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Re: 2012 Tour Down Under
Posted: Tue Jan 17, 2012 10:56 pm
by Nathan
unless it is impractical to do so (eg glass in the bicycle lane).
That's the operative part. If you went out riding for a day, you'll be amazed at just how often you need to move out of a marked bike lane. Glass, gravel, broken plastic, water, pot holes, uneven surface, and most importantly, opening doors of parked cars.
They're also not wearing lycra because they're trying to emulate Lance Armstrong. They're wearing lycra because they're going on 50-100km rides, and it's by far the most practical and comfortable attire for the kind of riding they're doing. Just like if you were to jog to a shop, your normal clothes are fine, but if you were to go for a proper run you're certainly not going to head out in your jeans are you.
The increase in numbers is partly down to the number of visitors from interstate, many of whom bring their bikes, as well as people who have the week off and are going on training rides for the community challenge on Friday.
The safety factor is a big reason why they
do take over the lane when riding in a group. If they were to ride along the gutter, cars tend to try and pass while sticking in their lane, often leaving only a very small gap. By taking the lane, it forces traffic to purposely change lanes to pass, thereby passing with a much safer gap. Trust me, the more you do the "right thing" and stick religiously within the bike lane or to the hard left, the less room drivers give you.
Re: 2012 Tour Down Under
Posted: Tue Jan 17, 2012 11:01 pm
by jk1237
dont be so pathetic Rev. What a cyclist held you up by 10 seconds did they?
Re: 2012 Tour Down Under
Posted: Thu Jan 19, 2012 12:14 pm
by Maximus
Not sure whether this will help with the local coverage, but it's very good news nonetheless...
Tour Down Under reaches around world
* Val Migliaccio
* From: The Advertiser
* January 19, 2012 12:00AM
AMAURY Sport Organisation - owners of the Tour de France - have vowed to take the Santos Tour Down Under to the world.
Christian Prudhomme, director general of the Tour de France, yesterday arrived in Adelaide to witness his first Tour Down Under live, and was ecstatic with the colour and size of the crowd, the passion of the state's tiny Adelaide Hills towns and the might of the peloton.
"I wanted to come here for a long time," he said.
"But after Australia's Cadel Evans won the tour, it's like I had to see it for myself.
"Today Australia is a big nation of cycling.
"We knew it was a big nation for (the) track and now it's a big nation for the road."
ASO has initiated an agreement to sell the Tour Down Under TV rights worldwide and will also tweak the internet and social media arms of the coveted race.
ASO media director Julien Goupil said the French company was adding the Tour Down Under to its annual broadcasts of 149 sporting events to an audience of five billion people.
"This is a small Tour de France, I would say," Goupil said. The company had the world TV distribution rights for the Tour Down Under and it was important for the race to be given more exposure outside of Australia, he said.
"We want to take the Tour to new countries and we need to work with them on the production and grow the race year after year so the race has global exposure.
"It's already the case - but we can do better.
"The date of the race is something important. The fact that this is the first race of the season is a good thing.
"Globally speaking, when you talk about media, we have to take into account that this is Australia and when you look at Europe, it's the main continent for cycling.
"But then when you look at cycling today we've got sports channels in Europe and in South America."
Prudhomme was chauffeured in a Tour Down Under guest car alongside Goupil around the Stirling course.
It was the former French journalist's third Australian visit after a Davis Cup match in Sydney in 1997 and a stint working at the 2000 Sydney Olympic Games.
"I'm really impressed with this race. It's one thing to know from talk - but to see it was brilliant," he said.
"The people, the smiles of the people and many people with their bikes on the road, that's very important."
I think we're going to have to fight very hard to keep this event; it's going to become more and more attractive to the eastern states. The challenge will be to keep the route and the racing fresh. But Mike Turtur, for all of his grumpy external persona, has shown that he's more than capable of doing this.
Anyways, back to the racing. Anyone at the finish line in Stirling yesterday? Sounds like Will Clarke got a massive cheer as he lumbered over the finishing line 'pedalling squares'.
Re: 2012 Tour Down Under
Posted: Thu Jan 19, 2012 1:15 pm
by Nathan
Maximus wrote:I think we're going to have to fight very hard to keep this event; it's going to become more and more attractive to the eastern states. The challenge will be to keep the route and the racing fresh. But Mike Turtur, for all of his grumpy external persona, has shown that he's more than capable of doing this.
The event is owned entirely by the Government of SA. Theoretically another state could set up a rival tour, spend the years building it up, and then apply for WorldTour status — but there would be no way they could pinch the Tour Down Under itself.
2012 Tour Down Under
Posted: Thu Jan 19, 2012 2:26 pm
by dsriggs
Victoria's already got their events they can't be bothered putting an effort into
Re: 2012 Tour Down Under
Posted: Thu Jan 19, 2012 2:41 pm
by rev
The safety factor is a big reason why they do take over the lane when riding in a group. If they were to ride along the gutter, cars tend to try and pass while sticking in their lane, often leaving only a very small gap. By taking the lane, it forces traffic to purposely change lanes to pass, thereby passing with a much safer gap. Trust me, the more you do the "right thing" and stick religiously within the bike lane or to the hard left, the less room drivers give you.
They are restricted to two abreast when there is room to do so. No more.
