# USA Pro Cycling Challenge aka Tour of CO



## Tucker44 (Apr 6, 2010)

No threads for this week's race? Yesterday in Aspen was pretty wild with all the attacks on the last lap. 
Looking forward to today's stage from Aspen to CB, with climbs over McClure and the dirt road on Kebler, with a good uphill finish in CB!


----------



## MerlinAma (Oct 11, 2005)

I'm anxious to watch. We climbed McClure Pass while on 109West tour a few weeks ago.
Also climbed Monarch Pass from the west.


----------



## Skewer (Sep 13, 2011)

I got Peter Sagan winning stage 3, 6, and 7.


----------



## Tucker44 (Apr 6, 2010)

The race is already over McClure but no Tour Tracker feed...WTF?!!!


----------



## ParadigmDawg (Aug 2, 2012)

Skewer said:


> I got Peter Sagan winning stage 3, 6, and 7.


It will be difficult for Peter to pull off sage 3,6 and 7 since he is not there...


----------



## Tucker44 (Apr 6, 2010)

wow, race neutralized b/c of heavy rain on the dirt road! craziness out there.

Great ride by Carpenter!!


----------



## love4himies (Jun 12, 2012)

I tuned into the last half, but didn't see any racing until the last few kms. I had to make dinner. I was happy for Robin, what a great feeling it must have been to win the stage.


----------



## Mootsie (Feb 4, 2004)

Skewer said:


> I got Peter Sagan winning stage 3, 6, and 7.


 Hope you didn't put money on that.


----------



## den bakker (Nov 13, 2004)

Mootsie said:


> Hope you didn't put money on that.


how could you refuse those odds


----------



## BacDoc (Aug 1, 2011)

Tucker44 said:


> wow, race neutralized b/c of heavy rain on the dirt road! craziness out there.
> 
> Great ride by Carpenter!!


Absolutely! I'm sure Robin and his team were stoked!

Nasty difficult conditions made this a great stage to watch, also glad to hear Phil and Paul on the narrative.


----------



## Skewer (Sep 13, 2011)

What? Sagan isnt there. Even coming off the TDF with no rest he would have easily dominated with no Kittel, Griepel in the field. He needs stage victories to make up for the 0 stage wins in the TDF.


----------



## love4himies (Jun 12, 2012)

Skewer said:


> What? Sagan isnt there. Even coming off the TDF with no rest he would have easily dominated with no Kittel, Griepel in the field. He needs stage victories to make up for the 0 stage wins in the TDF.


He's going to the Vuelta.


----------



## PBL450 (Apr 12, 2014)

BacDoc said:


> Absolutely! I'm sure Robin and his team were stoked!
> 
> Nasty difficult conditions made this a great stage to watch, also glad to hear Phil and Paul on the narrative.


Absolutely! And talk about a tough day... Keeping things upright in a downpour is hard enough, but on DIRT! Crazy!


----------



## upstateSC-rider (Aug 21, 2004)

Tucker44 said:


> wow, race neutralized b/c of heavy rain on the dirt road! craziness out there.
> 
> Great ride by Carpenter!!


Congrats to him and the team. My lbs mechanic is wrenching for them at this race too. :thumbsup:


----------



## den bakker (Nov 13, 2004)

Skewer said:


> What? Sagan isnt there. Even coming off the TDF with no rest he would have easily dominated with no Kittel, Griepel in the field. He needs stage victories to make up for the 0 stage wins in the TDF.


yeah sure a few wins in an HC race will compensate nicely.....


----------



## colnagoG60 (Jun 27, 2013)

Tucker44 said:


> wow, race neutralized b/c of heavy rain on the dirt road! craziness out there.
> 
> Great ride by Carpenter!!


Happy for a fellow Philly-boy, and not to take anything away from the ride, but I wonder if there was any agreement in the peloton to give Carpenter an extra bit of time just to getaway/up to speed, given the situation. Seemed like he had a little more than 45 seconds, and lost all kinds of momentum having to stop when/where they did.


----------



## colnagoG60 (Jun 27, 2013)

Anybody feeling Jens' silver Trek?


----------



## rufus (Feb 3, 2004)

Why are the broadcast pictures so much better than the Tour of California, America's _premier_ cycling stage race? And in the high mountains of Colorado no less.


