Does anyone else here follow road cycling? As in the Tour de France? We are at the start of the 2023 season with several grand tour and pro tour races already finished and some currently in progress. 

I watch my first Tour de France last year and it was really a fascinating race. I've seen highlights in previous years but never watched full stages. The team my husband likes, Jumbo Visma, kicked [BLEEP] so that made it even better. 

It's fascinating because it's similar to Formula One in that it's both a team sport and individual sport so you have between 6-8 riders who want to win stages as well as earn points to wear the jersey for Best Young Rider, Most Aggressive Rider, King of the Mountain and so on, but the riders must still work as a team to win the big prize which is the race as a whole. There are different roles for each rider and those roles determine what their job is on any given day. 

There is a lot to it and I'm still learning. We recently got the annual subscription to GCN+ which is a British outfit that has streaming rights to the majority of races during the season and it's been interesting to watch the minor races that aren't as well known that get the riders and teams ready for the Big Three; the Giro d' Italia in May, the Tour de France in July, and the Vuelta a Espana in September. The three grand tours each 21 days long. 

Anyway, just wanted to throw this out there and see if anyone else follows this sport.

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I don't mind watching from time to time. Got to be 110% in shape for that stuff. I always liked watching them huff and puff up a steep hill lol.

Lance Armstrong kinda ruined it a little for me..

Him and the idiots who think they're in The Tour de France on Blanding Blvd.. Those are the ones I wanna run over..

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I don't mind watching from time to time. Got to be 110% in shape for that stuff. 

Seriously?  you need to be 110% in shape to watch that stuff?

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I don't mind watching from time to time. Got to be 110% in shape for that stuff. I always liked watching them huff and puff up a steep hill lol.

Lance Armstrong kinda ruined it a little for me..

Him and the idiots who think they're in The Tour de France on Blanding Blvd.. Those are the ones I wanna run over..

 
The crazy thing about that whole situation is when they stripped him of his last win they had to go through 19 more riders from that Tour before they could find a winner that wasn't doping. Yeah, Armstrong was a douche for lying but he knew he was being made an example of and wasn't going to just roll over and make it easy for the UCI to screw him over.

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I don't mind watching from time to time. Got to be 110% in shape for that stuff. I always liked watching them huff and puff up a steep hill lol.

Lance Armstrong kinda ruined it a little for me..

Him and the idiots who think they're in The Tour de France on Blanding Blvd.. Those are the ones I wanna run over..

 
The crazy thing about that whole situation is when they stripped him of his last win they had to go through 19 more riders from that Tour before they could find a winner that wasn't doping. Yeah, Armstrong was a douche for lying but he knew he was being made an example of and wasn't going to just roll over and make it easy for the UCI to screw him over.

Yeah, but the whole Armstrong thing really stung a lot of people in this country. His face was all over American media for his determination and perserverance. Everyone and their brother had a 'Live Strong' yellow wrist band and we bought into it..

He's nothing but a one nut fraud.

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The crazy thing about that whole situation is when they stripped him of his last win they had to go through 19 more riders from that Tour before they could find a winner that wasn't doping. Yeah, Armstrong was a douche for lying but he knew he was being made an example of and wasn't going to just roll over and make it easy for the UCI to screw him over.

Yeah, but the whole Armstrong thing really stung a lot of people in this country. His face was all over American media for his determination and perserverance. Everyone and their brother had a 'Live Strong' yellow wrist band and we bought into it..

He's nothing but a one nut fraud.

I don't disagree. I wasn't a fan of his or the sport back then but I remember thinking he was a douche for lying. He is one of the reasons I'm not a bandwagon fan of athletes or celebrities and their causes. 

On another note, watching the UAE Tour and another race in Spain this week has been cool and not just for the races but for the virtual travel. It is pretty neat to see countries I'll never go to and learn things about them I wouldn't otherwise. Dubai is quite the city to see not only from the road but also from helicopter feeds. Then you go to the O Gran Camino race in Spain and see spectacular coastal views. It really is neat.

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Yeah, but the whole Armstrong thing really stung a lot of people in this country. His face was all over American media for his determination and perserverance. Everyone and their brother had a 'Live Strong' yellow wrist band and we bought into it..

He's nothing but a one nut fraud.

I don't disagree. I wasn't a fan of his or the sport back then but I remember thinking he was a douche for lying. He is one of the reasons I'm not a bandwagon fan of athletes or celebrities and their causes. 

On another note, watching the UAE Tour and another race in Spain this week has been cool and not just for the races but for the virtual travel. It is pretty neat to see countries I'll never go to and learn things about them I wouldn't otherwise. Dubai is quite the city to see not only from the road but also from helicopter feeds. Then you go to the O Gran Camino race in Spain and see spectacular coastal views. It really is neat.

