Tag Archives: Europe

Tour de France 2012 – Stage 6

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Almost a day has passed since the carnage in stage 6 yesterday, but am still horrified and disgusted (of the officials) to write anything. Hence I’ll let the pictures and tweets do the talking for today. Stage results are available at the end of the post as usual (does not show the riders who lost bucket loads of time). But first the casualty list of yesterday’s crash (space doesn’t allow me to list all the horrible injuries, so mentioning only the major ones), which pales even the hair-raising stage 9 of 2011:

Wouter Poels – Vacansoleil DCM – ruptured spleen and kidney, broken ribs (surgery done yesterday evening)

Oscar Freire – Katusha - punctured lung and broken ribs

Maarten Wynants – Roabobank – punctured lung and broken ribs

Hubert Dupont – AG2R La Mondiale – fractured vertebrae and wrist

Ryder Hesjedal – Garmin Sharp Brracuda – hematoma on left hip (was running 9th overall)

Thomas Danielson – Garmin Sharp Brracuda – separated left shoulder & multiple injuries

Robert Hunter – Garmin Sharp Barracuda – stress fracture in vertebrae

Johan van Summeren – Garmin Sharp Barracuda – multiple injuries and abrasions

Imanol Erviti – Movistar – deep wound in right leg (needs surgery)

Ivan Gutierrez – Movistar – damaged knee

Davide Vigano – Lampre ISD – broken shoulder

Mikel Astarloza – Euskaltel Euskadi – right elbow dislocated

Txurruka – Euskaltel Euskadi – broken collarbone

Anthony Delaplace – Saur Sojasun – fractured wrist

Oh and by the way before the results, today is the first medium mountain stage of the Tour. Expect no fireworks from the big men, rather not from much of the peloton at all. Sigh!

Jersey Holders

  

General Classification

Maillot Jaune

Fabian Cancellara

Fabian Cancellara

29h 22’ 36”

Maillot Vert

Peter Sagan

Bradley Wiggins

29h 22’ 43”

Maillot à Pois Rouges

Michael Morkov

Sylvain Chavanel

29h 22’ 43”

Maillot Blanc

Tejay Van Garderen

Stage Result

  

Team GC

Peter Sagan

4h 00’ 37”

Sky Procylcing

88h 08’ 22”

André Greipel

4h 00’ 37”

Radioshack-Nissan

88h 08’ 26”

Matthew Goss

4h 00’ 37”

BMC Racing Team

88h 08’ 28”

David Zabriskie

Dossard Rouge
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Tour de France 2012 – Stage 5

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Two days, two sprints, two crashes – one result. And that was André Greipel winning his second successive stage in this year’s Tour, making it his 15th victory of the season. While his team again managed to keep him out of trouble, they were not able to launch him as well as he would have liked, but the in form German still came from behind to pip Matt Goss in the final sprint.

Cavendish who managed to escape the crash today, finished a disappointing fifth. His team was given a mouthful by manager Dave Brailsford after Wednesday’s fiasco (also six Sky riders have crashed already since the Tour began on 30 June), and the result was starkly visible as they formed a lead out train for Cavendish (while also protecting Wiggins). The train worked partly as it saved him from the crash, but could not launch Cav with the venom of his HTC team of yesteryear.

The crash again came just inside the 3km mark, this time Garmin-Sharp’s Tyler Farrar going hard to ground. It’s the American’s fourth crash in six days and he must have lost serious bit of skin by now (see the pic at the bottom). Farrar seemed to blame an Argos Oil rider as he went fuming to their team bus after finishing the stage (10 min after the leader but with the same time). Also miffed was Peter Sagan, who went down in the pileup and saw his gap to Greipel and Goss narrowed in the points classification.

Coming late in the stage, inside the 3km, ensured everyone was awarded the winner’s timing on the day, and  therefore Cancellara continues in yellow for the 27th day in his career. It’s the most any rider has been in yellow without actually winning the Tour ever, and the Swiss while definitely happy with his achievement, was realistic in his post stage comments, “It’s always a pleasure to ride in the yellow jersey and, plus, to make history like I have today is pretty awesome,” he said, adding, “The thought of actually winning the Tour de France is not realistic. The Tour is not what I have in my list of goals to win. The Tour is a dream and a dream is not a goal. A goal like that is something other riders have – from Fränk Schleck to [Andreas] Klöden, to [Bradley] Wiggins and Cadel [Evans]. I just live something else, I have the yellow jersey for 26 days now and that’s good.”