----------



## Tucker44 (Apr 6, 2010)

rufus said:


> Why are the broadcast pictures so much better than the Tour of California, America's _premier_ cycling stage race? And in the high mountains of Colorado no less.


B/c this is America's premier race


----------



## colnagoG60 (Jun 27, 2013)

rufus said:


> Why are the broadcast pictures so much better than the Tour of California, America's _premier_ cycling stage race? And in the high mountains of Colorado no less.


Compression rates, and/or resolution levels...but I'm leaning towards compression, given the image characteristics of the Tour of Cali.


----------



## Marc (Jan 23, 2005)

rufus said:


> Why are the broadcast pictures so much better than the Tour of California, America's _premier_ cycling stage race? And in the high mountains of Colorado no less.


Funny you say that when yesterday there wasn't pictures for much of the race broadcast.


----------



## rufus (Feb 3, 2004)

Marc said:


> Funny you say that when yesterday there wasn't pictures for much of the race broadcast.


I give them a pass for that cause they're at 10,000 feet in the middle of a torrential downpour. The TOC couldn't show pictures of the riders riding on flat ground along open bluffs on the PCH.


----------



## TricrossRich (Mar 26, 2014)

rufus said:


> I give them a pass for that cause they're at 10,000 feet in the middle of a torrential downpour. The TOC couldn't show pictures of the riders riding on flat ground along open bluffs on the PCH.


I thought yesterday's finish was great... TVG and Majka going head to head in the last KM up the hill, dropping Tom Danielson like yesterday's lunch.


----------



## TricrossRich (Mar 26, 2014)

colnagoG60 said:


> Anybody feeling Jens' silver Trek?


I think its pretty slick....


----------



## Hiro11 (Dec 18, 2010)

rufus said:


> Why are the broadcast pictures so much better than the Tour of California, America's _premier_ cycling stage race? And in the high mountains of Colorado no less.


Yeah, it's better but still not quite European quality. This year, the Tour picture basically never broke up. I think it probably has something to do with redundant helicopters and the US races not having the budget.

Still, the USPCC people should be congratulated for being far, far better than the unwatchable ToC.


----------



## love4himies (Jun 12, 2012)

Go Jens!


----------



## Marc (Jan 23, 2005)

love4himies said:


> Go Jens!


Yea after watching all that...I don't care who won the wheelsuckers sprint.


----------



## love4himies (Jun 12, 2012)

Marc said:


> Yea after watching all that...I don't care who won the wheelsuckers sprint.


I was heartbroken when he was caught. They should have given him the stage just out of respect.


----------



## OldChipper (May 15, 2011)

love4himies said:


> I was heartbroken when he was caught. They should have given him the stage just out of respect.


TOTALLY agree!


----------



## saddle tramp (Feb 22, 2006)

The other day when TJ won the stage when he crossed the line he was biting at his gloves...what was that all about? And wasn't he slightly....slightly obnoxious in the post race trying to get the crowd to cheer him and his dig at Tommy D about how he doesn't do the "little attacks" but prefers the one biggy? Kind of cockee given TJ kinda weak a few weeks ago in a Grand Tour...just sayn...


----------



## BacDoc (Aug 1, 2011)

love4himies said:


> I was heartbroken when he was caught. They should have given him the stage just out of respect.


I would've liked that too but I dunno, don't think Jens would not have wanted that given he is such a fighter. What a great effort! Exactly what racing is all about - I was on the edge of my seat screaming at the TV.

Wow, what a great crowd response when he got the most aggressive jersey! Way more noise than any other rider.

Don't think it's over, there's more racing and Jensie is not done yet!


----------



## looigi (Nov 24, 2010)

saddle tramp said:


> The other day when TJ won the stage when he crossed the line he was biting at his gloves...what was that all about?...


According to Paul (or was it Phil?) he was kissing his wedding ring on his left hand and kissing a tattoo of his daughter's name on his right wrist. That's what I thought it might be with his left hand when I saw it but was puzzled by the left wrist.

There's something about Tejay that I don't quite like. He seems a bit aloof and conservative, and more concerned about what's going on behind him that what's in front. He doesn't seem to have that volatile fighting spirit like some of the more exciting racers.


