to watch every moment of the Tour de France

[stubbornhubby]

No, Wait!

...with the man Cavendish in real contention for Green, a British team for the first time in yonks, and Bradley Wiggins capable of getting on the podium, and a route that takes the peleton up the tourmalet not once but twice..

IASNBU

Lance Armstrong starts in 25mins...

The day feels strangely empty - no World Cup, and no Tour De France!

Just curious - what sort of training do the riders do to get themselves in peak physical condition? Would be curious to know about the sort of daily dedication that is required to develop the endurance/stamina necessary to compete at that level.

Also, does anyone know about the support logistics of the race? Find myself wondering what sort of support staff they have (coaches, mechanics etc), what sort of things they do after the race (massage, etc), what sort of salaries they are paid, does the team reserve hotels/meals etc? Would love to know about the 'behind the scenes' support riders are given by coaches/teams, etc.

i just asked DH on your behalf Earlybird and he's launched into way too much information for me be bothered to write here. So instead I asked him where he finds out this sort of thing. He reckons you should try eurosport cycling forum or bike radar.
i think bikies pick up a lot from autobiographies or books like 'french revolutions'.

As support to charity riders, they basically ate together, had a massage and went to bed, while the mechanics stayed up late to get the bikes ready for the morning. Rest is good.

All teams will have a manager, therapists, mechanics, drivers, and somebody who's job it is to sort out the hotels/meals etc. Each team will eat together usually and they usually have a roommate.

Not sure of their training regimes but we passed through a village in the south of france a week or so before the start of the tour and apparently missed lance armstrong in training a couple of days before. drat.

Thanks for that nevergoogle. Will read more in places your dh suggests.

News item released today:

PARIS (AP) -Cycling's governing body is opening disciplinary proceedings against Lance Armstrong's RadioShack team. Its riders wore unapproved jerseys to the final stage of the Tour de France, delaying the start of the race.
The cyclists tried to wear black jerseys Sunday with "28'' on the back. The number honors the 28 million people fighting cancer, one of the themes of Armstrong's Livestrong Foundation.
The International Cycling Union said Monday it "regrets that an initiative for a cause as worthy as the fight against cancer'' was not coordinated beforehand with officials. The cycling body says Armstrong's venture could have been done while staying within the rules.

Interesting news.......

MADRID (AP) -Tour de France winner Alberto Contador will leave Astana at the end of this season after the Spanish cyclist rejected the team's offer to extend his contract.
Contador says in a statement he will now study all of his options for the coming seasons "calmly.''
In three seasons with the Kazakhstan-based team, Contador has won two of his three Tour titles, a Giro d'Italia and Spanish Vuelta title.

ooooooh.

Do you think he's got his eye on RadioShack if Lance is retiring once more?

No, not RadioShack - think Contador is looking at SaxoBank as Schlecks have announced they're leaving that team at the end of this year.

Story here:

Schlecks confirm plans to leave Saxo Bank
By VeloNews.com ? Updated: Jul 30th 2010 10:14 AM EDT

Amid speculation that Tour de France winner Alberto Contador is poised to join the Saxo Bank team for 2011, brothers Andy and Fränk Schleck have confirmed that they will be leaving to join a new squad based in their native Luxembourg.

In an interview with the daily newspaper Le Quotidien, Tour de France runner-up Andy Schleck said that while plans for the new team are incomplete, he and his 30-year-old brother will not extend their existing contracts with the team run by Bjarne Riis.

?Even if we don?t yet know what our future holds, it is certain, it?s official that we are no longer riding for Bjarne next year,? the 25-year-old Andy Schleck told the paper.

Andy Schleck has spent five years and Fränk eight alongside Riis, who had, in advance of the Tour de France, already conceded that the brothers were unlikely to remain on the team.

?I cannot imagine a new Luxembourg team without Frank and Andy Schleck on it,? Riis said.

Meanwhile, Andy Schleck acknowledged that Riis was actively courting Contador, but made it clear that the two wouldn?t be riding on the same team.

Earlier this week, Contador had rejected his Astana team?s demand that he make a commitment to extend his contract, which is set to expire at season?s end. With the departure of the Schlecks, Riis has turned is focus on the only rider who has consistently beaten the brothers, finishing ahead of Andy Schleck for the past two editions of the Tour.

While his team?s primary financial support from Saxo Bank will end at the end of 2010, Riis has already confirmed a renewed and increased commitment from co-sponsor Sungard and has said another company is poised to step in as the team?s title sponsor for the next two years.

Re Lance: not sure, but think he has retired from Tour De France but will continue to compete in other races on RadioShack team.

Oh yeah - I'd heard about the Schlecks wanting to set up thier own team. D'oh.

I just signed up for the 2011 L'etape du tour.

Wow! How do you look in lycra, btw?

I will PM you some pics

Make sure your equipment is in the pictures too, please.

Is it Specialised, perchance?