Tag: tour de france

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Is This Why Jack Bauer Lost His Tour de France Stage? #TDF

Maybe I’m overestimating how much speed you lose by looking away from your target.  And in no way do I think I know more than these guys, but when I was watching Stage 15 of the Tour de France I couldn’t help thinking Jack Bauer, who led the stage for 222km, made the critical mistake of looking back too much down the stretch.  The Peloton was bearing down on him, he knew that much, but he kept looking back, and I think it cost him.

Below are two stills I grabbed from the broadcast.  The first one is .4km from the finish line.  It’s on a corner and you can see Bauer (in the blue helmet) taking an “extended” look back to see where the pack is, and when you watch the tape he slows down considerably as he takes that turn.  I just don’t understand why you need to look for them at that point.  After 222km and with .4 left, don’t you just hammer it with everything you have left?

Bauer1

This one below is with about 50 meters left.  Honestly, what is there to look at except the finish line?

Bauer2

In the end, he didn’t have enough to close it out.  It was an impressive surge by the sprinters and Bauer had the lead until 10 meters before the finish line.  1o measly meters.  He will be thinking about this for a long time.

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Making Ironman Predictions

I know it’s not accurate (technically it’s 60 days) but my “countdown clock” for Ironman Wisconsin just flipped to “1 month” and there is something about the number one that is very small and lonely. 

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Muncie 70.3 is this weekend, then IMWI will have 100 percent of my focus for nearly two months.  I’ll likely do the Music City Olympic Triathlon, but hopefully that will feel like a “nice little workout” by then.   

Back in January, I remember saying, “It will be here before you know it,” but I don’t think I really believed that.  Something about seeing that number 1 on my blog tonight woke me out of a Tour de France time-trial-slumber.  Wisconsin is closing in quickly. 

I’m still not ready to make any predictions.  I jostle between lofty goals and just finishing.  Both are very delectable in their own ways. 

I just started reading Chris McCormack’s book, “I’m Here To Win,” and in the first Chapter he recounts the cocky attitude he brought to his first Kona race when he uttered the words that became the title of his book.  He was a competitor, and truly thought he would win.  But other athletes and those close to the Ironman World Championship black-balled the pesky rookie because he didn’t respect the race. 

He had a decent swim, led off the bike, then burned to dust on the run.  Here was one of the best short triathlon racers in the world, recent Ironman Australia winner, and he couldn’t finish Kona.  These are the lessons I try to remember every day.  If Ironman does anything, it makes you vulnerable. 

So, with 60 days before the event that has dominated a large chunk of my brain for nearly a year, the only option I have is to stay focused, trust the process, and keep working.