----------



## OldChipper (May 15, 2011)

looigi said:


> According to Paul (or was it Phil?) he was kissing his wedding ring on his left hand and kissing a tattoo of his daughter's name on his right wrist. That's what I thought it might be with his left hand when I saw it but was puzzled by the left wrist.
> 
> There's something about Tejay that I don't quite like. He seems a bit aloof and conservative, and more concerned about what's going on behind him that what's in front. He doesn't seem to have that volatile fighting spirit like some of the more exciting racers.


Yeah, at least in the European races, he just doesn't seem to have that killer instinct and can be a bit of a whiner. Surprised he handled the post-Kebler pass incident interviews as well as he did.


----------



## brianmcg (Oct 12, 2002)

OldChipper said:


> Yeah, at least in the European races, he just doesn't seem to have that killer instinct and can be a bit of a whiner. Surprised he handled the post-Kebler pass incident interviews as well as he did.


Yes , he whines more than any pro I have ever seen.


----------



## Tucker44 (Apr 6, 2010)

Basically no coverage today bc of bad weather. WTF is wrong with NBC?


----------



## love4himies (Jun 12, 2012)

The coverage was breaking up on Tour Tracker too. Even at the end at Breckenridge.


----------



## Rich Gibson (Jul 26, 2013)

Absolutely unacceptable. It happens s race after race with NBC sports. What crap!
Rich


----------



## WinstonSmith (Apr 25, 2009)

Nbcsports continues to go lower than my lowest expectations. They were claiming today that there was no coverage due to rain or altitude. Yeah right. It's simply that their budget is too low to pay for adequate equipment like what is used in European cycling media. 

I was so disappointed to find out than BEIN sports is not covering the Vuelta and we have to suffer through Nbcsports/USN in low def again. They'll probably start most of the coverage with 30k to go in each stage. 

But I guess this is all due to the lack of US interest and viewership.


----------



## Marc (Jan 23, 2005)

Rich Gibson said:


> Absolutely unacceptable. It happens s race after race with NBC sports. What crap!
> Rich


For any of the Tour Tracker races....productions problems have always been par for the course, TBH.




WinstonSmith said:


> Nbcsports continues to go lower than my lowest expectations. They were claiming today that there was no coverage due to rain or altitude. Yeah right. It's simply that their budget is too low to pay for adequate equipment like what is used in European cycling media.





WinstonSmith said:


> I was so disappointed to find out than BEIN sports is not covering the Vuelta and we have to suffer through Nbcsports/USN in low def again. They'll probably start most of the coverage with 30k to go in each stage.
> 
> But I guess this is all due to the lack of US interest and viewership.




It is chicken and the egg. All US broadcasters know how to do "well" is broadcast American football. If a sport fits that model (10 seconds of action followed by 5 minutes of standing around and commercials) it gets a decent treatment.

OTOH just about every sport or competition does not fit into the American football model...which is why watching any sport on USA television is about as tolerable as watching paint dry, while waiting in a doctor's office, while on hold on the telephone with your cable company. There's sporting competitions year around and we in the USA never see them-because broadcasters have no clue how to broadcast sporting events in an interesting cogent manner anymore.

Unless you really care about cycling or any sport...getting into them by watching them on USA TV is about the most sure fire way to turn yourself off and end up thinking "how boring is that".


----------



## OldChipper (May 15, 2011)

WinstonSmith said:


> Nbcsports continues to go lower than my lowest expectations. They were claiming today that there was no coverage due to rain or altitude. Yeah right. It's simply that their budget is too low to pay for adequate equipment like what is used in European cycling media. .


I agree in general, but to be fair, the altitude does present unique challenges for helicopters in Colorado which they don't have to face in Europe. What is the elevation of the highest passes/"mountaintop" finishes in Europe? Mont Ventoux and Alpe d'Huez are both like 6,000 feet in altitude. Some stages in Colorado START higher than that.


----------



## saddle tramp (Feb 22, 2006)

Back on Teej he did cry a river after that cobble stage where everyone was falling down, not on the cobbles, in the ToF. In fairness it can't be easy being a pro gettn scrutinized all the time. I can see why guys like Wiggins go underground.


----------



## colnagoG60 (Jun 27, 2013)

Rich Gibson said:


> Absolutely unacceptable. It happens s race after race with NBC sports. What crap!
> Rich


Which races have storm conditions at high altitude have kept NBC from broadcasting race coverage?


