In praise of the 3 kilometer rule

When I posted yesterday the results I had seen included about 20 riders finishing in the lead bunch and the weasel finishing in the main peloton 1 minute and 20 seconds behind. It appeared that Alberto had lost time to Frank Schleck and Cadel Evans but was even with all of the other GC contenders. A good result from my perspective but not as good as what we discover today.

Hooray, hooray for the 3 kilometer rule. The second of the crashes near the end of yesterday's stage occurred just inside the 2 kilometer to go banner. The 3 kilometer rule states that if you crash within the final 3 kilometers you are credited with the same time as the group you were with.

Today after application of the 3 kilometer rule to yesterday's result the times of the riders involved in the second crash were adjusted and most of them moved from the main peloton to the lead group. The lead group grew to about 75 riders and includes all of the main GC contenders except the defending champion. All of the GC contenders were in the group that crashed except the one who was delayed by the first crash. Instead of being even Andy Schleck led Contador by 1 minute 14 seconds.

As with most competitions at the very highest level of any sport, the difference was tiny. The video is quite interesting. Today Versus ran it in slow motion with an arrow on Contador. The road is packed with riders covering every available centimeter of pavement from one side to the other when the Astana rider brushes the spectator in the yellow shirt standing on the right side of the road. The bicyclist pitches to the left into the mass of riders and the chain reaction is on. Quickly the chaos spreads and soon it is apparent that the entire road will be blocked by falling bicyclists. On the left side of the road desperate measures are being taken as riders attempt to get by. A couple go off the road onto the grass, both delayed but both able to recover and get back into the chase. Contador comes so very, very close to getting through but finally the rider directly to his right front goes down and the road is completely blocked. He cannot get by. He has to stop, get off his bicycle, lift it over a couple of his downed competitors and only then can he resume riding. As a result of the delay he loses over a minute and may have lost the Tour. As amazing as it seems, the Tour de France may have been decided on the very first stage not by the riders but by an imbecile in a yellow shirt.

Today Contador lost more time but it was time he was going to lose regardless of what happened yesterday, the other GC contenders have better teams, they were always going to gain time on him in a competition testing the strength not of the individual but of the team.

I love the Tour de France.

It was maybe a little hot when I rode today for it to be very much fun. At the temperatures of midday today it was a good day for getting the exercise, for doing the work, but to call today's ride recreation would be a bit of a stretch. Mostly it was head down, turn the pedals, do the miles.

Head down turn the pedals.

One thing undeniably true about bicycling is that you develop a heightened awareness of the state of the pavement. I see things on the pavement all the time that I would almost certainly not notice in any other activity, including walking. Here's today's odd looking pavement decoration.There is supposed to be a multi-purpose path (what city planners refer to as a "bike path" but what a road bicyclist would usually refer to as a "sidewalk") constructed along that piece of road. I think this new road art must be related to that but exactly how I do not know. I also think that this whole business is a lot of things but one thing it is not, it is not boring.