On yesterday's Tour de France, a rider experienced all these three in a matter of minutes.
Glory: The youngest rider in this year's tour named Augustyn, climbed one of the highest category mountains in first place. The commentators were extolling his skill.
Misfortune: On the descent of this very steep mountain while in the leading group, he fell off the road. Unlucky you say, commentator's jinx...?
Here's a video link.
(another link of the same one)
Luck: Why? Because while the bike fell down even further, he managed to stop after 10-15 meters? And was not seriously injured... and then finished the race.
Brave: The spectator who ventured down to help him up!
I thought Oscar Periro's crash last week was frightening, but this was more stunning. (Oscar, though had several fractures, but was lucky as well)
Showing posts with label tour de france. Show all posts
Showing posts with label tour de france. Show all posts
Wednesday, July 23, 2008
Thursday, July 17, 2008
Doping in sports
I cannot figure out the psyche behind the athletes who dope. The two most recent positive testers are Riccado Ricco in Tour de France and Mohammed Asif in cricket. Ricco was unknown to me before the tour started, but since then, as I saw him win a couple of spectacular stages, I was impressed. If I am not mistaken, the Tour tests the stage winners, the jersey holders besides random tests and anyone whose performance gives rise to suspicion.
That leads to the following questions.
Do the riders believe they won't be caught despite the fact that the tour is one of the better tested events now?
Do the riders want the 2 minutes of fame though it is actually notoriety they ulimately get?
Are they trying to outsmart the system, but ocassionally get caught?
How did Ricco not get caught in prior 2 wins in Giro d'Italia?
I do think that the tour is trying to do their best now, but it seems to be falling short. What else can the tour do to clean up the sport?
The second part is Asif - besides his own responsiblity and PCB's mis-handling, I find that I hold the IPL and the Daredevils team responsible as well. When prior offenders like Akthar, Asif and even Warne are picked up at a premium, the franchises and the IPL are doing it out of one of two motives.
-They believe they have reformed or were innocent in the first place.
-They are willing to turn a blind eye and take the risk of their getting caught.
If we assume they take the first case, have they done anything to verify that the first scenario is true - have they asked them to take dope tests prior to joining the team? Have they sent them a message saying it won't be acceptable? Have they said they they will conduct independent tests and their contract is dependent on that? I doubt that, and therefore I believe they are willing to look the other way.
In case of the second option, I think that the IPL and other franchises, should insist that a team with a repeat offender (whether they are caught in the IPL or not), should not be allowed to replace the player for the duration of the players contract if a player is banned. As of now they can take the risk of hiring a doper with no consequences. Perhaps if the team was banned for the participation in the next year's IPL, it would be enough of a detterent for the teams to more actively discourage doping.
This leads to the issue of the boards, ICC etc. Do they give any guidance to the young players? (who have learnt a lot from Asif, Aktar etc - as per the IPL interviews). You wonder what they may learn directly or indirectly. Have they been told what to do if exposed to drugs or to bookies? If not there is no point is blaming them down the road.
Lastly, sports should be all about "the spirit". I still remember reading about Luz Long's wonderful gesture towards Jesse Owens with Hitler watching and I doubt that if I had been in the same position I would have made the same choice . In cricket with the Wicketkeepers Walkers Club (co-founders Gilly and Sanga), the spirit still flourishes. Dopers and match-fixers be removed from the game as early as possible - or eventually sports will lose to the Ekta Kapoor bandwagon.
That leads to the following questions.
Do the riders believe they won't be caught despite the fact that the tour is one of the better tested events now?
Do the riders want the 2 minutes of fame though it is actually notoriety they ulimately get?
Are they trying to outsmart the system, but ocassionally get caught?
How did Ricco not get caught in prior 2 wins in Giro d'Italia?
I do think that the tour is trying to do their best now, but it seems to be falling short. What else can the tour do to clean up the sport?
The second part is Asif - besides his own responsiblity and PCB's mis-handling, I find that I hold the IPL and the Daredevils team responsible as well. When prior offenders like Akthar, Asif and even Warne are picked up at a premium, the franchises and the IPL are doing it out of one of two motives.