----------



## PBL450 (Apr 12, 2014)

colnagoG60 said:


> Anybody feeling Jens' silver Trek?


I love it! It looks like the top tube is flat and the announcers said he has his kids down it? I'm a sucker for that! Very cool!


----------



## mpre53 (Oct 25, 2011)

PBL450 said:


> I love it! It looks like the top tube is flat and the announcers said he has his kids down it? I'm a sucker for that! Very cool!


Yup, the KVF Madone frame has a flat top tube. More and more bikes now have them, even my 2014 Synapse which isn't marketed as an "aero" frame.


----------



## 9W9W (Apr 5, 2012)

Are you guys also watching 1+ hours of the finish line because the satellite uplink/feed is so pixelated?! Damn. I thought the other races were bad, this one just has them switching from pixels to an empty finish line while the guys fill dead air.


----------



## Rokh On (Oct 30, 2011)

3 days of rain, 2 days of sun, and 2 days that started off like crap and ended with a good dose of sun. Went by fast.

Hats off to Jens for all the fan interaction over the week. Unbelievably accommodating and seemingly a genuine guy. The guys and gals from Trek were very cool.

I know the the tv coverage must have extremely frustrating. Especially the Hoosier Pass into Breck coverage (or lack of). One thing to consider is the **** weather. I know flying in those conditions wouldn't be my choice. Not when you know there are mountain sides close and higher than you. I'm sure icing was also a serious condsideration. 

It's hard to compare TV coverage of this event to the TdF. As someone has already pointed out the TdF has a fleet of helicopters and I believe their budget for the fleet tops the $1m mark in cost. What does the Pro Challenge have? 2 fixed wing and 2 rotor?

Looking forward to next year. I can't remember when the new UCI rules take affect but I hope they don't affect team participation for this race.


----------



## looigi (Nov 24, 2010)

colnagoG60 said:


> Anybody feeling Jens' silver Trek? ..


It's not about the bike. The bike is about Jens.


----------



## spade2you (May 12, 2009)

I was very bummed that they cut out the finish yesterday. I didn't see any further showings by the time I watched it. I'd much rather watch something properly edited than miss the finale.


----------



## RoadEye (Aug 21, 2009)

spade2you said:


> I was very bummed that they cut out the finish yesterday. I didn't see any further showings by the time I watched it. I'd much rather watch something properly edited than miss the finale.


apparently, mid race they switched channels. nbcsn to nbc... wtf? I was not home at the time so the dvr was recording the race (season pass). was not happy when I realized the recording was going to end and the race was still in progress.


----------



## colnagoG60 (Jun 27, 2013)

looigi said:


> It's not about the bike. The bike is about Jens.


I get the personalization, it's cool, but nothing which hasn't been done before. I was more interested in the "chrome/silver", as I've wondered how a carbon bike would look in a traditional painted/chromed color scheme (chrome rear triangle and fork, but "painted" everywhere else"). 

I don't know if I'd want true chrome/chrome-look on carbon, like that one company did, for fear of potential cracking.


----------



## spade2you (May 12, 2009)

RoadEye said:


> apparently, mid race they switched channels. nbcsn to nbc... wtf? I was not home at the time so the dvr was recording the race (season pass). was not happy when I realized the recording was going to end and the race was still in progress.


That's what happened to me. That happened to me with another stage with the Tour of Utah. I was able to find a later showing and watch the last 10 minutes the next morning. Not an option this time.


----------



## looigi (Nov 24, 2010)

colnagoG60 said:


> I get the personalization, it's cool, but nothing which hasn't been done before. I was more interested in the "chrome/silver", as I've wondered how a carbon bike would look in a traditional painted/chromed color scheme (chrome rear triangle and fork, but "painted" everywhere else").
> 
> I don't know if I'd want true chrome/chrome-look on carbon, like that one company did, for fear of potential cracking.


I was making a (somewhat lame) funny. Other tribute bikes have been done but I don't recall any as thoughtful and total as this one. As far as the chrome goes; from pix, video and Jens's description it sounded like it's metallic paint which I don't think would be any more prone to cracking than any other color of the same type of paint. It looks cool, IMO, I prefer mostly naked CF.


----------



## colnagoG60 (Jun 27, 2013)

Regarding "cracking", I was referring to the Festka Chromed, preferring something more along the line of what was given to Jens.


----------

