Liege – Liege (4 miles)
Le. Tour. De. France.
Le Tour kind of kicks off the third year of The Stars Hollow Gazette. The Prologue of 2010 is the very first public diary. This is the 99th Tour.
Sports live blogging demonstrates many desirable characteristics for a ‘community’ diary- the experience is scheduled, it is shared in real time, it has a built in duration, and the result is unknown so it has the virtue of novelty. While partiality and encouragement may be shown to sentimental favorites there is no argument about the situation once the play is called.
Participation is encouraged, all you have to do is register. My opinion on the subject is not very deep, I’m a casual fan since a little before Armstrong.
Conventional wisdom will not allow for more than two contenders overall. Cadell Evans, last year’s winner who spent his off-season adopting an Ethiopean; and Bradley Wiggins who has side burns and would be the first Brit to ever win.
Now there are other outlets that broaden the range of possibilities-
- Tour de France 2012 – the riders in the hunt for the yellow jersey
- Tour de France 2012 preview: Race wide open
- 2012 Tour de France: Top contenders
- Tour de France 2012 dark horses
These are some opinions on the dates of importance-
- 5 Stages to watch in the 2012 Tour de France
- Tour De France 2012 Schedule: Where to Catch Race’s Most Exciting Days
The significance of today’s little 4 mile time trial is that just as in Formula One you want to get a good start and clean air and see if you can pull out to a substantial enough advantage (tens of seconds is a start) so that you can weather some bad luck. Many of the initial stages will be along the coast which is picturesque but slippery and windy and contenders will be trying to avoid early washouts. There are those who contend the course more time trial than mountain and the truth is that there are as many trials as up hill finishes and only 5 days of high mountains which represents a considerable shift in emphasis.
Points
So there are fewer teams featuring hill climbing anchors and more with sprinting contenders. Goss predicts sprint battle royal on Tour de France. Perhaps, it’s hard to keep track of.
Coverage is customarily on Vs. (NBC Sports) starting at 8 am with repeats at noon, 2:30, and 8 pm. There will be some streaming evidently, but not all of it is free.
Sites of Interest-
- 2012 Le Tour
- Liege – Liege (4 miles)
- Wikipedia
- Geek Guide (very basic)
- Guardian Interactive Guide
The Stars Hollow Gazette Tags-
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Pre-race hype.
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This year the race begins in Liège, Belgium and will end on July 22 with the traditional entry into Paris and laps up and down the Champs-Élysées. Over the next 22 days the race will take its course briefly along the Northwestern coast of France through Boulogne-sur-Mer, Abbeville and into Rouen.
Most of the first stages are flat to hilly with the more rigorous mountain stages through the Swiss Jura, the Alps and the Pyrenees.
when i quit biking and watch others sweat. I couldnt keep up with the worst rider for even a mile. These guys coast at 30 mph. Evans hasbeen my favorite rider since he rode a Ridley. He was snake bit after too many injurues. Up and comer American is TJ Van Garderen, who should start winning stages this year.