! The pot of coffee at 11pm, got me through to the end last night. Well worth it too. Not sure if I can do it again tonight for the women, but I’ll try….
You have HD?? Me too. Its new so it is still a big toy. I am totally impressed.
All I can say is wow. HD cycling is hot. As my daughter would say.
It was nice while it lasted.
Hope they get back to the race soon!
I did like the rowing in HD though.
you can go up to the nbcolympics site and watch the full race video
sans audio commentary of course
"Wizard's first rule. People are stupid. They will believe anything they want to be true or fear to be true." -- Terry Goodkind
Thanks. I saw the whole race online live last night.
I was one of the die hards. Nice to see it rerun on the big screen TV in HD though.
My first,
live thread participation was a bit of a bust. I’ve got four kids and between trying to keep them out of my hair, watch the opening ceremonies, follow the PdC play-by-play, and dash off to the store for an 11PM beer run, I was simply too distracted to be much of an active participant in the fun. I ran out of steam around 60K to go – literally fell asleep in my chair in front of the laptop. Every party has a pooper…
On the plus, I really enjoyed all the comments, and SamSan and Kolobnev are finally making their VDS proud.
Don't worry Chef
everyone gets dropped on their first live thread. You just need to keep trying, maybe work on your finger strength, learn to ignore the kids, stock up on coffee/beer/tea, pace yourself, etc. You will learn…
And I can not brag too much. I didn't make any of the TdF live. All TiVo all the time in July.
But this 8pm west coast stuff is perfect. I am a night person so staying up til 3am is my kind of fun. Getting up at 4am or 5am not so much.
when i remeber the race
i remember the gesture of Andy….poor guy.
Luxembourg can win one medal in JO?
if he could win a medal, he it would be a national hero.
And Dan proposed marriage to me last night in thread 8... or was it 7.
You do remember don’t you Dan? Don’t break a girls heart.
And for the pre-party, we're going surfing. :-)
"The most wasted day is that in which we have not laughed."
All in the name of celebrating you and Crashdan.
Just the two of you and a few hundred of your closest PdC friends celebrating such a precious moment. :-)
"The most wasted day is that in which we have not laughed."
I can see the wedding now
a bunch of cycling geeks sitting around with laptops… Mark can DJ the reception, but only if he plays Kraftwerk. Drew can officiate. Bethie will take care of the lighting. Who will do the flowers? The cake?
I'll run the live thread
"If writing too much about the Classics is wrong, I don't want to be right."
by Chris Fontecchio on Aug 10, 2008 9:46 AM EDT up reply actions
And it's videod with out sound.
Comments made online to keep all up to speed at what’s going on!
"The most wasted day is that in which we have not laughed."
Who are you people....
... did i go to Vegas last night? No one was promised any of the following last night…
1) A tent
2) A camera bag
3) “stuff”
4) marriage
5) wedding reception in Hawai’i
6) a puppy
7) a pony
8) a victory for Italy
I know, it said "als" instead of "ist"... don't give me any crap...
I can be ordained online
with the click of a mouse. But I will require at least 30 seconds in order to prepare for the service.
So where will the bachelor party be? An overnight through Redwood National forest? That would be cool.
"I have come here to chew bubblegum and kick ass... and I'm all out of bubblegum."
Seriously, who asked for "stuff" ?
Was anyone even close to sober ?
Carlos Sastre - Tour de France winner - Born From Jets
You're a sweet guy Jimbo...
... that’s why as of yesterday morning, I’m sporting your mustache now. I’m gonna call it my Jimstache.
I know, it said "als" instead of "ist"... don't give me any crap...
Lyne
Did I see you say you are going to the race today in San Rafael? Me too. Let me know where you will be hanging around, and how to identify you, and I will try to find you and say hi.
yep, Steph and I are going
no idea where we’ll be hanging around as we’ll be moving around taking pics
Ok
I’ll just wander around randomly yelling out “Lebowski” at everyone I see with a camera. Ignore me if you get frightened.
Only saw one photog
when I was waling around. I yelled Lebowski, but he just looked at me funny… Then I settled in on the barriers by the registration tents to watch the Cat 3 men’s race, and stayed there until the end. Excellent racing on every level I have to say. The women’s pro race was particularly excellent. Very tactical. And my friend Scott won the Cat 4 race which was really fun to watch.
we only got there at 4:30pm and
then went for a late lunch (early dinner)... we did take pics of the women and men’s races afterwards.
sorry to have missed you. and great for Scott.
Congrats guys to a sweet night!
I am still not up to speed. Just watching the finish on NBC. Bummed I missed the earlier pieces but this is sweet and Paul and Craig are doing a good job. :-)
"The most wasted day is that in which we have not laughed."
And by bummed about missing...
I mean the HD commentated NBC TV coverage. My ass was up until after 5 this morning and I only missed about 15 minutes of the race itself making a drink run to continue on. And this HD coverage watching Tony coming up… just as exciting the 2nd time!
"The most wasted day is that in which we have not laughed."
Too little coverage on NBC!!!!!
