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Bang out of order - obviously off putting and dangerous!
Incredible isn't it!
trying to get on TV, the Facebook posts ask people not to. Only problem is not enough marshalls/police to sort it - should run a car up there
They're not.
TdF organisers keep tweeting and facebooking and even goggleplus-ing telling people not to.
Smoke bombs and hand flares are bang out of order too.
That's part of the tour. Its nowhere near as bad as it used to be. The Veulta gets quite silly on account of the tiny roads they use.
Smoke bombs and hand flares are bang out of order too.
yeah that's just ****ing daft. But then it can't nice following umpteen cars and motorbikes up a climb when you're gasping for breath either...
It's pretty much unpoliceable I think. Very annoying.
I honestly cannot believe that a bike race can be that exciting that it makes an adult sooooo giddy!
Total ****ing a holes.
No doubt we shall show johnny foreigner how the tour should be supported next year.
If it wasn't for the fans then the tour would not be half the spectacle that it is.
Next year will be the same but possibly worse. After all us Brits don't have much practice. Think about the number of runners and then how many collisions there are. Bugger all. Mildly annoying as a spectator at worse.
No doubt we shall show johnny foreigner how the tour should be supported next year.
200+ miles of road with nothing but cock&balls drawn on them the entire length???
I bet if you were on the cragg vale climb, and wiggins or froome was in front, you would not be able to just stand there, clap lightly, calling out "I say, well done!" at a moderate volume...
but i wouldn't run alongside the riders slapping their arses either!
Surely it's all part of the Tour, perhaps it'd be better if they maintained a respectful silence like they do in golf or tennis?
And why are golf and tennis spectators expected to be quiet?
200+ miles of road with nothing but cock&balls drawn on them the entire length???
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I am just waiting for one of the stupid folk running alongside the riders to take out the lead man big style in front of millions of TV viewers and see what Le Tour does about it then, if they can. Must be very frustrating for the riders. Saying that the support for Le Tour is great, I think it was in Lyon the other day, I had to turn down the volume of the TV because the crowd was so loud. Have we had a dog in the road yet, or is that one still to come...
That was day 2 wasn't it? Keep up!Have we had a dog in the road yet, or is that one still to come...
Still waiting for the first decent punch from a rider. Anyone seen one yet this year?
Where are they going to get 3400km of barrier fence from?
There was a sweet tackle by a Gendarme on a spectator stood right in the middle of the road.
I think they're waiting for an Aldi PSA.Where are they going to get 3400km of barrier fence from?
It wouldn't be the same without the vocal and animated roadside support. But that's where they should stay - the side of the road! Good old fashioned gendarme use of the baton from the back of the motorbikes might get through to the knuckle draggers.
the camera bikes should carry electric-shock poles and zap any moron who starts running. The shock would be of exactly the right voltage to cause said moron to lose control of his bowels, on TV.
Sorted.
A couple of stages back there was a toddler running alongside who had to be shepherded by a motorbike.
It should only be legal if you are wearing the appropriate attire
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It's part of the magic of the tour.
what other sport can you get that close to a competitor.
Re, people getting taken out by spectators, armstrong clipped a bag strap, and went down on a climb once. But with hindsight..... Not a bad thing. 😀
And have you seen some of the wrc rounds.... 😯
Same as the tour, but with cars....
One of the best things about the Tour has to be how close / drunk you can get as a fan. There's some really drunk or just ott idiots at the roadside, but I've seen both fans and gendarmes take them out.. seems to be almost self-policing due to the sheer love of the race. A few go a bit far but better as it is than fenced-off and ticket-only, if that were even possible.
Part of the magic of the tour. As a kid i dreamed of honking my way up the Huez, surrounded by fans chanting my name and shouting "alley allez!".
I think its only people who haven't been before who say this. Its one of the most exciting feelings in the world.
I liked the bit on one of the stages in the pyrenees where there was some tw*t running along with the riders and another kind spectator held his elbow out at face level ... and well the guy didn't seem to want to run any more.
