Meh.

MEH!

Nobel Prize Winning Economic Advice

Christopher Sims, upon winning the Nobel Prize in Economics with Tom Sargent, was asked what he would do with the prize money:

"First thing I'm gonna do is keep it in cash for a while and think."

Pikachu Bicycle Helmet Cover!

Only in Japan, during a mamachari (mommy bicycle) relay race, will you see Pokemon cycling accessories:

Video here, via blog post from The Truth About Cars here.

Aw, Don't Be Like That...

Christian VandeVelde, reacting to coming in 2nd place behind Levi Leipheimer in the time trial at the USA Pro Cycling Challenge in Vail, by 0.58 seconds:

Oh, It's Denied!

"It's denied like a Bank of Ponzi credit card!"

Tour de Crashes

As I suffer through Tour de France withdrawals, I want to reflect on some of the reasons that made the 2011 Tour so crash-filled. Some may say it was the narrow roads chosen for the route in the first week, combined with the bad weather, and a nervous peloton with a full complement of 198 riders. While it is conventional wisdom to expect lots of crashes in the first week because the riders are full of energy and nerves, and they don't really calm down until after the first rest day, it seemed to me that many of the crashes happened away from places one expects these crashes. The minor crashes happened where they usually do, on turns, in the narrow streets of the small villages, and in the melee of the final sprints. But there were also crashes that caused major injuries and abandons on flat, wide, newly surfaced roads. What was happening there?

On Versus, Bob Roll and Todd Gogulski offered a new wrinkle on the nervous peloton explanation: that the recent Grand Tour pelotons don't have a lot of experience riding with each other. In years past, the pro peloton would see the same guys over and again at all the different races, because the teams just weren't as big as they are now. Directors did not have the luxury of choosing their 9-man Tour squad from 30 guys like they do these days, so back then, the pro riders could pick up on each others' habits and cues in negotiating movement within the bunch. Not so these days, where riders may not have even ridden together on the same squad. After Stage 10, which saw the crashing out of Vinokourov, Van den Broek, and Zabriskie, even before the incident with a media car that knocked over Flecha and Hoogerland, David Millar spoke of a reduction in "camaraderie and respect" within the peloton, and how it had become more "mercurial" in recent years. Riding in a Grand Tour takes more than strong legs and a big heart, but also experience in bike handling, judgment of road conditions, and awareness of the other riders. Perhaps some of the younger GC hopefuls and their domestiques are just not ready mentally for riding with 190 other guys. But still, some of these silly crashes caused a lot of broken bones and concussions, instead of the usual scrapes and bruises.

The crash that took out Janis Brajkovic, and dashed Robert Gesink's GC hopes with a badly bruised back, happened on a day with some brutal crosswinds, which usually push riders to use up the entire width of the road. On those edges, the cyclists will sometimes have to pop onto the shoulder and then get back onto the road as they jockey for position in the pack. But it seems to me that these newly surfaced roads neglected shoulder work, so that there were high lips or berms on both sides of the lane. Any rider knows that it is bad news to slide down a lip on such thin wheels, and it is almost impossible to keep the bike upright, especially if both tires wash out in the loose dirt. It was a similar crash that took out Bradley Wiggins and Chris Horner, even though they were on different sides of the road. So while an inexperienced peloton was the probable spark of these crashes, sliding out in the gutter while trying to avoid them caused the serious injuries in the domino effect. So, counterintuitively, the newly paved roads made racing conditions more dangerous.

It was this combination of unfamiliarity among the cyclists in the pro peloton with the neglected shoulder work on some of the flat roads in France that caused the injuries for the protected riders of the peloton. Normally, it just wouldn't happen that a protected GC hopeful would be riding on the side of the road, but Contador crashed numerous times while on the outside of the pack, instead of the middle. Brajkovic and Gesink got caught up on the side of the road, as well as Wiggins, Horner, even Levi Leipheimer. The final top 3, Evans and the Schleck brothers, were on teams with some of the most respected and experienced men in the peloton, so their positions in the bunch were always well negotiated: towards the front and in the middle. Some may call it luck that they were not involved in any major incidents, but when you have George Hincapie, Jens Voigt, Stuart O'Grady, or Fabian Cancellara growling at the other teams to get out of the way, I certainly wouldn't call that luck.