Absolutely 100%

Another reason why I like Formula One Street Circuits. Especially when they race in Monaco, Melbourne or Singapore.. Good stuff!

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Yeah, but the whole Armstrong thing really stung a lot of people in this country. His face was all over American media for his determination and perserverance. Everyone and their brother had a 'Live Strong' yellow wrist band and we bought into it..

He's nothing but a one nut fraud.

I don't disagree. I wasn't a fan of his or the sport back then but I remember thinking he was a douche for lying. He is one of the reasons I'm not a bandwagon fan of athletes or celebrities and their causes. 

On another note, watching the UAE Tour and another race in Spain this week has been cool and not just for the races but for the virtual travel. It is pretty neat to see countries I'll never go to and learn things about them I wouldn't otherwise. Dubai is quite the city to see not only from the road but also from helicopter feeds. Then you go to the O Gran Camino race in Spain and see spectacular coastal views. It really is neat.

What channel(s) or streaming service do you watch these on? I’ve seen the Tour De France on before but hadn’t really noticed much else, not that I’ve been looking. 

I’m one of those jerks on the side of the road… Been cycling for the last ten years. Sidewalks aren’t for bikes, at least not at the speeds we like to ride at. It’s the perfect activity and the best part is I can walk right out my front door and go for a 20 mile ride.

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I don't disagree. I wasn't a fan of his or the sport back then but I remember thinking he was a douche for lying. He is one of the reasons I'm not a bandwagon fan of athletes or celebrities and their causes. 

On another note, watching the UAE Tour and another race in Spain this week has been cool and not just for the races but for the virtual travel. It is pretty neat to see countries I'll never go to and learn things about them I wouldn't otherwise. Dubai is quite the city to see not only from the road but also from helicopter feeds. Then you go to the O Gran Camino race in Spain and see spectacular coastal views. It really is neat.

What channel(s) or streaming service do you watch these on? I’ve seen the Tour De France on before but hadn’t really noticed much else, not that I’ve been looking. 

I’m one of those jerks on the side of the road… Been cycling for the last ten years. Sidewalks aren’t for bikes, at least not at the speeds we like to ride at. It’s the perfect activity and the best part is I can walk right out my front door and go for a 20 mile ride.

Dude.. Stay off the damn highways. I don't care what the stupid law is, get yo [BLEEP] on the damn sidwalk. You're pissing us off!!

Signed,

Everybody

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I don't disagree. I wasn't a fan of his or the sport back then but I remember thinking he was a douche for lying. He is one of the reasons I'm not a bandwagon fan of athletes or celebrities and their causes. 

On another note, watching the UAE Tour and another race in Spain this week has been cool and not just for the races but for the virtual travel. It is pretty neat to see countries I'll never go to and learn things about them I wouldn't otherwise. Dubai is quite the city to see not only from the road but also from helicopter feeds. Then you go to the O Gran Camino race in Spain and see spectacular coastal views. It really is neat.

What channel(s) or streaming service do you watch these on? I’ve seen the Tour De France on before but hadn’t really noticed much else, not that I’ve been looking. 

I’m one of those jerks on the side of the road… Been cycling for the last ten years. Sidewalks aren’t for bikes, at least not at the speeds we like to ride at. It’s the perfect activity and the best part is I can walk right out my front door and go for a 20 mile ride.

GCN+ has the most races streaming. NBC/Peacock airs the TdF and Vuelta while GCN+ streams the Giro. Those are the three World Tour races. 21 stages over three weeks. 

NBC/Peacock also airs Paris-Nice, Paris-Roubaix, Criterium du Dauphine and a couple of others. 

GCN+ has most of the rest. We paid $50 for the season which runs through February thru October. If you can't watch live you can watch replays. Check out the link. https://plus.globalcyclingnetwork.com/

The Strade Bianche is the next one day race next Saturday. It should be a good one with Wout van Aert joining his team (Jumbo Visma) for his first race of the season. He specializes in this kind of race. 

My husband has been riding for 25 years some of it in triathlons. Now he just rides.

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The crazy thing about that whole situation is when they stripped him of his last win they had to go through 19 more riders from that Tour before they could find a winner that wasn't doping. Yeah, Armstrong was a douche for lying but he knew he was being made an example of and wasn't going to just roll over and make it easy for the UCI to screw him over.

Yeah, but the whole Armstrong thing really stung a lot of people in this country. His face was all over American media for his determination and perserverance. Everyone and their brother had a 'Live Strong' yellow wrist band and we bought into it..

He's nothing but a one nut fraud.

His having one nut certainly isn't a fraud, but yeah, everything else was.

What I could never figure out was, how the heck did he get with Sheryl Crow?

