rudemedic Posted July 7, 2014 Share Posted July 7, 2014 Was Cragg Vale even categorised? Or was it part of Cote de Ripponden? Holme Moss would have been hard, especially as it was that much further on, but according to some of those who seemed to be in the know they went up the easy way. Some of the fans went up quicker than the pros in my opinion, one or two of the kids might have given some of the sprinters a run for their money too. I've seen it on the relative flat, during the last few Km going down-hill and then going up hill. Up hill wins hands down, especially as the crowds were coming down only to meet some poor Lampre rider a long way off the back going up. Not as bad as Saturday when Talansky had his mechanical and some bloke went round the same roundabout quicker than he did at the exact same time. Seeing the peloton in full flight in preparation for a final bunch sprint is an experience though. The sheer speed of it was shocking. Some of the caravan drivers, the ones selling stuff as opposed to chucking freebies out, would give LeesLover a run for his money with blue innuendo style "humour", they were perhaps the most stereotypically French I've ever heard. Put it this way my favourite sporting memory of 2014 is no longer the Posh game, in fact that doesn't get into the top 3 now. #viveletour Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
disjointed Posted July 7, 2014 Author Share Posted July 7, 2014 If the weather is bad, yeah it can be pretty tough for the last 4km because its exposed. But generally Cragg Vale is a pretty easy climb. It only averages 3%. There is a little bit in the middle where it ramps up, but I'd reckon for a pro that climb would be like me or you riding on the flat. The cragg is a good climb for a Sunday ride, not too hard, but enjoyable unless it is one of them mist rolling in days when you can't see your hand in front of your face. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dave_ragg1984 Posted July 7, 2014 Share Posted July 7, 2014 Was Cragg Vale even categorised? Or was it part of Cote de Ripponden? Holme Moss would have been hard, especially as it was that much further on, but according to some of those who seemed to be in the know they went up the easy way. Some of the fans went up quicker than the pros in my opinion, one or two of the kids might have given some of the sprinters a run for their money too. Cragg wasn't categorised, but it was given a french sounding name. I think it said on the telly that it was included in Cote de Ripponden, which seems a bit odd to me. There is a 4 mile descent between the end of the Cragg Vale climb and the start of the one out of Ripponden. I don't know if they did Holme Moss the easy way, as I've only done it that way, but I asked my brother and he said its easier coming up the other way. He's done that a few times and the way they did it dozens of times. The climb past Holme band club just to get to the start of the Holme Moss climb is hard enough and really takes it out of your legs before you get to the bridge where it ramps up again. I don't think they were going full steam up it, but they were going some to reel the break in. Marcus Burghardt broke the Strava record for Holme Moss from the band club to the top of the summit, with a time of 12:48, which is ridiculous. Riders who uploaded their ride yesterday (Ted King, David Lopez and Lars Boom) make up 4 of the top 5 on there now. Burghardt averaged 13.7 mph, which on a climb like that is seriously good. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
disjointed Posted July 7, 2014 Author Share Posted July 7, 2014 Cragg wasn't categorised, but it was given a french sounding name. I think it said on the telly that it was included in Cote de Ripponden, which seems a bit odd to me. There is a 4 mile descent between the end of the Cragg Vale climb and the start of the one out of Ripponden. I don't know if they did Holme Moss the easy way, as I've only done it that way, but I asked my brother and he said its easier coming up the other way. He's done that a few times and the way they did it dozens of times. The climb past Holme band club just to get to the start of the Holme Moss climb is hard enough and really takes it out of your legs before you get to the bridge where it ramps up again. I don't think they were going full steam up it, but they were going some to reel the break in. Marcus Burghardt broke the Strava record for Holme Moss from the band club to the top of the summit, with a time of 12:48, which is ridiculous. Riders who uploaded their ride yesterday (Ted King, David Lopez and Lars Boom) make up 4 of the top 5 on there now. Burghardt averaged 13.7 mph, which on a climb like that is seriously good. 13.7 is something I would be proud of on the flat. