Flipping through the channels last night I discovered OLN on the free sample channel my cable provider uses to tease people into buying upgrades. There was Stage 6 of the Tour de France.
Ignoring the hype and Trek ads, it was great just to watch the riders. It's nice to be reminded that the pros are human. They twitch and fidget, stand up for a few pedal strokes, stretch their legs and chat with each other. There is obviously no perfect position in which a rider can remain constantly while grinding out the miles or kilometers of a long day.
At a quick glance I saw no one with the saddle nose down, and many with it slightly up.
I wasn't paying much attention to who was who, so I'm not sure who I was watching as the middle rider of a group of three sat up to take off a jacket. He continued to follow the rider in front of him, less than a foot off his wheel. The last rider in line continued to draft the one riding with no hands, all of them straight and smooth. Just another day at work. Professional rider. Closed course. Do not attempt.
Of course they do crash, for reasons both obvious and unclear. Just not right then.
Maybe it will be on again tonight.
No comments:
Post a Comment