-They believe they have reformed or were innocent in the first place.
-They are willing to turn a blind eye and take the risk of their getting caught.
If we assume they take the first case, have they done anything to verify that the first scenario is true - have they asked them to take dope tests prior to joining the team? Have they sent them a message saying it won't be acceptable? Have they said they they will conduct independent tests and their contract is dependent on that? I doubt that, and therefore I believe they are willing to look the other way.
In case of the second option, I think that the IPL and other franchises, should insist that a team with a repeat offender (whether they are caught in the IPL or not), should not be allowed to replace the player for the duration of the players contract if a player is banned. As of now they can take the risk of hiring a doper with no consequences. Perhaps if the team was banned for the participation in the next year's IPL, it would be enough of a detterent for the teams to more actively discourage doping.
This leads to the issue of the boards, ICC etc. Do they give any guidance to the young players? (who have learnt a lot from Asif, Aktar etc - as per the IPL interviews). You wonder what they may learn directly or indirectly. Have they been told what to do if exposed to drugs or to bookies? If not there is no point is blaming them down the road.
Lastly, sports should be all about "the spirit". I still remember reading about Luz Long's wonderful gesture towards Jesse Owens with Hitler watching and I doubt that if I had been in the same position I would have made the same choice . In cricket with the Wicketkeepers Walkers Club (co-founders Gilly and Sanga), the spirit still flourishes. Dopers and match-fixers be removed from the game as early as possible - or eventually sports will lose to the Ekta Kapoor bandwagon.
Thursday, July 10, 2008
Cycling stint?
As I watch the tour de france with the average speed around 40 Kms/hr and as I traveled through Chennai stuck in traffic, averaging less than that, I briefly (very, very briefly) considered using a cycle as transport. Here are some major benefits if I did decide to cycle more often.
1. Traffic won't be an issue.
2. It will spare the environment.
3. It is friendlier to the pocket with the ever rising oil prices.
But now I can rationalize my non-cycling decision.
1. I am most likely to destroy the basis of the theory "it's like riding a bike". I haven't ridden a bicycle since childhood and I tried it for a short while on a holiday and did not get far. So I don't want to deprive the next generations the usability of this phrase :-)
2. I currently don't own a cycle - but can be remedied and so not a good enough reason.
3. If I manage to get past the first two issues, I doubt I can ride at 40+Kms/hour (or half that speed) -so I am not likely to travel significant distances.
4. The classic excuse - it is either too hot or rainy to cycle by choice.
5. Eating can be hazardous on a bike (this year's tour already has had feeding station accidents). Why I should think of eating while riding a few kms I don't know - but definitely a consideration?
6. Since the tour is my motivation, I need similar scenic roads to ride in. The beach is an option - but not its approach roads.
7. The big bazaar crew may spring the "bhesh badalo" stuff on me (going by the "appearance is more important" concept behind the ads). I am just throwing that in - as I don't like those ads :-)
Whew! Now I no longer feel guilty of my choice. I can go back to wondering about how tour cyclists are able to ride at such speeds for such long spells and climb the mountains (and they are no small mountains). Yes, doping comes to mind immediately, but as I said before it somehow still fascinates me. I don't follow a team/cyclist as I learnt it is dicey to support anyone as almost all of them are implicated in scandals (and you never know when they will be banned). I rather follow the event and imagine what it would have been like in the pre-doping days.
Interestingly, in each team there is only only one yellow jersey candidate and one sprinter and rest are largely called "domestiques". There are specialized roles within that for each of them (lead out man for the sprinter, lead out in the mountains for the team leader, etc.). What is the motivation behind the "domestiques" - is it just money as they rarely get the glory? Is it the fact they may one day be a Yellow Jersey candidate?
1. Traffic won't be an issue.
2. It will spare the environment.
3. It is friendlier to the pocket with the ever rising oil prices.
But now I can rationalize my non-cycling decision.
