As mentioned, I have spent several summers glued to the Tour on tele. One of the real attractions was listening to the fascinating commentary of David Duffield. He really could talk and his passion for cycling was self evident. It was this passion that made you forgive many of his eccentricities.
I’ll never forget the time when the race was flying up Mont Ventoux and David found time to some how recite Psalm 21 as the race passed the Simpson memorial. Only David could have carried it off with such dignity and passion.
David also had a great interest in the culinary and cultural aspects of France and he would often go off on detours about these whilst the race was in progress. On some stages, for several hours, nothing would happen then at the moment someone attacked, poor old David would probably still be talking about the local wines of the regions and how he enjoyed a very nice bottle of Beaujolais the previous evening. These are some of his classic quotes.
David Duffield Quotes
“I am sitting here with my chin on the counter, my mouth open like a great big whale scooping up plankton. I am gobsmacked!”
“Look down the valley…if you’ve got vertigo, sort of…don’t look down the valley.”
“Laurent Fignon just got bombed by a baguette!”
“As the french say, there’s nothing so long as a day without bread, and Laurent Fignon just got some but there’s nothing in it!”
If we had a yo-yo championship of the day, Riis would get the award.
These are some of the classic quotes people say regarding to cycling. They become a little predictable after a while. Maybe you recognise some of these quotes or perhaps can add your own tired phrases people often use regarding cycling.
‘So When Are You Going to Do the Tour De France?’
I don’t know why, but, if I tell anyone I came 3rd in a local club time trial they often want to ask ’so when are you going to do the Tour de France?’ When I reply that I have no intention of riding the Tour, they kind of lose interest and walk away with disappointment. If I scored a goal for a local Sunday football pub team, the same person wouldn’t start asking when I would be playing in the world cup.
Note for non-cyclists: 180 of the top pro riders get to ride the Tour each year; you can’t just turn up on the start line, pay your £2.50 entry fee and tag onto the back of the peloton.
‘How much EPO have you been taking?’
- Even if you only commute 4 miles a day on a fold up bike, you can guarantee that some smart alec at work, will make plenty of jokes about how much epo you take. Just because you do a few sit ups doesn’t mean you take steroids like bodybuilders, so why do people think I’m going to spend £500 on a course of EPO so I can win the top prize of £15 for winning Wiggly Wheelers 25 mile TT?
‘Why do you Shave Your Legs?’
Actually this is really quite a good question. The problem answering is not so easy. “Well … aerodynamics, easier to massage, easier to clean up wounds, it’s just something we do” - somehow they don’t seem so satisfy the questioner… (To shave or not to shave)
Why?
You’ve just enjoyed a great 100 mile ride through some spectacular scenery and great mountains. But, there will always be someone to ask why? I don’t know how to answer this, I’m only tempted to retort - “Why do sit in front of the TV all day, taking no exercise and increasing your chance of heart disease by 85%?”
An excellent move by Alejandra Valverde, who has to be one of the main favourites for the overall title, raced to the first stage win of the Tour. He timed his move to perfection and had the power to make it work.
I don’t know why the Tour de France don’t have more uphill finishes like this, it makes for an exciting race.
I often race against John Woodburn (b.1937), John was National 25 mile time trial champion in 1961. He is still racing, 47 years later at the age of 71. John is one example of many who are able to keep cycling into old age. He regularly breaks the hour for a 25 mile time trial, sometimes by several minutes. His times are impressive for a cyclist of any age. But, to get his times at the age of 71 is doubly impressive. John holds many age related records. Aged 70, he set a time of 21.48 for a 10 mile TT. (Men’s solo age records)
The good thing about cycling is that it is relatively low impact on joints and so makes an excellent form of exercise for those who might find walking / running difficult. Another local rider, who I often see out is Ken Lansbury of Oxford City RC. Ken is in his 80s (but doesn’t look it); we often seem him riding to help out at races.
I hope I will still be cycling into my 80s….
Jeannie Longo - Aged 49
Worth mentioning Jeannie Longo, who aged 49, has booked her place at the Beijing Olympics with victory in the French National trials. She has competed in every Olympics since women were admitted.
Do you know of any other interesting stories of older people who keep cycling?
check out: Just Williams - observations of senior citizen on cycling
It is sometimes possible to make too much of statistics, especially when the sample size is small. However, in the UK, a disproportionate number of cyclists killed are female. One theory for this is that women place themselves in danger by, ironically, obeying red lights. [Women cyclists at risk from obeying red lights]
One of the most common cause of cyclist fatalities is when a vehicle (often lorry or bus) turns left when a cyclist is going straight on. This is because cyclists can easily come into a lorry drivers blind spot. The cyclist is also lulled into a false sense of security as the heavy goods vehicle moves outwards to be able to swing into the left.
Therefore, waiting at a light along side a lorry, is a very dangerous situation to be in. This research suggest that jumping the lights to get ahead of the lorry turning left is a way to avoid an accident.
Cycling is often perceived as a dangerous activity; part of the problem is that cycling on roads is often a less than pleasant activity because you can feel the potential for serious accidents. However, it is a shame because the risks of cycling are often exaggerated and there are of course many benefits
Some Basic Cycling Statistics
The number of cyclists killed on British roads in 2007 was 136.
