Tour of Qatar Pics
by tehGrindCrusher on Feb 11, 2011 9:43 AM EST
Email
PrintOne of the nice things about being a sports fan in Qatar is that the Qataris pay a lot of money for big-time sporting events that fairly few people attend. This means that the athletes have their guards down around the fans since they're not really swarmed. Since I moved here I've brushed shoulders with Lee Westwood on his way from the 9th to the 10th tees at the Qatar Masters golf tournament, sat five feet away from Greg Gaultier and Karim Darwish during the Doha Classic squash tournament, sat fifteen feet away from Serena Williams at a tennis tournament and walked along the pit row of an unlimited hydroplane boat race.
Today I finally managed to get down to the Tour of Qatar. While my blackberry camera chose to malfunction right when the racers crossed the line, I still managed to get a few other pictures. If I was more of a stalker of a mind to, I probably could have gotten a ton of autographs.
Photos across the jump.
This is the peloton, straining hard to catch the two man breakaway.
Talk about access! If I wanted to, I could have stuck out my arm and clotheslined half the peloton. As it was, I settled for this picture.
Renshaw taking time to talk to the media. It was pretty clear that he was not used to being the center of attention.
I have to say, the beard looks better in person than it does on film. The picture doesn't show it, but that fall he took the other day looked to be pretty gnarly, based on the bandages he had on his leg.
Some Belgian guy.
Wiggo = tall.
Flecha just oozes a vibe that says, "I'm badass."
...and the Garvelos, chilling on the corniche. Once they leave, their place will be taken by several Pakistani laborers.
31 comments
|
0 recs |
Do you like this story?
Comments
nice
"Ants don’t worry, they operate like a fantastic team, they accept obstacles and deal with them in a positive manner, they don’t complain and remain positive. An ant doesn’t work on emotion, is proactive and always chooses the ant role."
So cool! And so easy to mingle with the riders without massive crowds there!
I love the one of the Leopard and Garmins all lined up on the front.
Dos cervezas por favor!
Thanks.
Somewhere I have another pic as the main part of the peloton flew by. The ones on the curb were no more than four feet from me.
Never use a metaphor, simile, or other figure of speech which you are used to seeing in print.
Never use a long word where a short one will do.
If it is possible to cut a word out, always cut it out.
Never use the passive where you can use the active.
Never use a foreign phrase, a scientific word, or a jargon word if you can think of an everyday English equivalent.
Break any of these rules sooner than say anything outright barbarous.
-Orwell, Politics and the English Language
www.battleredblog.com
by tehGrindCrusher on Feb 11, 2011 10:51 AM EST up reply actions
Here it is.
Never use a metaphor, simile, or other figure of speech which you are used to seeing in print.
Never use a long word where a short one will do.
If it is possible to cut a word out, always cut it out.
Never use the passive where you can use the active.
Never use a foreign phrase, a scientific word, or a jargon word if you can think of an everyday English equivalent.
Break any of these rules sooner than say anything outright barbarous.
-Orwell, Politics and the English Language
www.battleredblog.com
by tehGrindCrusher on Feb 11, 2011 10:53 AM EST up reply actions
What did that sound like?
"Does that mean over or resolved?" Arkady Renko
by frans verbiage on Feb 11, 2011 11:02 AM EST up reply actions
That's actually a very good question.
The noise was actually remarkable.
My son likes to flatten a plastic bottle and stick it under the seat stay of his dirt bike so that it makes a certain noise. If you can imagine that and combine it with a swarm of angry bees you get a basic idea of what it sounded like.
Never use a metaphor, simile, or other figure of speech which you are used to seeing in print.
Never use a long word where a short one will do.
If it is possible to cut a word out, always cut it out.
Never use the passive where you can use the active.
Never use a foreign phrase, a scientific word, or a jargon word if you can think of an everyday English equivalent.
Break any of these rules sooner than say anything outright barbarous.