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rudemedic Posted July 8, 2014 Share Posted July 8, 2014 Cragg wasn't categorised, but it was given a french sounding name. I think it said on the telly that it was included in Cote de Ripponden, which seems a bit odd to me. There is a 4 mile descent between the end of the Cragg Vale climb and the start of the one out of Ripponden. I don't know if they did Holme Moss the easy way, as I've only done it that way, but I asked my brother and he said its easier coming up the other way. He's done that a few times and the way they did it dozens of times. The climb past Holme band club just to get to the start of the Holme Moss climb is hard enough and really takes it out of your legs before you get to the bridge where it ramps up again. I don't think they were going full steam up it, but they were going some to reel the break in. Marcus Burghardt broke the Strava record for Holme Moss from the band club to the top of the summit, with a time of 12:48, which is ridiculous. Riders who uploaded their ride yesterday (Ted King, David Lopez and Lars Boom) make up 4 of the top 5 on there now. Burghardt averaged 13.7 mph, which on a climb like that is seriously good. Cool, thanks for the clarification, not being a rider what the people round me were saying made sense, that coming up the other way was harder as maybe it wasn't as steep in some sections but there were no flatter bits for "recovery", so it's more of a steady climb. One of them was apparently pretty local too, so I figured he would probably know. 13.7 mph up that is pretty impressive, and considering that when Burghardt was riding in Le Tour he was often out the back on climbs like that it goes to show just how quick some of the climbers would go up that if they were really trying. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HarryBosch Posted July 8, 2014 Share Posted July 8, 2014 Misses the point. The bloke on Cragg Vale was at front of the peleton ....no hands...190+ riders steaming up as a casual day out checking his food bag. Very impressive as whilst not a challenge hill wise the pace wasn't slow and a mistake and the lot would have come down. As for Holme Moss the kids bouncing on pedals arent riding the distance. Great to see the encouragement. Saw quite a few smart arsed cyclists pretending to be something they arent.... but thats the problem a few give a lot of pleasure cyclists a bad name. In fact heads so far up own arse they must have constipation. Go out on a bike once every few years and think they are fit and everyone should move out of way. Majority of decent cyclists then get the backlash from motorists. If you actually know the route from Langsett into Sheffield via Bradfield it is more challenging than you might expect. Jenkins Rd is a beast and the pressure of day = the huge gaps at end down the field. Having watched it back some :censored:e comments. Ladybower Res....at bottom of Holme Moss.. FFS ... Poor notes... From watching yesterday .....Considerable delay on TV by looks of things and the adverts some places hardly got a shot on TV. Bringing the Main Stand to the Tour de France Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ackey Posted July 8, 2014 Share Posted July 8, 2014 It would probably be a lot more interesting if you stood on the side of the road for a few hours. Watch the caravan go through, and the procession of support vehicles, and feel the atmosphere rise as the race gets closer. But then again, with a flat stage, watch at the finish line. If you are going to watch them whizz past, might as well watch as full gas. I'm not looking to criticise the event Dave. I got there at 15:15 and it went past me at 16:10, so I did see the whole shebang and I was on the fence at the side of the road - so I do feel I got the whole experience for that which was available (It was lunch from work so I had to take what I could get, I couldn't afford to head back to central London for it). The support vehicles flew past at (as a guess) 45+ mile an hour on the dual carriage way so there wasn't a great deal to see from them either really. Not the end of the world, I am glad I can say I went down to watch it. Just not something I would be looking to do again. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ackey Posted July 8, 2014 Share Posted July 8, 2014 To describe the tour passing as Meh only means you picked a poor spot to watch it as a whole event. Holme Moss was a Grand Day Out humour and enthusiastic support. Not sure I can get there from my London office I'll be honest with you. For me, on a drizzly dual carriage way in East London it was meh. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