The total number of people killed in road traffic accidents was 3,172 people.
The number of people who died of heart disease in the UK was 70,000
Risk Decreases the More People Cycle.
Cities with a higher density (%) of people cycling have lower mortality rates. For example, in 1994, London had 19 fatal cycling accidents. In 2007, the number of cycle journeys had increased 91%, yet, fatalities fell to 16. This is a small sample, but, it suggests that as more people cycle, motorists adjust their behaviour to compensate for the increase in number of cyclists.
In countries like the Netherlands, where cycling takes more than 30% of all journey, fatalities are a much smaller %.
The UK sees less than half the cycling fatalities per 100,000 people than in Germany. However, Germans make five times as many journeys by bike as Britons. [BBC]
For several years, I watched large sections of the tour on Europsport. Last year, 2007, was the first year that I stopped ‘wasting time’ watching hours of the Tour on telly. This year I have made a pact not to get Eurosport as well. (Alas, watching the Tour on telly, doesn’t get you fit… )
Despite not watching the Tour, I really hope it can regain the confidence and support of the general public. I think everyone is hoping for a tour free from drug scandals and a worthy winner. The sport desperately needs new champions and new heroes - riders not tarnished with doping infractions. Whatever it’s problems, the Tour remains one of the greatest sporting spectacles. It is a fieresome sporting challenge and provides 3 weeks of drama, beautiful scenary and the capacity to inspire even the non cycling public.
In way this tour could make for an exciting race, because there is no dominant rider. There are several contenders.
Leading contender for the Tour
There is an absence of any really strong favourite. Many of the great challengers of recent years have disappeared under a cloud of doping investigations. Ullrich, Basso, Rasmussen, Tyler Hamilton, Flloyd Landis… (last years winner A.Contador because of Astana’s exclusion - it should be pointed out Contador is not under suspicion himself) the list could go on. But, who does it leave? It leaves a field wide open. These are some of the strong contenders.
Paul Kimmage writing in the Times produces some devastating statistics about doping in the peloton, collected by the journalist Ballester:
“Would you believe that 85% of the winners since 1968 have, at one point or other, contravened the antidoping rules? Would you believe that 72.5% of those who stood on the podium have cheated? What about the top-tens? Sixty per cent sound right? The damage to the credibility of the race has been irreparable “
A recent survey (of a thousand French citizens) on their attitudes to the Tour show levels of cynicism are rife:
Doping has destroyed everything, I feel betrayed: 90%
Because of doping, I no longer believe in the results of the Tour de France: 85%
The last figure: All top-level cyclists are doped: 69% is perhaps the most depressing. I really feel there are top-level cyclists who are not taking dope, but, a wary public has stopped trusting. The cheats have hurt the image of everyone; it must be hard for the riders who are trying to be clean
The last decade has produced an unending stream of drug scandals. They have proved the allegations of the early ‘whilsteblowers’ were absolutely true. Unfortunately people within the cycling authorities were generally dismissive of people like Paul Kimmage, when they made their relevations. Yet, it seems things are just as bad as many knew, but, were reluctant to admit.
A Fresh Start for Cycling?
I am always wary of ‘fresh starts’ for cycling. We seem to have had a ‘fresh start’ almost every year since the Festina scandal of 1998. The truth is that the Festina scandal was an eyeopener to the extent of doping in the peleton, but, it led to no effective action. - even the worst perpetrators like Richard Virenque were back racing after only the most punitive sanctions of a 12 month ban. It was almost as if the only mistake of Festina was to get caught. Top riders still went to see the notorious doctors with a long history of helping riders to dop. At the time, too many were happy to believe that the top pros were paying 200,000 euros just to learn how to get the optimal pedalling cadence. When people spoke up about the level of doping they were pressured into leaving the sport. If there was one thing Pro cycling couldn’t stand it was the ‘whistle blower’ who spoke about doping. But, maybe now things are really starting to change?
Why I Am Optimistic About the Future of Professional Cycling
Despite many reasons to be pessimistic about pro cyling, I am actually guardedly optimistic.
I thought I would share my training schedule for last week. Now that I have broken up for the summer holidays I have a little bit more free time.
Sunday - rest day. In Glasgow
Monday - 45 miles. 2:20:00. Included private time trial around a hilly loop at Long Hanborough. I did the 13 miles (approx) in 39:50 at an average speed of 37.7Kmph. I was quite pleased as it is hilly, with many sharp corners. Even though I’m the only one doing the time trial, it’s good to have targets to aim for and try and improve your times over the season.
Tuesday - 20 miles. 1 hour 15 mins, rest and recovery ride. Monday effort quite hard so I just took it easy to help muscles recover.
Wednesday 70 Miles. Average Speed 20mph. Hard ride with long hill intervals. I cycled through the hills of the Chilterns, around Stokenchurch, Marlow and Reading. It included 5 long gradual climbs of between 6 mins and 25 minutes climbing time. They all had more than 100 metres of climbing. I love climbing hills and try and find the hilliest routes. This was a really hard training ride and I was tired at the end. Continue reading →
at Amazon.co.uk
at Amazon.com