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"Remember Red, Hope is a good thing. Maybe the best of things. And no good thing ever dies."  - Andy Dufresne, The Shawshank Redemption

Yeah, but the whole Armstrong thing really stung a lot of people in this country. His face was all over American media for his determination and perserverance. Everyone and their brother had a 'Live Strong' yellow wrist band and we bought into it..

He's nothing but a one nut fraud.

His having one nut certainly isn't a fraud, but yeah, everything else was.

What I could never figure out was, how the heck did he get with Sheryl Crow?

You're right. It was nut funny.

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His having one nut certainly isn't a fraud, but yeah, everything else was.

What I could never figure out was, how the heck did he get with Sheryl Crow?

You're right. It was nut funny.

He was having a ball.

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The races starting this weekend.

Paris-Nice streaming on Peacock network from 5-12 March.

Strade Bianche on GCN+ tomorrow 4 March.

Tirreno Adriatico on GCN+ 6-12 March.

Later in the month is Milano Sanremo on 18 March on GCN+.

These are major races for the month of March. There are others that are just as interesting, if not in "star power" than in learning the riders and their teams, strategies and tactics the commentators discuss, and the scenery. Three of those races are in Italy and it really is gorgeous over there.

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Today begins the Tour of Catalunya in Spain lasting six stages. Stage one starts as a mountain stage with Primoz Roglic of Team Jumbo-Visma being a favorite as well as Remco Evenepoel of Soudal Quickstep. Unless something goes sideways I see Jumbo-Visma having a strong race overall with half of their riders being from their winning 2022 Tour de France team.

Link

The Volta Ciclista a Catalunya has all the ingredients on the table for a spectacular 102nd edition between 20 and 26 March. A five-star line-up with names such as Remco Evenepoel, Primož Roglič, Richard Carapaz, Egan Bernal and Geraint Thomas will be in the spotlight before the start of the Catalan UCI World Tour race, which in its seven stages between Sant Feliu de Guíxols and Barcelona will feature three big mountain stages.

Reigning world champion Remco Evenepoel (Soudal-Quick Step) heads a stellar field that will make the Volta a Catalunya the world epicentre of cycling between 20 and 26 March. The Belgian star, only 23 years old, will have in Catalunya his big stage race challenge before the Giro d'Italia against his great rival, the triple winner of the Vuelta a España Primož Roglič (Jumbo-Visma), in the eyes of the whole world after his dominance in the recent Tirreno-Adriatico. The Slovenian returns to the Volta after participating in the 2016 edition.......


This site has a lot of info to follow during the stage if you can't watch the race. 

Live progress of the race. I haven't seen this feature on sites for other races like Paris-Nice, Tirreno-Adriatico, etc., and it's nice for folks who can't watch. I'm watching it while eating brunch.

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I'll reiterate what I said before about watching the races. Getting to travel through these countries while watching the races is half the enjoyment. I had no idea how beautiful Spain is! Or Italy. The cities are nice with unique architecture and the countryside are also so beautiful. If I ever have the chance I will definitely want to travel to Spain.

The places you see swimming pools built are mind bending. Lol. 

I wish there was a stage race in Greece. That would be fantastic.

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What. a. freaking. finish!

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I'll reiterate what I said before about watching the races. Getting to travel through these countries while watching the races is half the enjoyment. I had no idea how beautiful Spain is! Or Italy. The cities are nice with unique architecture and the countryside are also so beautiful. If I ever have the chance I will definitely want to travel to Spain.

The places you see swimming pools built are mind bending. Lol. 

I wish there was a stage race in Greece. That would be fantastic.

Spain is amazing. Like you, I had no idea until I started researching it. Going this summer, God willing.

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"Remember Red, Hope is a good thing. Maybe the best of things. And no good thing ever dies."  - Andy Dufresne, The Shawshank Redemption

I'll reiterate what I said before about watching the races. Getting to travel through these countries while watching the races is half the enjoyment. I had no idea how beautiful Spain is! Or Italy. The cities are nice with unique architecture and the countryside are also so beautiful. If I ever have the chance I will definitely want to travel to Spain.

The places you see swimming pools built are mind bending. Lol. 

I wish there was a stage race in Greece. That would be fantastic.

Spain is amazing.  Like you, I had no idea until I started researching it.  Going this summer, God willing.

Watching this race this week has me wanting to take a trip for sure. Alas, other priorities win out.

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You're coming all the way to Europe and you're going to spain ... My God man, are you on substances ... That's like picking an nfl franchise to support and choosing the jaguars   ... Each to their own, have a blast, which part are you going to? I'd avoid any bits with the English in it   

Researched the documentary 'Icarus' on netflix the other day ... No new stuff in it as it was filmed in 2015 but a good watch ... Starts out as a guy trying to prove pretty much anybody can beat the doping protocols in cycling ... And escalates remarkably!!!

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