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Orica-GreenEdge team bus / TDF
 

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Sparky
Joined: 08 Dec 2003
Posts: 19068
Location: PDX

7/5/13 10:24 AM

Orica-GreenEdge team bus / TDF

Elaine and I where talking about this.

What are the opinions here? Organizers, Driver?

Having driven loads/towed etc., I kind of feel a driver of a truck/bus should ALWAYs know his load.

But also, this gantry is not a fixed overpass. It being a portable device, and the radio instructed him to go through [supposedly]. I got to put the largest percentage on the organizers/tour management I am leaning that way. So they fine the team for going through outside the supposed allotted window. LOL

Guys first day on the job I read. I am sure the riders looking forward to the cold bus at the end of the stages until they got the A/C fixed did not appreciate it none to much either.

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Steve B.
Joined: 19 Jan 2004
Posts: 769
Location: Long Island, NY

7/5/13 11:34 AM

I tend to think comedy of errors.

Do the tour organizers state a minimum clearance for the finish line sign truss unit and did the company providing the truss meet that ?. Possibly a new vendor due to being on Corsica ?, didn't get the memo ?.

Possibly a new bus that nobody thought to check the height ?. Which is when the driver should know the minimum clearance of the bus as he's probably going to be going through occasional underpasses for 3 weeks.

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ErikS
Joined: 19 May 2005
Posts: 8337
Location: Slowing boiling over in the steamy south, Global Warming is real

7/5/13 11:47 AM

It got stuck. Let the air out of tires and back it up. Seems that little tidbit was lost somewhere. Ya gotta think the driver had to see that it would be close and ask for a spotter.

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Tim123
Joined: 01 Apr 2004
Posts: 252
Location: Adelaide

7/5/13 6:14 PM

From what I understand the gantry is kept in a raised position until after the tour convoy passes and is then lowered to its final position after the time cutoff. The bus (for whatever reason) was late but was told to proceed by the organisers. Being the guys first day on the job, he was probably already a bit stressed at being late, probably not thinking of a spotter etc or just assumed all was ok and bang, instant internet sensation!

Actually lucky the gantry didnt fall down or they risked the possibility of doing so as the riders passed below it, that would have been a bit of an "issue" for the organisers to deal with.

Erik, I remember hearing them say during the coverage that they'd let the air out, maybe they were worried about tearing the whole thing down as he backed up.

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KerryIrons
Joined: 12 Jan 2004
Posts: 3234
Location: Midland, MI

7/5/13 6:32 PM

Raise the bridge or lower the water

From everything I have read, Tim123 has summarized things accurately.

Phil Liggett did suggest letting the air out of the tires during the broadcast but whether that comment actually got to the crew at the scene is not clear. Likewise it is not clear how they finally got the bus free. At one point they had a big forklift driving around (like they were going to use it to lift the cross bar) but then they waved it off. I never heard the final process they used to free the bus.

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Sparky
Joined: 08 Dec 2003
Posts: 19068
Location: PDX

7/5/13 7:10 PM

I was wondering if it was a close finish being the gantry is the finish clock/camera if they re-calibrated it?

Yes, it was in the raised position for the parade to go through. The bus was late, and someone missed that it had been lowered. Including whom-ever on race radio told the bus to go through....

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