Perhaps this is somewhere the police can get tougher on? Would be a good little revenue raiser, targeting drivers who do not 'share the road' or drive in a bike lane, and targeting riders who do the wrong thing.
jk1237 wrote:dont be so pathetic Rev. What a cyclist held you up by 10 seconds did they?
Didn't I say it was the safety factor that was my concern?
Perhaps you should try reading before trying to be a smart ass.
Re: 2012 Tour Down Under
Posted: Thu Jan 19, 2012 3:00 pm
by [Shuz]
Insert several expletives here, specifically aimed at Rev.
Re: 2012 Tour Down Under
Posted: Thu Jan 19, 2012 3:08 pm
by Wayno
Maximus wrote:
I think we're going to have to fight very hard to keep this event; it's going to become more and more attractive to the eastern states. The challenge will be to keep the route and the racing fresh. But Mike Turtur, for all of his grumpy external persona, has shown that he's more than capable of doing this.
The vultures are circling. I know the Vic Tourism mob are making preliminary moves (not just by showcasing their ability to host cycling events - such as the bay classic), but i doubt they'll be successful in the short or medium term. We've become smarter since the F1 days.
Anyways, back to the racing. Anyone at the finish line in Stirling yesterday? Sounds like Will Clarke got a massive cheer as he lumbered over the finishing line 'pedalling squares'.
[/quote]
missed the finish
, but was driving down the freeway at the same time as 1000+ cyclists were departing stirling heading for the adelaide plains - quite a sight.
I wonder how the female spectator (in the Clare Valley) is faring after getting smashed by a bunch of cyclists yesterday as they crashed into her while going flat out towards the finish line!
Re: 2012 Tour Down Under
Posted: Thu Jan 19, 2012 3:34 pm
by Maximus
Nathan wrote:Maximus wrote:I think we're going to have to fight very hard to keep this event; it's going to become more and more attractive to the eastern states. The challenge will be to keep the route and the racing fresh. But Mike Turtur, for all of his grumpy external persona, has shown that he's more than capable of doing this.
The event is owned entirely by the Government of SA. Theoretically another state could set up a rival tour, spend the years building it up, and then apply for WorldTour status — but there would be no way they could pinch the Tour Down Under itself.
Yes, that is absolutely true. But what you propose is not a totally unrealistic scenario, particularly on a 5-10 year+ time scale, and also with the emergence of Australia as a 'cycling nation'. The Victorians already tried to move their Herald Sun Tour (which has been around a lot longer than the TDU) to February, straight after the TDU, but fortunately that failed.
Whilst it would probably be political suicide, there's also the risk that, if the race started to lose rider/spectator interest by becoming too stale, the SA Govt would sell it to another state.
Still, I do agree with Wayno that we're smarter now than in the F1 days. The interstate cycling community seems to be broadly supportive of the event being in SA, and realistically I think we will have it for a long time to come.
On a related note, I stumbled across this and thought it was an excellent read:
http://inrng.com/2012/01/tour-down-under-race-history/
Re: 2012 Tour Down Under
Posted: Thu Jan 19, 2012 3:41 pm
by Nathan
rev wrote:They are restricted to two abreast when there is room to do so. No more.
Perhaps this is somewhere the police can get tougher on? Would be a good little revenue raiser, targeting drivers who do not 'share the road' or drive in a bike lane, and targeting riders who do the wrong thing.
Unless they're passing each other, in which case you can technically have two riders side by side, passing another two riders side by side.
Re: 2012 Tour Down Under
Posted: Thu Jan 19, 2012 3:48 pm
by Nathan
Great article, gives a real context to the origins of the event.
Re: 2012 Tour Down Under
Posted: Thu Jan 19, 2012 4:03 pm
by Wayno
thanks maximus, a good read indeed. although this comment from Feargul (Sharkey?) below the article bugged me - and adds to my TV coverage concern:
My only issue with the TdU is its broadcast rights, here in the UK it is only available on PPV in 30 minute reviews. The rest of the Pro Tour (and lesser races) are available on a free to air satellite channels, ok lets give Eurosport a plug here.
As I write I cannot say how the TdU broadcast across the rest Europe, if it is only available on that PPV channel then I wonder of the value of it to sponsors. Of course for riders it is a nice way of getting some early season completion in the sun.
I would suggest to those who run the TdU, that once their contract with the PPV broadcaster is ended they should consider moving coverage of this race free to air thereby giving the race a better chance to be liked more by us cycling mad Europeans.
Of course if it is on free view rather than PPV then there are potentially more viewers of the race, which leads to potentially more tourists headed to Alidade!
Alidade!
Re: 2012 Tour Down Under
Posted: Fri Jan 20, 2012 9:40 am
by mokeystyley
on ya bike Rev!
Re: 2012 Tour Down Under
Posted: Fri Jan 20, 2012 11:44 am
by Wayno
Some people are absolute f'wits:
from AdelaideNow:
CFS Crews have been hurriedly called to clear nails and thumb tacks spread along a section of the Tour Down Under Challenge and Stage 4 Route to the Barossa.
Challenge riders will be travelling along the section of the Springton to Williams Town Rd before the professional riders are expected around 12.30pm.
Crews were called to the section of road around 11am.
Re: 2012 Tour Down Under
Posted: Fri Jan 20, 2012 12:56 pm
by crawf
Riders could of been seriously injured if they crashed their bikes because of these dickheads. I hope the law catches up with them.