I’ve been at work with my tiny TV and while waiting for the little patches of cycling, I’ve seen women with swords, men and women playing in the sand, people out for a nice row, some guys swimming. Yawn. More cycling please!
by cg. on Aug 9, 2008 4:45 PM EDT up reply actions
well you can watch the whole thing online as often as you want
the video – with no commentators – is available for viewing
Props to
HWMNBN – only lost to Wiens by a couple of minutes, in the Leadville 100. I didn’t think he’d be anywhere near that close.
Are you guys going to make me go re-read all the threads to figure that one out again?
(I plan on doing that anyway but that hurts my head right now…)
"The most wasted day is that in which we have not laughed."
It's quicker
to see who came in 2nd at Leadville (and pull out your Harry Potter glossary).
by cg. on Aug 9, 2008 4:52 PM EDT up reply actions
hint
he won the Tour seven times. And he can be named, just not the contents of his blood.
"If writing too much about the Classics is wrong, I don't want to be right."
by Chris Fontecchio on Aug 10, 2008 9:48 AM EDT up reply actions
Reading the threads now
The first casualty of olympics is sanity apparently.
Carlos Sastre - Tour de France winner - Born From Jets
OMG...
I swear the NBC dude just talked about Spain and how Sammy has a recent TDF crown? Please tell me I heard him wrong and he properly said Sastre. Good lord.
"The most wasted day is that in which we have not laughed."
You've got a huge Bruce gap on us west coasters today! ;-)
But it is nice to know NBC will get back to the cycling at some point this afternoon!
It's 3 oh so brief sections
if my count is correct. (No medals yet. Do they show all the medals if no one from US wins?)
by cg. on Aug 9, 2008 4:56 PM EDT up reply actions
Actually
it was 4 brief sections (one was really brief: less than 5 minutes, so you might have blinked) and, thus far, the only medal ceremony I’ve seen was the women’s sabre; this in spite of the fact a number of medals have been awarded (albeit mainly in things like shooting and weightlifting, IIRC)
Sammy already has the medal ceremony on his website
along with various other clips and photographs. Someone must have worked fast!
Yeah it was
Bravo, Samu, indeed.
It also seemed like Cancellara was happier with his bronze than Rebellin was with his Silver.
Yes, Rebellin looked a little bit moody.
I suppose it’s worse being 2nd than 3rd in a way because you’ve so nearly won
I tend to agree
but Tony didn’t seem to think so…
Tony from CSC/Saxo website
“At first I was a little disappointed that I wasn’t able to win, but I quickly realized that I did very well – better than I could have expected in advance,” More here
As opposed to?
I can’t really picture Rebellin happy. Faintly smiling, maybe.
"If writing too much about the Classics is wrong, I don't want to be right."
by Chris Fontecchio on Aug 10, 2008 9:49 AM EDT up reply actions
I don't think he meant
Sammy won the TdF. He was going on about how Spaniards won the Euro Cup, the French Open and Wmbledon, the TdF, and now the Olympic men’s RR (I couldn’t help noticing he left out the Giro, though, unless I just imagined that the Accountant won it…)
I'll try and give that guy the benefit of him meaning it that way.
I just swear he said Sammy had it. It was after the final and he was recapping going into the next sport.
"The most wasted day is that in which we have not laughed."
Right
I heard it; he was talking about the Spanish.
"If writing too much about the Classics is wrong, I don't want to be right."
by Chris Fontecchio on Aug 10, 2008 9:50 AM EDT up reply actions
Video Highlights
Here are the video highlights:
http://tinyurl.com/55347e
or if you look around for men’s road cycling you can watch the entire race
6 hr 34 minutes or jump forward to last lap at about 6 hr.
you gotta love the spanish and italian commentators...
take a breath boys….
"Wizard's first rule. People are stupid. They will believe anything they want to be true or fear to be true." -- Terry Goodkind
Had a great time last night
i was definitely disadvantaged. I only had one computer running. :)
I paid for it though. I got worked on the club ride today.
shhhh...
everybody’s sleeping…
things i love about this race (and racing in general) – that there can be so many great performances; that the pundits repeatedly get it wrong and riders pull out surprises time after time; that “contenders” will decide to sacrifice their own chances for their mates and help them go through for the glory; and that fans will scale walls and climb fences to cheer (or stay up all night posting and blogging).
things i hate – that commentators and broadcasters can be so stupid and/or off the mark and/or unknowledgeable and/or misleading about the riders and the sport.
where do i sign?
fuck the monopoly!
one cable company in my town, one isp for my building, the cable company, and they restrict certain content. in this case, they wanted to sell an olympics package of their own for streaming viddy. so, the nbc site ran suuuper slow. same thing happens with torrent sites, because they also own copyrights on a fair amount of content. bastards.
eh, whatever. i got some coverage coming through the pipes.
+1
i got some coverage, too, but i hate that it was all broken up – i left the tv to do something because i didn’t want to watch women’s weightlifting, and came back later to hear the voice of Craig Hummer announcing the winners while the camera panned to yet another shot of a building. so i &(&%# missed the final part of the race – again!
I may have missed it
since there are so many Olympic related posts, but Christian Vande Velde has posted a blog entry on USA Today regarding the race and particularly the people watching in the Olympic Village
And to think
There was even a discussion over whether to include the Olympics in the list of VDS races.
You must have Sanches on your team :)
I know, it said "als" instead of "ist"... don't give me any crap...
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