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.

Tour Tidbit du Jour - 7/15/2011

Even though the biggest and oldest Grand Tour is known as the Tour de France, one could hardly tell from looking at the nationalities of the 25 last overall winners. A big Norwegian beating two Frenchmen to the line on today's mountain stage, a heavy sprinter versus two light climbers, only underscores the fact that there have been no French stage winners at the Tour so far, and that in the French peloton, there does not seem to be any developing future Tour winners or dominant sprinters. The last Frenchman to win the yellow jersey, Bernard Hinault, whose 5th and last Tour victory was in 1985, had only this to say, in typical Badger style, about France's future prospects: "“Pffft. We’re on vacation here.”

Tour Tidbit du Jour - 7/14/2011

Cyclists in the Tour are known for battling for position, fighting for wheels, attacking each other, or wrestling with their machines. But actually fighting with each other? It's rather hard to start a fistfight while wearing awkward cleats and helmets, but those limitations can fall by the wayside if a cyclist is mad enough. Until Rui Costa won Stage 8 this year, he was best known for stealing another rider's musette bag in a feed zone in the 2010 Tour. Needless to say, Carlos Barredo was not happy about missing his food, and let Costa know about it at the end of the stage by trying to smack him with his front wheel.


Tour De France Rider Hits Opponent With Wheel - Watch more Sports

Tour Tidbit du Jour - 7/13/2011

Nicknames in the peloton either have their origins from the race commentary, from teammates, or a combination of both before they stick. Bernard Hinault, 5 time winner of the Tour, was known as "The Badger" for his strong-headed style, but was also known as "Le Patron," for being able to control the bunch during the course of a stage. Lance Armstrong became known as "The Boss," a call-back to Hinault's dominance over the peloton, as he and his teams so clearly dominated during his 7 consecutive victories. These days, the flamboyant stage winners and fast sprinters are the ones with nicknames, notably Mark "The Manx Missile" Cavendish for being the acclaimed fastest man in the last 200 meters, Andre "The Gorilla" Greipel for his size and strength, and Fabian "Spartacus" Cancellara for being gladiator-like in his competitive attitude. Interestingly enough, American sprinter Tyler Farrar, does not have a nickname because he is "too polite," and is known simply as Ty.

Tour Tidbit du Jour - 7/12/2011

At the podium presentations at the end of each stage, the stage winner and most aggressive rider receive trophies. The current jersey wearers receive new jerseys, but also receive trophies. The green jersey holder gets a stylized green jersey with the main sponsor PMU, an offsite betting company, stamped on it. The polka-dot jersey receives a Carrefour trophy, a French department store which has been the sponsor of the King of the Mountains prize since the 1990's. The yellow jersey gets a stuffed lion, the mascot of the big French bank (Le Credit Lyonnais) LCL. And the young riders competition gets a stuffed yeti, not anything to do with car manufacturer Skoda, but keeping to the theme of a stuffed animal going to a general classification leader.

Tour Tidbit du Jour - 7/11/2011 - Rest Day

After yesterday's terrifying collision with a media car that sent Johnny Hoogerland flying into a barbed wire fence, the new KOM jersey wearer got some comfort from his father on a much more relaxing ride during the first rest day at the Tour.

AFP PHOTO / ANP – KOEN VAN WEEL

Tour Tidbit du Jour - 7/10/2011

It's not just the riders getting all bruised and battered during the first week of the Tour. Check out SaxoBank's team car after Stage 8:

Please note: orange car of Euskatel-Euskadi did not cause the dent!

Even the young fan can't believe they were still able to close that hatch door.

Tour Tidbit du Jour - 7/9/2011

Young American Tejay Van Garderen pulled on the polka-dot King of the Mountains jersey at the end of the 8th stage after getting all of his 5 points on the 2nd category climb on the course. The stage winner, Rui Costa, also has 5 points overall in the mountains competition, but the tie-breaker rules give the jersey to Van Garderen because he has a first place finish on a higher rated climb. The highest rated climb of the Tour so far was the Category 2 climb on today's stage. This is Van Garderen's first appearance at the Tour de France, at only 22 years of age.

Tour Tidbit du Jour - 7/8/2011

One of the traditions of the Tour is allowing french riders to make a quick visit with their families if the route passes through their hometowns. The peloton will slow, the rider will launch out of the pack, and pull over to the side of the road for quick hugs and kisses. The peloton will pass, make some friendly waves, the rider will then say his goodbyes, and rejoin the peloton, which will then get back up to cruising speed. On Stage 7 today, the route passed by the city of Tours, the birthplace of FDJ rider and breakaway artist Jeremy Roy, so when he launched out of the peloton, there were wry reactions from commentators, but the peloton knew that his family was waiting for him up the road.