I dream of trying to concentrate on my race and have some fat half naked **** run along side me screaming whilst waving a flag inches from my face. That would be exactly what I'd need.
As @munrobiker says its un-policeable. What are you going to do, arrest a token few, fine them ? Not hard to imagine that's going to be a new social media sport - getting arrested whilst ridiculously dressed (or not) while being filmed by your mate with footage posted online immediately ... yes it's annoying and dangerous to the riders, today Froome was no hands taking a gel when a knob in a football jersey nearly nudged him.
If the CRS got involved....
i think it should be compulsory to carry a stuffed boar if you are gonna run beside the riders.
oh wait . . . .
the idiots running alongside are just that, idiots, after a pic or clip for their FB account, half of them nowadays aren't looking at the rider (or where theyre going) but at their camera phone held in front of them.
I think its only people who haven't been before who say this. Its one of the most exciting feelings in the world
Looking a p1llock in front of hundreds of millions of people is no doubt exciting, people streak at sporting events after all. I've been roadside in the Alps a few times and never felt the need to run alongside them, might have screamed my lungs out in encouragement but why would you want to risk interfering with the race you've gone to see? They dont take the hint when riders punch them, which is pretty bloody dense.
What are you going to do
Seriously? I'd have a moto at the front of each group (easy enough to manage gap and limit drafting which is less significant on steeps) actively policing the crowd and forcing the gap. TJ Van Gardening is not going to expend as much energy lashing out as a gendarme, or his extra-wide wing mirrors.
A couple of stages back there was a toddler running alongside who had to be shepherded by a motorbike
froomey nearly ran over a kid today.
All makes for more interest. Roads are boring 😛
But I'd rather have mixing the crowd with the riders than have corporates look to profit from dedicated pay viewing areas and everyone else barred, like we had with the Olympics around Box Hill (and even if you paid you either rushed to get a good spot or had to watch it on a big screen on open ground away from the course, despite having paid).
Did anyone else see the chap pulling a moony today? I'm starting to feel like I imagined it...
Someone got a good smack, on the stage where Sagan was caught by the yellow Jersey group after his breakaway. If you look in the background when he pulls a one handed wheelie, a rider in white belts a spectator, Gilbert maybe?
Corporate enclaves dont spoil the crowd, they move it. We were on the box hill loop in massive cheering crowds high fiving the police out-riders, and at the tour of Flanders we were surrounded by (and temporarily adopted by) drunk screaming Belgians on oude kwaremont, just opposite a restrained VIP tent. I'm not advocating dull policed seating and polite clapping, I just think running alongside is idiotic.
Did anyone else see the chap pulling a moony today? I'm starting to feel like I imagined it...
Just seen it on the highlights 😕 so it wasn't just in your mind & Froome nearly getting taken out by a young kid too
The spectators aren't half as weird as a gaggle of cyclists wearing leotards.
Yeah I've seen today's race now, and actually that was stoopid, not just enthusiastic but hard to see which way the riders were supposed to go at times. Safe to say, you don't get that in DH... 😈
It does seem a bit dangerous and daft but I'd be gutted if it all got sanitised...surely that kind of stuff is part of the tour and it's legend?
It's incredible that compared to other sports today people can still run right alongside the riders and get so close to them, would deffo spoil it if this part got took away.
In fairness out of the 100's of riders that pass through the masses I don't think any of them got significantly impeded?
I do pity the riders. 5 hours in the searing heat riding your arse off and then some muppet comes running along side dressed like a colourblind clown yelling in your ear. If I was ever good enough to ride the tour I'd be thrown off for punching these numpties.
I fear it's just a matter of time before it goes too far and someone gets a firework in the face or someone gets hit and seriously injured. Then what...
No idea what the solution is though...
I stood on Ditchling Beacon for the Tour back in 94 and despite it being packed there were no problems with the crowd. Maybe because they came up it faster than any human can run!
The simple answer is replace the lead motorbike with a snowplough.
Excellent idea. Would make it much more appealing for the tv audience too 🙂