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.