Tour Tidbit du Jour - 7/24/2011 - Finale

The 98th Tour de France was a race of many firsts. Cadel Evans became the first Australian to win the Tour. Mark Cavendish became the first British rider to win the sprinters' points competition. This is the first time two brothers, Andy and Frank Schleck, placed on the final podium. Andre Greipel, at his first Tour, had joined a different team because he shared designated sprinting duties with his former teammate Mark Cavendish and thus was never chosen for Team High Road's Tour de France squad, picked up his first Tour stage win. Tyler Farrah, after trying for a stage win for the last three Tours, won his first one this year.

Tour Tidbit du Jour - 7/23/2011

It was bound to happen, but Thomas Voeckler delayed the loss of the yellow jersey as long as he could, and surrendered it to Andy Schleck on Alpe d'Huez. However, his trusted mountain companion, Pierre Rolland, won the stage and took on the young rider's jersey, not only saving French pride by winning the country's lone stage victory, but also securing a podium jersey in Paris with a fine defense in today's individual time trial. Voeckler wore the yellow jersey on ten stages, equaling his jersey count from 2004. Also, Rolland was the first Frenchman to win a mountain-top finish at Alpe d'Huez since Bernard Hinault in 1986.

Tour Tidbit du Jour - 7/22/2011

Alberto Contador addressed some of the doping allegations against him while climbing a 10% grade on Alpe d'Huez:

Photo: AFP

Tour Tidbit du Jour - 7/21/2011

As I've written about before, on huge climbing days, the sprinters' grupetto can nullify the time-cut, if they have a large enough bunch. However, along with the other new rules for sprinter points in this year's Tour, the organizers have come up with a balance to that check by penalizing each of the riders the stage winner's points if they decide to do that. Today's stage was the first time that new rule was invoked, and 88 riders lost 20 of their green jersey points. Because Movistar seems to be aiming for the green jersey by trying to eliminate Mark Cavendish in the mountains, instead of beating him to the finish lines, Jose Joaquin Rojas beat the grupetto, came in under the time-cut, and cut Cavendish's lead in the points competition to 15, and extended his lead over Philippe Gilbert and Thor Hushovd.

Tour Tidbit du Jour - 7/20/2011

French rider Thomas Voeckler kept his yellow jersey for another day, which is something for his countrymen to be proud, however there is still the lack of stage wins for any Frenchman, when they are the most represented nationality in the Tour. There were 45 French riders to start the Tour, and have no stage wins to their credit. Meanwhile, Norway only has two riders representing it, but already has 4 stage wins: Thor Hushovd and Edvald Boasson Hagen each have 2. When asked about the lack of French representation, Voeckler offered up his take on human nature:

"People are never happy. Last year, we got six stage victories and we were questioned why we were nowhere on GC, this year it's the opposite."

Tour Tidbit du Jour - 7/19/2011

Thor de France!

Photo: Graham Watson | grahamwatson.com

Since the summer of 2002, there seems to have been a Rainbow Jersey curse at the Tour. The last world champion to win a Tour de France stage was Oscar Freire in 2002, and since then, none of the reigning world champions have won at the Tour. Until this year, that is. Thor Hushovd won his second stage this year on Stage 16, his first on Stage 13, and he also wore the yellow jersey for 7 days during the first week. The Rainbow Jersey curse has definitely been broken for 2011.

Tour Tidbit du Jour - 7/18/2011 - Rest Day

Thomas Voeckler, who every commentator must mention he held the yellow jersey for 10 days in the 2004 Tour, has now held the yellow jersey in this year's Tour for 6 days, and may hold it for 3 more days after the Rest day. The pressure to keep the jersey does not seem to be affecting him, as he enjoys a newspaper before the start of Stage 15.

Photo: © Barry Ryan

Tour Tidbit du Jour - 7/17/2011

It's not all suffering, crashes, and bandages at the Tour. Sometimes old friends get to have a nice visit before the start of the stage. Or maybe Levi and Jens are just hamming it up for the sponsors, now that their different teams ride the same bike.

Photo: Andrew Hood

I just hope Jens didn't hurt himself bending down so low for Levi's headlock.

Tour Tidbit du Jour - 7/16/2011

This is what it looks like to finish a mountain stage after faceplanting and breaking your nose in the Tour.

Photo: Graham Watson | grahamwatson.com

Laurens Ten Dam misjudged a corner and tumbled over his handlebars in a grassy portion of the shoulder. Unfortunately, it was in the Pyrenees, so even the soil under the grass is rocky.

Update: X-rays taken after the stage revealed no broken bones, not even the nose, just some deep cuts on the face and nose. Ten Dam is iffy for the start of Stage 15.