07-07-2004, 09:44 PM
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#4 (permalink)
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| | Re: Spectators on the Tour
> I'm watching some excerpts from the 1988 tour and on one stage I was
amazed
> (if naive) to see on one mountain stage (Alpe d' Huez?) where the road was
> so crowded with people that the motorcycles couldn't even stay ahead of
the
> bikers, and in trying to part the crowd, a group of four riders actually
> had to slow and coast. One of the officials(?) on the back of one of the
> motorcycles had to signal something to the riders, can't tell what, but it
> appears to slow down (!). (The vid was from Netherlands and thus not in
> English).
>
> That's gotta be majorly frustrating - or is it not uncommon?
>
> In an adjacent clip one guy goes out and slaps a rider in the butt.
Amazing
> how the riders don't seem distracted by this ****e; pardon my french. ;-p
Crowd-control is a major issue on the mountain climbs, particularly the
final climb when the finish is on top. The Pyrenees are actually known for
crazier crowd behavior than the Alps, although there is so much concern
regarding the TT up Alpe d'Huez this year that they're making an effort to
control the number of people on the hill by limiting access to the entire
region (basically closing off roads to not only cars but cyclists as well,
very early in the morning).
They do have crowd control down almost to an art though. There's a definite
sequence that involves some cars moving through at high speed a couple
minutes ahead of the riders, then a few motorcycles and then, just ahead of
the riders, some "sweeper" motorcycles that drive a very precise route
fairly close to the edge of the road, moving people out of the way. They do
*not* move out of the way of the crowd; rather, the crowd *must* move out of
their way... or else. If taking photos, one must be very careful not to be
leaning out too far when they come through... I was trying to get a
low-angle shot once, and I don't think there was more than a couple inches
between the motorcycle and my head.
If you'd like to know what it's *really* like to see the TDF on a mountain,
check out this link on our website- www.ChainReaction.com/tdfwatching.htm
--Mike-- Chain Reaction Bicycles
www.ChainReactionBicycles.com
"Badger_South" <Badger@South.net> wrote in message
news:1iqoe0l73loapaked6aq08paj5nd59usun@4ax.com...
>
> I'm watching some excerpts from the 1988 tour and on one stage I was
amazed
> (if naive) to see on one mountain stage (Alpe d' Huez?) where the road was
> so crowded with people that the motorcycles couldn't even stay ahead of
the
> bikers, and in trying to part the crowd, a group of four riders actually
> had to slow and coast. One of the officials(?) on the back of one of the
> motorcycles had to signal something to the riders, can't tell what, but it
> appears to slow down (!). (The vid was from Netherlands and thus not in
> English).
>
> That's gotta be majorly frustrating - or is it not uncommon?
>
> In an adjacent clip one guy goes out and slaps a rider in the butt.
Amazing
> how the riders don't seem distracted by this ****e; pardon my french. ;-p
>
> -B
>
>
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