The day began with two troubling stories. First being the death of Belgian Willems-Accent rider Rob Goris (30), who suffered a fatal heart attack in his hotel at Rouen late on Wednesday night. He was covering the Tour for Flemish television and knew many riders on the circuit personally. Few in the peloton expressed their condolences by wearing black armbands, while others expressed their grief on twitter:

Other news on the day related to the controversial battle between the USADA and 7 time Tour winner Lance Armstrong. Dutch newspaper De Telegraaf claimed yesterday that Armstrong’s ex-teammates George Hincapie, Levi Leipheimer, Christian Vande Velde and David Zabriskie (all riding in the current Tour) have provided evidence against the retired Texan to the authorities. The report also claims all riders have received delayed 6 month bans and have not been considered for the Olympics.

None of the riders wanted to be pulled into the controversy, and Leipheimer told reporters, “I cannot comment, I’m here to ride my bike,” while Hincapie said, “I’ve always tried to do the right thing for my sport but I’ve got other things on my mind here.” The Dutch newspaper also named current Garmin-Sharp boss Jonathan Vaughters who is a staunch opposer of doping (though has admitted having made ‘mistakes’ in past), and has made his team around the principles of clean riding. He was not available for comment but responded strongly against the allegation on twitter, dismissing it to be untrue.

Once the race got going, not many were thinking of acrimonious politics, at least not Matthieu Ladagnous (FDJ), Jan Ghyselinck (COF), Julien Simon (SAU) and Pablo Urtasun (EUS) who went on the attack inside the first kilometer. Behind them the peloton went short of one rider, as Marcel Kittel of Argos-Shimano quit around the 40km mark. He has been suffering with stomach problems since the prologue, though he said it was his left knee that forced the withdrawal.

Stage 5 took us amidst breathtaking landscapes and in near perfect weather, which the bruised peloton seemed to be enjoying thoroughly with a slow day on the road. Average speeds hovered around a glacial 40km/hr and even the commentators were getting fed up of this procession, describing the pace (or lack thereof) such that the riders “could buy an ice cream as they go”.

The intermediate sprint woke the group from its slumber, once again Cavendish pipping Goss and Renshaw to earn a few useful points. Despite this momentary burst, the main pack adopted a laissez faire policy about the breakaway ahead of them. They were confident that generally these stages go as a pre-defined sprint. The breakaway starts early, but tires and is reeled in within the final kilometers.

If that is so, someone forgot to in form the attackers. They approached the last 10km with a gap of 45 seconds, and maintained to around 20 seconds with 3km to go. This induced panic in the sprint teams as it seemed they had timed their burst a little too late.  And as the peloton was split was the crash behind him, Ghyslink attacked and broke free of the leaders as they passed under the flamme rouge.

Next 1000m witnessed the most enthralling finish of this year, as all the breakaway men had a chance for glory in the last kilometer. Ghyslink was first caught by Urtasun, who himself was pipped by Ladagnous inside the final 500m. But just when it seemed the Frenchman would pull off an unexpected and momentous victory, he was overtaken by the sprinters inside the final 300m. Watching it on TV, it came as a rude wake up call from a beautiful dream, and must have felt worse for the FDJ rider.

The valiant Frenchman recapped his intense battle after the finish, “”It was possible. In the end, Ghyselinck has tried to anticipate as he knew he was slower than us in a sprint. After I told myself I would attack because it is better to lose trying to win, rather than just coming second. When the rider of Euskaltel attacked, I let him do his effort and I got back on track, but the peloton was right on us even thought we could see the finish line. This is the second time it happens to me when I’ve spent a day in the lead of a stage of the Tour. Of course I am disappointed. We had to play cat and mouse games with the peloton. It was no use to ride full-gas all day. But in the last 30 kilometers we gave it everything we had. It’s a shame… but I will try to get in another breakaway, and try again to get a victory.”

It wasn’t easy on the sprinters either as Matt Goss’ herculean effort from 400m to reel down Ladagnous cost him the victory. He did not have the legs for such a long sprint, and his vanquisher Greipel himself described it as “one of the hardest sprints I’ve ever done.” I hope he has something left in his tank for today, which is the last sprint stage in the opening part of the Tour.