-Orwell, Politics and the English Language
www.battleredblog.com
by tehGrindCrusher on Feb 11, 2011 12:08 PM EST up reply actions
Benna is the George Hamilton of the peloton...
(eternally bronze)
by JustJoshinYa on Feb 11, 2011 1:44 PM EST up reply actions
"the George Hamilton of the peloton"
and people have trouble remembering why he’s so famous.
If cobble delusions are wrong, who wants to be right? -JFS PGH
by Chris Fontecchio on Feb 11, 2011 4:47 PM EST up reply actions
To give you another idea of how close you could get.
That’s me standing up there on the right of the screen.
Never use a metaphor, simile, or other figure of speech which you are used to seeing in print.
Never use a long word where a short one will do.
If it is possible to cut a word out, always cut it out.
Never use the passive where you can use the active.
Never use a foreign phrase, a scientific word, or a jargon word if you can think of an everyday English equivalent.
Break any of these rules sooner than say anything outright barbarous.
-Orwell, Politics and the English Language
www.battleredblog.com
by tehGrindCrusher on Feb 12, 2011 9:10 AM EST up reply actions
no jostling your way to the front, then!
"There is nobody doing it for the money. Everybody is doing it because they want to ride bikes." Lizzie Armitstead
Just past that rather surly German man that's sitting down there.
Never use a metaphor, simile, or other figure of speech which you are used to seeing in print.
Never use a long word where a short one will do.
If it is possible to cut a word out, always cut it out.
Never use the passive where you can use the active.
Never use a foreign phrase, a scientific word, or a jargon word if you can think of an everyday English equivalent.
Break any of these rules sooner than say anything outright barbarous.
-Orwell, Politics and the English Language
www.battleredblog.com
by tehGrindCrusher on Feb 14, 2011 12:32 AM EST up reply actions
That one's ace.
Love the palm trees & the shapes of the buildings against the sky, too.
"There is nobody doing it for the money. Everybody is doing it because they want to ride bikes." Lizzie Armitstead
Thank you...looks like a good time..
"How strange it was to see men doing something beautiful. Something pointless and elegant." Tim Winton, 'Breath'
"Once they leave, their place will be taken by several Pakistani laborers."
Funny and then sad.
Hope I can make it out there one day.
To be fair
I could have used Nepali or Indian laborers as well.
Actually, the average Pakistani is probably better-compensated than his fellow South Asians.
Never use a metaphor, simile, or other figure of speech which you are used to seeing in print.
Never use a long word where a short one will do.
If it is possible to cut a word out, always cut it out.
Never use the passive where you can use the active.
Never use a foreign phrase, a scientific word, or a jargon word if you can think of an everyday English equivalent.
Break any of these rules sooner than say anything outright barbarous.
-Orwell, Politics and the English Language
www.battleredblog.com
by tehGrindCrusher on Feb 11, 2011 12:09 PM EST up reply actions
Nice!
The look on Cavendish face says it all
"I love bike races warm up, warm down, cobbles mountains or flats."
perezbike
.
It has finally pissed me off too
I hate Garmin and Leopard for going the way of Sky with their kits. Makes it way too hard to distinguish teams.
"It's a lovely thing, feeling that momentum. If you're lucky, it's also about grace." Tim Winton
+1
Really wishing Garvelo could have at least kept the Catlike helmets.
"It was getting colder and colder as we went up. About halfway up, I started to go a little backwards and as I passed Thor he looked at me and said, "If you lose my wheel I will smash you." I took his wheel and found an extra gear." João Correia
Comments For This Post Are Closed
Secondary Sidebar
User Tools
Related FanPosts on Podium Cafe
FanPosts
Community blog posts and discussion.
Recommended FanPosts
Recent FanPosts
Celebrate the Giro d'Italia at Podium Cafe!
Check our Giro Section for race updates, on-the-scene reports, and other hijinx.
Featured Stories
FanShots
Quick hits of video, photos, quotes, chats, links and lists that you find around the web.
Recent FanShots