Tour Tidbit du Jour - 7/7/2011

Crashes are common sights in the first week of the Tour, especially on the northwestern coasts of France in Brittany and Normandy, where, if the crosswinds  don't drive you into the ditches of the narrow roads, the slick roads caused by summer storms will. One rider caught in a ditch on stage 6 was Levi Leipheimer, who was pinned up against a guardrail in the run-up to the finish line:

“It was just a silly crash. We knew there was about a kilometer-and-a-half uphill at the end, so it was important to be right at the front. I was trying to shoot through some gaps, and one time it just closed up on me and I was pinned against the guardrail. I kinda surfed the guardrail for like 20 meters, and thankfully that slowed me down and I just fell into the dirt.”

Thanks to the rain, the rail was very slick, and Levi managed to slide along it with his right calf, before jumping off his bike. Some reporters likened it to ballet, while other riders, notably Christian Vande Velde, were impressed Levi was able to keep the bike up for so long.

Tour Tidbit du Jour - 7/6/2011

The sprint points are not the only rules that have changed for the Tour this year, as the King of the Mountains points have also changed dramatically from last year. Whereas HC (above category) climbs last year were 20 points for the first rider over the summit, with points available for the first 10, 1st Category climbs were 15 for first place and 8 placings, 2nd Category were 10 points for 6 placings, 3rd Category were 4 for 4 placings, and 4th Category were 3 points for 3 placings, this year, the climber's jersey at the end of the race will only be for the true climbers instead of the breakaway artists picking up mountain points before the big climbs. Cat 4 is only 1 point. Cat 3 is only 2 points for the first two. Cat 2 is only 5 points for the first 4. Cat 1 is 10 points for the 6, and HC is just double Cat 1 at 20 points for the first 6. This may be the first year, because of all the mountain top finishes, that the yellow jersey winner will also wear the polka dot jersey.

Tour Tidbit du Jour - 7/5/2011

During a 100-plus mile bike race, there's no such thing as a time out to take a bathroom break. You will usually see a group of riders pull over to the side of the road on a flat or easy part of the course near some bushes, and just start urinating, not even fully dismounting from the bike. Having a small group allows them all to work together to get back into the peloton when they've finished up. On long slow descents, you may even see riders coast to one side of the road, and whip it out, while keeping one hand on the handlebars, and make sure they don't splash themselves or their bikes. So it seems odd that the race commissars would fine anyone for "peeing in public," yet that infraction was assessed to John Gadret of AG2R-Mondiale on today's stage to the tune of 100 euros. I can only guess that the, er, infraction happened too close to the viewing public, either a group of fans out in the middle of the course, or in one the many little villages the race route usually goes through.

Tour Tidbit du Jour - 7/4/2011

During yesterday's Team Time Trial, we saw Frank Schleck sitting on the back of the Leopard-Trek pursuit train not taking any turns, and letting the rider who had just taken a pull at the front rejoining the paceline in front of him. Schleck is not known for his time trialing abilities, and if anyone on the team was to be protected, it would have been his younger brother, Andy, who is the team's designated General Classification hopeful. In reports today, we found out why he was sitting in the back: he had swallowed a bug in the first kilometer and it had stung his throat on the way down.

He had to worry about whether he would have an allergic reaction during the remainder of the 23 kilometer course. Thankfully, there was no huge histamine response, and Frank was able to finish with the first five across  the line. Jonathon Vaughters, the Sporting Director of Garmin-Cervelo, had to abandon his last Tour de France in 2001 because he got stung near the eye during a training ride before a stage, and the doping rules at the time would not have allowed him to take a cortisone shot to reduced the swelling that had closed his eye shut.

Tour Tidbit du Jour - 7/3/2011

The national cycling champions of their respective nations get to wear special racing jerseys incorporating their flags' colors. The designs have no standards, usually based on their teams' kit and logo placements. Rarely, a nation's cycling governing body will not approve a rider's team kit, as happened to Filippo Pozzato when Italy refused to sign off on his Katusha team's design in 2009. In the Team Time Trial at the Tour de France, the U.S. national time trial champion, David Zabriskie riding for Garmin-Cervelo, wore his new Captain America suit. There were no objections from U.S. Cycling, I'm sure.

Photo: Graham Watson | www.grahamwatson.com

Tour Tidbit du Jour - 7/2/2011

The Tour de France is known for being many races within the main General Classification race. The different colored jerseys riders compete for reflect the race within the race, along with all the different sprint lines on each stage of the the three week race. The top of each categorized climb is a finish line awarding points for the mountain jersey and intermediate sprint lines are also finish lines awarding points for the sprinters jersey (and bonus seconds in years' past). However, the rules for the sprinters' points are different this year. Instead of two or three sprint lines worth a few points (6-4-2),there is only one intermediate sprint line worth 20 points, with points going to the first 15 across, just like the stage finish line of a designated mountain stage. To offset the massive amount of points for the lone intermediate sprint, flat stages are now worth 45 points, with points awarded down to the first 15 placings in increments of two after the first 5, instead of the usual 35 and 25 placings. The medium stages are now worth 30 points serving up points for 15 placings same as the flats, instead of 25 and 20 placings. Mountain stage points are unchanged. The teams vying for the green jersey this year will have to stay awake for the half-way point of each stage, instead of just ramping up the peloton in the last 50 kms to catch the breakaway.