24hoursfromtulsehill Posted July 8, 2014 Share Posted July 8, 2014 Not sure I can get there from my London office I'll be honest with you. For me, on a drizzly dual carriage way in East London it was meh. The French don't bother to watch it in such unpromising locations. I love the tour and everything that goes with it, but my favourite shot on the highlights was of Londoners busily heading in one direction or another in Trafalgar Square, totally oblivious to it. Another classic was a man standing under an umbrella on the platform at Charing Cross station checking his watch as the Peleton rumbled by underneath him. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HarryBosch Posted July 8, 2014 Share Posted July 8, 2014 (edited) I never took any interest until the year Wiggins won it and enjoyed watching the 7pm highlights every night after work, especially with no football on. I looked forward to it last year and watched quite a bit without ever really fully understanding the finer points. I watched from just after the sharp left at the bottom of Cragg Vale on Sunday and, although they flashed by in a heartbeat, really enjoyed the experience. I almost shat myself being half on the road right next to the peloton and quickly stepped back while the old woman next to me didn't even flinch It's a really good sport once you start to understand it and I'll be making proper plans to be at the equivalent of Holme Moss next time it's over here. Does anyone know if it will be on at the same time as Euro 2016 , as I'm intending going over for that and it would be great to combine the two. Edited July 8, 2014 by HarryBosch Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rudemedic Posted July 8, 2014 Share Posted July 8, 2014 I never took any interest until the year Wiggins won it and enjoyed watching the 7pm highlights every night after work, especially with no football on. I looked forward to it last year and watched quite a bit without ever really fully understanding the finer points. I watched from just after the sharp left at the bottom of Cragg Vale on Sunday and, although they flashed by in a heartbeat, really enjoyed the experience. I almost shat myself being half on the road right next to the peloton and quickly stepped back while the old woman next to me didn't even flinch It's a really good sport once you start to understand it and I'll be making proper plans to be at the equivalent of Holme Moss next time it's over here. Does anyone know if it will be on at the same time as Euro 2016 , as I'm intending going over for that and it would be great to combine the two. It will probably be on about the same time in 2016, it usually starts first Saturday in July. Euro 2016 runs until the 10th of July (2nd Sunday), so there will probably be some overlap. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dave_ragg1984 Posted July 8, 2014 Share Posted July 8, 2014 Misses the point. The bloke on Cragg Vale was at front of the peleton ....no hands...190+ riders steaming up as a casual day out checking his food bag. Very impressive as whilst not a challenge hill wise the pace wasn't slow and a mistake and the lot would have come down. As for Holme Moss the kids bouncing on pedals arent riding the distance. Great to see the encouragement. Saw quite a few smart arsed cyclists pretending to be something they arent.... but thats the problem a few give a lot of pleasure cyclists a bad name. In fact heads so far up own arse they must have constipation. Go out on a bike once every few years and think they are fit and everyone should move out of way. Majority of decent cyclists then get the backlash from motorists. I'd imaging for a professional cyclist, sitting on the front of the bunch checking out your food bag is pretty standard stuff. Its actually probably harder the further back into the peleton they are because of just how close to each other they ride. And any kid bouncing on the pedals up Holme Moss, no matter how far they have ridden or are riding, is pretty impressive stuff. That hill is a really hard ride, and where I was was the steepest part of it and some of them were dancing up it. Now I know kids have no weight to them, but their bikes looked heavier than them half the time! They could have started riding from the bridge for all I know, but some of them were seriously impressive. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dave_ragg1984 Posted July 8, 2014 Share Posted July 8, 2014 I never took any interest until the year Wiggins won it and enjoyed watching the 7pm highlights every night after work, especially with no football on. I looked forward to it last year and watched quite a bit without ever really fully understanding the finer points. I watched from just after the sharp left at the bottom of Cragg Vale on Sunday and, although they flashed by in a heartbeat, really enjoyed the experience. I almost shat myself being half on the road right next to the peloton and quickly stepped back while the old woman next to me didn't even flinch It's a really good sport once you start to understand it and I'll be making proper plans to be at the equivalent of Holme Moss next time it's over here. Does anyone know if it will be on at the same time as Euro 2016 , as I'm intending going over for that and it would be great to combine the two. I don't know about going over for Euro 2016, but next time they do l'Alpe d'Huez I'm seriously considering it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LaticsChris Posted July 10, 2014 Share Posted July 10, 2014 I'm considering going Dutch for a week the next time they go up Alpe d'Huez, those guys know how to enjoy a bike race. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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