8/27/23 4:52 AM

Rain is rain, nothing you can do about it, but WTF were they thinking scheduling a race where half the teams do it in daylight and the rest do it after dark? That's really unfair. Not that stage 1 will decide the race but I think Evenepol was justified in his anger at the end.

8/27/23 10:24 AM

Yeah, that was nuts, and today’s stage was a bit sketchy too (peloton “neutralizes” itself). I guess with the ttt they figured a twilight finish in the lit city would be cool, plus get the podium in primetime. Just didn’t figure on the storm…

I’m new to streaming. I got Peacock for the TdF, then FloBike for the WC. I saw the Vuelta advertised on FloBike, but when I went to watch, got “this event is unavailable in your geographic location.” So I start to get pissed: “WTF I’m paying a full fee and one of the biggest events is unavailable in my location?”

Then after longer than it should have taken, I think to check Peacock and yes, it’s there. Probably an exclusive contract in the US or something. Oh. Anyway, we get Bobke and Christian on Peacock.

8/27/23 1:02 PM

Dan, PureVPN will fix that for you. Among other VPNs. I think it costs me 35.00/yr. And it is good for lots of US restricted content. I watched one stage of the 23 Giro Welsh, and then got the VPN. ;)

I keep Chrome with VPN for such occasions. Where as Firefox is my normal everything browser. We catch some Brit TV with the the VPN spoofing our IP to be internal UK. I also use Seamonky for FTP purposes, well did before windows 11 where I can treat my FTP server paths as a folder. This is how I host pics you and anyone else send me.

8/27/23 7:18 PM

Yes, planning to start a race, even a short one, at approximately 7 PM local time at the end of August was a very poor judgment. I'm sure it probably got dark earlier because of the weather, but that was ridiculous. Hard to believe none of the teams commented on that start time before hand.

8/27/23 7:32 PM

Isn't Aug/Sept Sweet spot weather in Spain.

8/28/23 5:35 AM

It was full dark by the time the last few teams finished, that wasn't weather that was the rotation of the Earth and easily predicted. How those last few teams were able to see where they were going is beyond me. Terrible planning.

Then the really dumb changes to stage 2 for 'safety' but not really making it any safer, as pretty much every rider interviewed also said. The commissars are living up to their reputation.

Dan, second vote for the VPN. Using one to watch GCN/Eurosport coverage.

8/28/23 6:09 AM

Yup, the weather is one thing, but they started the race around 7 pm local time. Daylight hours have been getting shorter since June 21.

Barcelona is at a 3-degree higher latitude that where I live between Baltimore and DC and sunset here on Sat was listed as 7:46 pm EDT. Overcast skies just meant even less light available.

I can somewhat understand if the organizer didn't want to move up the start time (to avoid the rains) because of tv contracts?, but scheduling a race start that late in the day was just absurd. I find it hard to believe that no one protested that decision months ago, or maybe they were just ignored???

8/28/23 11:52 AM

Stage 3 finish.

Planners here looking worse and worse? Or did the leader misread where to run out after finish?

What a stupid crash, it is unreal to me this could not have been avoided...


Pretty sure the red jersey isn't suppose to be red from blood. :O

8/28/23 4:31 PM

just watching the replay now...lol...my own fault for opening a spoilers thread.

I do miss bobke...something about Sean Kelly's monotone (especially for an Irishman) voice is grating and utterly boring at the same time.

maybe I'll pop over to peacock tomorrow....

8/28/23 6:01 PM

Considering you started the 'spoilers' thead, lol.

Irony is ironic, isn't it?

Last edited by Sparky on 8/29/23 9:32 AM; edited 1 time in total

8/28/23 6:29 PM

The lady was just 50m from the finish, this is the third day in a row, they are really breaking our balls. - Remco

Starting to like this guy, lol

8/30/23 7:55 AM

Anyone notice the stage sign ins are via facial recognition?

8/30/23 9:22 AM

i hadn't noticed that. I am not a fan of biometric authentication, I find it invasive and creepy.

8/30/23 11:29 AM

What about it in the case of Fabio Jakobsen, who's face changed. Or a face cut where the rider makes the next stage and has got a bandage or something.

8/30/23 6:54 PM

Facial recognition is more about specific measurements between reference points- width of eyes, length of mouth, angle of mouth, ears, nose, etc. You can wear a hoodie and sunglasses and not defeat facial recognition. A scar won't impact it at all, Jacobson might still be recognizable to the system before and after better it doesn't measure subjective appearance but very fine details of construction that won't change much unless there's been catastrophic damage.

It's Orwellian in its ability to identify faces in crowds, in half obscured situations, and even in resolutions where humans can't make an id.

8/31/23 9:48 AM

Sepp, Sepp Sepp, Sepp!

9/1/23 6:23 AM

The smile on his face said everything. Reward for all his hard work for others.

9/1/23 4:11 PM

Tomorrow should be really interesting, as he has the potential to take the race lead.

9/5/23 10:05 AM

TT had a few surprises for me.

Sepp biggest, and Vingo next. Ganna is an animal.

Martinez? How that size guy goes that fast?? 20 years old 115lb, a Red jersey already. Although it got heavy fast. ;) Another super star we are seeing.



Sepp, Sepp, Sepp, Sepp.... ;)


Anyone else think Evenepoel is going to get beat up by the dynamic Trio in yellow [and red] in the mtns?

9/5/23 10:54 AM

Vengegaard clearly peaked his TT fitness for the Tour, not a judgement just an observation. Still a good showing, of course. And maybe he's not all-in for this race and has decided to support his teammates given his own success.

Yeah, Remco has to be feeling it. A super hilly Vuelta and JV has arguably its best climber in red and two major GC threats within 2.5min. JV has all the cards to play and can 1-2-3 punch Evenepoel at will. Sort of like they did to Tadej in the 22 tour but with an extra threat this time.

Just for the sake of sporting drama, I hope some other teams find an answer to the Jumbo problem (shades of Team Sky) next year. They may be too strong for good entertainment. I remember LA's 4th, 5th, etc....there was a distinct lack of that "what if" drama that can make this all so much better as a viewer. That's what was so good about the Tour this year, Tadej kept it interesting for a long time.

9/5/23 3:19 PM

quote:

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Just for the sake of sporting drama...

---

9/6/23 4:52 AM

I suspect that what's going to happen with other teams is actually that the most talented individual riders (Evenepol, Ayuso, Martinez, etc.) will repeatedly attack and force JV to respond. You can probably count on Bardet to mount a suicide attack or two, which seems to be his thing these days. I don't expect it will actually work in this race, but longer-term it may. If Vingegaard fades in the mountains, he'll just slide into a super domestique role. I expect Kuss to sprout wings when the road turns upward and just grind Evenpol into the ground. Remco is a great rider, but he can't do it all on his own.

9/6/23 12:08 PM

Seems a pretty good synopsis of what's likely to happen

9/6/23 1:52 PM

We should see on Friday, when they finish on the Tourmalet. Saturday looks brutal too.

9/8/23 4:58 AM

For non cycling reasons I have the day off today...get to watch live for once. Looking forward to today's anticipated fireworks.