Stage 6 signals a transition as the pack would move on to tackle mountains and time trials for the next week and so, and all sprinters would be keen not to let Greipel make a clean sweep of it. Cavendish must be fuming inside and it would be a brave man to bet against him today, though such hunger can only increase the possibility of yet another incident in the rush to the line. Top GC men can cool their heels for one last day, before the action really heats up starting Saturday. So here’s to another round of cheese talks, rolling farms, slow speeds and a hectic finish. Now if only we could have our first surprise winner today…

Jersey Holders

  

General Classification

Maillot Jaune

Fabian Cancellara

Fabian Cancellara

24h 45’ 32”

Maillot Vert

Peter Sagan

Bradley Wiggins

24h 45’ 39”

Maillot à Pois Rouges

Michael Morkov

Sylvain Chavanel

24h 45’ 39”

Maillot Blanc

Tejay Van Garderen

Stage Result

  

Team GC

André Greipel

4h 41’ 30”

Sky Procylcing

74h 17’ 10”

Matthew Goss

4h 41’ 30”

Radioshack-Nissan

74h 17’ 14”

Juan Jose

4h 41’ 30”

BMC Racing Team

74h 17’ 16”

Matthieu Ladagnous

Dossard Rouge

ps: Four crashes in six days, but still going strong. Tyler Farrar #respect

Tour de France 2012 – Stage 4

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“Whatever limits us, we call fate,” wrote Ralph Emerson, words that were resounding loud in the Tour yesterday. A fateful crash inside the final 3 kilometers prevented Mark Cavendish’s chance to equal Armstrong’s record of 22 stage wins in the Tour, and in his expressions if not words, he seemed to blame lady luck. But as the quote above would remind him, it is not for great men to blame fate, even so when on numerous occasions it has been kind to him.

Yesterday, it was smiling on André Greipel, the German who had narrowly missed out on victory in stage 2. He was delivered to perfection by his team’s lead out men, and once in the clear with 250mtr to go, never had a problem holding off Alessandro Petacchi and Tom Veelers. Matt Goss was the expected challenger, but he could only finish fourth, ahead of Peter Sagan.

Despite the strong finish, much of the focus remained on the big pile up caused by Robbie Hunter, who seemed to have clipped a fellow rider’s wheel as the peloton was steaming in for a sprint finish. At 40mph there is no chance for anyone to take evasive action, and the entire lot behind him either succumbed to a fall, or were held up with nowhere to go. Worst to come out were Cavendish and his teammate Bernard Eisel.

Both men remounted and seemed to suffer only superficial injuries as a result of the tumble. Eisel needed stitches over his right eyebrow, while the world champion’s torn jersey hinted at quite a bit of painful road rash underneath. Their team’s directeur sportif, Sean Yates later said about Cav, “He’s covered in cuts, all over. On his back, on his legs, on his shoulder, on his hip, so yeah, he’s beaten up.”

All the top GC men too were held up in the crash, though fortunately none took a tumble and since the incident happened inside the 3km mark, all of them received the lead pack’s timing. It is the primary reason riders always try to stay at the head of the pack, as crashes generally happen towards the middle or rear of the peloton. For Greipel all the hard work of his Lotto-Belisol teammates was worth the trouble, firstly keeping him out of the chaos, and then guiding him in text-book fashion for an uplifting victory.

Even before the race started on Tuesday, the dark cloud of stage 3’s crashes hung over the competitors, as Maarten Tjallingii of Rabobank did not make it to the start line due to injuries sustained on the previous day. Yesterday’s breakaway came right at the start, this time three men, Yukiya Arashiro (EUC), David Moncoutie (COF) and Anthony Delaplace (SAU) surging to the lead. While the stage featured four climbs, Michael Morkov, who is comfortably ahead in the King of the mountains classification, chose to take a breather having attacked for three straight days previously.

First action of the day came at the intermediate sprint, which whipped up a frenzy among the sprinters in the peloton to accumulate points for the green jersey. With no incident, Cavendish beat Goss, Renshaw and Sagan to close the gap narrowly on the Solvak. Rolling ahead there was a minor crash when Australian Jonathan Cantwell catapulted into the grass margin, taking GC contender Vicenzo Nibali along with him. No panic for the Italian though, as he escaped without any injury and with the help of teammates caught up with the peloton a short while later.

There was hardly any event to talk of for most of the distance and on such days you really have to feel for the commentators as they try hard to keep the viewers entertained and engrossed in the proceedings. From castles en route to cheese to the fancy dress of road side fans, small talk of varying topics seems to be the solution, which if nothing is food for idle thought at best.

Dumb Tour fact for the hungry: Did you know Radioshack-Nissan rider Maxime Monfort has a cheese named after him in his native Belgium. Maybe its laced with extra carbs to sate those hungry muscles.

Entering the last 10kms, the peloton had more on their mind than cheese as the initial attacks started to emerge. Gilbert, Dumoulin, Bouet, Pineau and Grivko all tried their luck, but none could open up a gap more than 20 odd meters over the hungry pack of wolves (read sprinters) behind. That man Sylvain Chavanel has been obsessed to don yellow since the prologue this year (trailing a mere 7 seconds behind Cancellara), and yesterday too his gave his all. Sadly yet again he timed the attack a bit too early and did not have the legs to sustain the pace till the finish line.

