The Inner Ring - Part 271

A Trial To Watch

Wednesday, 10 July 2013

Time trials are crucial in the Tour de France. Yet for all their importance, watching a rider pedal solo rarely offers great TV. Barring a crash or puncture, the only action comes at the time checks and finish line meaning 95% of the video output features a rider tucked into an aero position, face masked by a visor. It’s like watching a metronome set to 90 bpm.

Can more be done to make a time trial more interesting on TV? The answer is yes, from low tech ideas all the way to telemetry and graphics software and other sports show the way.

Tour de France Stage 11 Preview

Wednesday, 10 July 2013Wednesday, 10 July 2013

A stage to reshape the overall classification. If the 2013 Tour is all about the mountains, today is the exception with a flat course that’s exposed to the wind, a route to scare the climbers.

But it’s short and the time gaps should be deliberately small in order to preserve the suspense of the race. Tony Martin is everyone’s pick to win the race but the suspense comes in seeing how the overall classification changes.

Sponsoring the race instead of the team

Tuesday, 9 July 2013

Cycling represents great value for a sponsor. You’ve probably seen the news that a sponsor can get big publicity for a modest outlay, a big return for a small investment. What’s not to like?

But talk of return ignores the other side of the coin: the risk. Sponsor a pro team and it can blow up in your face with a doping scandal. Even if all your riders are healthy and honest then backing a team still isn’t for every brand.

But whilst several teams are struggling for sponsors, multinational corporates are backing the Tour de France, partnering with the event instead of its participants. Here’s a look at what it costs to get your company name on leader’s jersey and more.

Tour de France Stage 10 preview

Tuesday, 9 July 2013Tuesday, 9 July 2013

With the Pyrenees in the rear view mirror there’s less to look forward to this week in terms of terrain and scenery. But we’ve still got the biggest race on and it’s rare to see the top sprinters go head to head in the season, the Tour is one of the few times it happens and today should be the day.

The race cuts across Brittany but there’s coastal section for the finish where crosswinds or simply the fear of a crosswind could be enough to panic the peloton.

Rest Day Notes

Saturday, 3 August 2013Monday, 8 July 2013

You’re never short of a story during the Tour de France. The racing gets covered in full but there’s plenty more going on too. It’s the level of coverage that makes July such a rich month for cycling.

With no racing on today here’s a collection of notes and thoughts, from presidential leaks to team mergers, sunglasses to sausage.

Tour de France Stage 9 Review

Monday, 8 July 2013Sunday, 7 July 2013

Dan Martin wins Stage 9 of the Tour de France. If you were to scan the results you’d see a chasing group with Froome, Contador, Valverde and Quintana and other names. Only you’d never know what happened.

Instead this was one of the most explosive mountain stages for years, a day when everything was thrown upside down by a relentless start where attack followed attack and Chris Froome found himself without a team mate. In the end things calmed down but it was still a wild stage.

Tour de France Stage 9 Preview

Sunday, 7 July 2013Sunday, 7 July 2013

Yesterday was supposed to give some insight into climbing form but the stage brought such conclusive results that it’s tempting to see the next two weeks as a victory lap of France for Chris Froome. He’s in the ideal position after one mounain stage but there’s a long way to go and others have been calculating their race on the final week. So be careful not to extrapolate too much from one day, a point that’s valid for results, tactics and performance.

Today’s stage is another in the Pyrenees but quite different to yesterday’s summit suspense. A series of climbs make for a tough day that could be hard to control and finally time for a breakaway to stick.

Tour de France Stage 8 Preview

Saturday, 6 July 2013Saturday, 6 July 2013

With no prologue we’ve had a week with a tightly-packed general classification and only the cruel elimination of riders by crashes. Now it’s time to impose some order on the race with the first visit to the Pyrenees and a summit finish to separate the contenders from the pretenders.

The final climb is short, enough to tell us about form but not big enough to allow sweeping conclusions that stretch all the way to the Alps. If you plan to watch on TV, note the early finish.

Tour de France Stage 7 Preview

Friday, 5 July 2013Friday, 5 July 2013

Tour de France Stage 7 profile

After six stages by the sea the race heads inland. There’s a different feel to this stage with more climbing but the real mountains are on the horizon with the Pyrenees tomorrow. For now a sprint finish is likely.

Having a Fine Time on the Tour

Thursday, 4 July 2013Thursday, 4 July 2013

Every evening the Tour publishes an official bulletin with the results and other technical information including a note of who was fined during the day with the crimes and punishments listed.

For example yesterday Sylvain Chavanel was fined 100 Swiss Francs for ravitaillement portant atteinte à l’image du cyclisme or “feeding that damages the image of cycling.”

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