1. I am most likely to destroy the basis of the theory "it's like riding a bike". I haven't ridden a bicycle since childhood and I tried it for a short while on a holiday and did not get far. So I don't want to deprive the next generations the usability of this phrase :-)
2. I currently don't own a cycle - but can be remedied and so not a good enough reason.
3. If I manage to get past the first two issues, I doubt I can ride at 40+Kms/hour (or half that speed) -so I am not likely to travel significant distances.
4. The classic excuse - it is either too hot or rainy to cycle by choice.
5. Eating can be hazardous on a bike (this year's tour already has had feeding station accidents). Why I should think of eating while riding a few kms I don't know - but definitely a consideration?
6. Since the tour is my motivation, I need similar scenic roads to ride in. The beach is an option - but not its approach roads.
7. The big bazaar crew may spring the "bhesh badalo" stuff on me (going by the "appearance is more important" concept behind the ads). I am just throwing that in - as I don't like those ads :-)
Whew! Now I no longer feel guilty of my choice. I can go back to wondering about how tour cyclists are able to ride at such speeds for such long spells and climb the mountains (and they are no small mountains). Yes, doping comes to mind immediately, but as I said before it somehow still fascinates me. I don't follow a team/cyclist as I learnt it is dicey to support anyone as almost all of them are implicated in scandals (and you never know when they will be banned). I rather follow the event and imagine what it would have been like in the pre-doping days.
Interestingly, in each team there is only only one yellow jersey candidate and one sprinter and rest are largely called "domestiques". There are specialized roles within that for each of them (lead out man for the sprinter, lead out in the mountains for the team leader, etc.). What is the motivation behind the "domestiques" - is it just money as they rarely get the glory? Is it the fact they may one day be a Yellow Jersey candidate?
Thursday, June 19, 2008
Tour de France
Tour de france starts in about 2 weeks and I am really looking forward to it. I first started watching it after reading about Lance Armstrong's story about 6 or 7 years ago. Most of the cyclists in the last decade have been under some cloud of suspicion for doping. So while I view the sport with skepticism, I still find Lance's story inspirational. To come to that level of fitness to be able to compete in a grueling sport after fighting cancer, is amazing.
Tour de france is a 21 day race of about 3500 kms of cycling (racing about 170 kms a day with only 2 rest days in the entire 21 days). And if you are not amazed by that stat alone, you should see the mountains they climb and the sprints they do after 3-4 hours of cycling. And the scary crashes along the downhill roads, the 30 second tire change for a puncture (to rival any F1 pit stop), how they grab their food bags from feeding stations, the attending to injuries by a doctor in a moving vehicle to a cyclist who is also moving adds tons of drama. Of course, the open air bathroom breaks is something to be avoided.... if you thought this happened only in India - just watch the tour...
As far as the doping goes, the cyclists put the cricketers to shame by the sheer sophistication of techniques. And I am baffled about doping in cycling - it seems like nearly everyone does it, if so does that not create a level playing field. Shouldn't they try to have the same level playing field without the drugs?
Lastly when the race is in a boring stage, you can view the breathtaking French countryside with the "Chateaux" thrown in. These are the places I would love to visit if I ever get the chance.
Tour de france is a 21 day race of about 3500 kms of cycling (racing about 170 kms a day with only 2 rest days in the entire 21 days). And if you are not amazed by that stat alone, you should see the mountains they climb and the sprints they do after 3-4 hours of cycling. And the scary crashes along the downhill roads, the 30 second tire change for a puncture (to rival any F1 pit stop), how they grab their food bags from feeding stations, the attending to injuries by a doctor in a moving vehicle to a cyclist who is also moving adds tons of drama. Of course, the open air bathroom breaks is something to be avoided.... if you thought this happened only in India - just watch the tour...
As far as the doping goes, the cyclists put the cricketers to shame by the sheer sophistication of techniques. And I am baffled about doping in cycling - it seems like nearly everyone does it, if so does that not create a level playing field. Shouldn't they try to have the same level playing field without the drugs?
Lastly when the race is in a boring stage, you can view the breathtaking French countryside with the "Chateaux" thrown in. These are the places I would love to visit if I ever get the chance.
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