How can these guys breathe?

"AMG" <[email hidden]> wrote in :"]news:[email hidden]:

Quoted message said:

This short quote from the NY Times, describing Jegou just before he fell this afternoon:

"At the time, he was being stalked by seven motorcycles for still photographers, two for
television, three for radio, two for the workers supplying both water and soft drinks, and one
each for a traffic monitor and for the official with a chalkboard listing the time of the
breakaway's lead. Occasionally a motorcycle police officer sped by, too."

I wonder what the air quality must be like for these guys, since the they are constantly
surrounded not only by motorcycles, but also by the support and medical cars. Often you see them
tooling along with one of these cars holding its distance in front by maybe ten meters -- not very
far for the exhaust stream to dissipate. Given the level of exertion, it could be worse than
riding in urban traffic...

-- AMG

I agree... its ridicilous. Check this photo out:

grahamwatson.safeshopper.com251.htmOpen ↗

I count 9 motos and 3 cars. Waaaaaaay over the top.

- Boyd S.

Boyd Speerschneider said:

"AMG" <[email hidden]> wrote in :"]news:[email hidden]:

Quoted message said:

This short quote from the NY Times, describing Jegou just before he fell this afternoon:

"At the time, he was being stalked by seven motorcycles for still photographers, two for
television, three for radio, two for the workers supplying both water and soft drinks, and one
each for a traffic monitor and for the official with a chalkboard listing the time of the
breakaway's lead. Occasionally a motorcycle police officer sped by, too."

I wonder what the air quality must be like for these guys, since the they are constantly
surrounded not only by motorcycles, but also by the support and medical cars. Often you see them
tooling along with one of these cars holding its distance in front by maybe ten meters -- not
very far for the exhaust stream to dissipate. Given the level of exertion, it could be worse
than riding in urban traffic...

-- AMG

I agree... its ridicilous. Check this photo out:

grahamwatson.safeshopper.com251.htmOpen ↗

I count 9 motos and 3 cars. Waaaaaaay over the top.

- Boyd S.

4 cars

"Boyd Speerschneider" <[email hidden]>

Quoted message said:

I agree... its ridicilous. Check this photo out:

grahamwatson.safeshopper.com251.htmOpen ↗

I count 9 motos and 3 cars. Waaaaaaay over the top.

Now I've never been to Alpo Du Wez, but there are some extenuating circumstances that the pic
doesn't tell.

Armstrong soloed in for the win which is probably in the area of 500m to 2km away,

There probably aren't too many alternative routes for the caravan to get to the finish,

There probably aren't too many alternative places for the caravan to pull off the road before
the finish,

Because Armstrong is the TETE de la course, there are gendarmes and commissaires aplenty, as well as
team support, the ubiquitous Mavic neutral support, and probably at least 4 camera motos,

If you think _this_ is ridiculous, you should see the publicity caravan that has already passed
through the area.

I read once the approximate fuel consumption for the entire race entourage, and it was pretty
impressive.

As for breathing, imagine this: except for the motos, virtually all the vehicles involved are diesel
(so the mechanics can siphon the tanks to clean the bikes if they have to <G>😉.

"Carl Sundquist" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
"]news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

"Boyd Speerschneider" <[email hidden]>

Quoted message said:

I agree... its ridicilous. Check this photo out:

grahamwatson.safeshopper.com251.htmOpen ↗

I count 9 motos and 3 cars. Waaaaaaay over the top.

Now I've never been to Alpo Du Wez, but there are some extenuating circumstances that the pic
doesn't tell.

Armstrong soloed in for the win which is probably in the area of 500m to

2km

Quoted message said:

away,

There probably aren't too many alternative routes for the caravan to get

to

Quoted message said:

the finish,

There probably aren't too many alternative places for the caravan to pull off the road before
the finish,

Because Armstrong is the TETE de la course, there are gendarmes and commissaires aplenty, as well
as team support, the ubiquitous Mavic

neutral

Quoted message said:

support, and probably at least 4 camera motos,

If you think _this_ is ridiculous, you should see the publicity caravan

that

Quoted message said:

has already passed through the area.

I read once the approximate fuel consumption for the entire race

entourage,

Quoted message said:

and it was pretty impressive.

As for breathing, imagine this: except for the motos, virtually all the vehicles involved are
diesel (so the mechanics can siphon the tanks to

clean

Quoted message said:

the bikes if they have to <G>😉.

Carl is right, those publicity caravan diesel fumes are grim. In 1986 I followed the tour by bicycle
and breathed a ton of that [censored] every day. Here's a delight: poorly lit tunnels in the Alps, on the
descent, water patches and potholes everywhere, caravan fumes (and god awful noise), caravan drivers
that don't give a [censored] about a cyclist's safety blasting past you, one after the other. A couple of
times a day. The peleton has a good clean ride in comparison. Btw, no regrets!

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Boyd Speerschneider <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:<[email hidden]>...

Quoted message said:

I agree... its ridicilous. Check this photo out:

grahamwatson.safeshopper.com251.htmOpen ↗

I count 9 motos and 3 cars. Waaaaaaay over the top.

Okay, but those vehicles won't always be at the same place (in the race) at once. You have to have
enough cameras and commisaires and support vehicles so that all the important groups in the race
are covered.

When you only have a few groups, there will be extra vehicles which will have to double and
triple up.

-Amit