Ultimately the crash partly decided the result, making the finish a three-way fight between Greipel, Petacchi and Goss. Though the man of this Tour, Peter Sagan too gave it a shot, he was always an outside chance, and eventually could not match the burst in pace of the specialist sprinters. His fifth place finish at least consolidated his place further in the points table.

After the stage Tour leader Fabian Cancellara had an explanation to the chaotic finish, “In my opinion there is not one team making a train like [Mario] Cipollini or Cav had in the past. That is probably the difference, there is no sprinter team with six or seven riders putting everything in line. With 3km to go there was a mass of riders and someone touched someone else. It’s not done on purpose, just everyone fighting to get the best spot.”

For sure such crashes are not intended and mere accidents, but affected riders always feel a tinge of being cheated by fate. Fortunately for Cavendish, he won’t have to wait long to test his ability (or fate) again, as today’s stage 5 is even more suited for his ilk. At 196.5km it is shorter than yesterday, and with no climbs en route, it should be one really fast day. Which also means we have to bear more talks of cheese and other such topics as the peloton ambles for 185 of those 196km. The last 10km is all that will matter and with egos bruised, prepare for an explosion extraordinairé.

Jersey Holders

  

General Classification

Maillot Jaune

Fabian Cancellara

     Fabian Cancellara

20h 04’ 02”

Maillot Vert

Peter Sagan

     Bradley Wiggins

20h 04’ 09”

Maillot à Pois Rouges

Michael Morkov

     Sylvain Chavanel

20h 04’ 09”

Maillot Blanc

Tejay Van Garderen

Stage Result

  

Team GC

André Greipel

5h 18’ 32”

Sky Procylcing

60h 12’ 40”

Alessandro Petacchi

5h 18’ 32”

Radioshack-Nissan

60h 12’ 44”

Tom Veelers

5h 18’ 32”

BMC Racing Team

60h 12’ 46”

Yukiya Arashiro

Dossard Rouge
ps: to bring a good cheer on bored faces (for the guys at least):

Tour de France 2012 – Stage 3

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Not many were impressed in the manner with which Peter Sagan claimed his maiden Tour victory on stage 1 couple of days ago (yours truly being one among the critics), but there could be no criticism whatsoever about his win yesterday as he decimated everyone, finishing more than comfortably ahead of second placed Edvald Boasson Hagen. The Slovak in fact had enough time to perform a jig (in his words imitating the running style of Forest Gump), reminiscent of Usain Bolt’s shenanigans after destroying the field on a Chinese track in 2008.

Unlike the finish on Sunday, Peter did not hitch a ride behind a fellow rider, instead bullied his way up the steep incline, leaving all the rest for dead. He surely has arrived on the Tour with a loud bang now and already comparisons are being made with the iconic Eddy Merckx. Looking at his performance till date – two stage victories and lead in the green jersey classification – he might live up to those expectations.

One knows he has made an impact when your main rivals start applauding you, and furthermore, compare you with contemporary genius. Team Sky’s chief, Dave Brailsford was so impressed with the 22-year-old rider, he said, “Its like watching Messi play football, you tip your hat and smile.”

But behind this victorious youngster, the peloton was in a state of disarray. Today’s stage was expected to throw the cat among the pigeons causing a few hairy moments, and it surpassed those expectations – not in an altogether pleasant way. By the end of the day we had our first painful withdrawals from this year’s race, Sky’s Kanstantsin Sivtsov (fractured tibia) and Movistar’s José-Joaquin Rojas (broken collar-bone).

In comparison Thomas Voeckler, Philippe Gilbert, Daniel Martin, Christian Vandevelde and Tom Danielson were luckier to have finished unscathed, though losing big chunks of time on the leaders. All this does raise a few questions against the organiser’s insistence on introducing an element of thrill and unpredictability by means of such stages. Yes we all like a few twists in the script, however at what cost? Some have even began to blame such routes on making the race a “lottery”, and forcing top riders to exercise more caution than they otherwise would have.

No such worries for Peter Sagan though, who seems to be in great terms with lady luck as he managed to escape a huge pile up within the final kilometer of the finish. It was initiated by the Spaniard Oscar Freire, who tried to squeeze through a gap that didn’t exist. The resultant chaos held up nearly 51 of the 63 riders in the lead group, thankfully there were no major injuries to come out of it. None of the riders lost any time either as the crash came within 3km of the finish, ensuring all riders were awarded the time of the finisher.

Yesterday was our first day in France, and if nothing else, this cheered up the Russian Denis Menchov quite a bit, who tweeted, “Happy to be in France. Beetroot much better quality than in Belgium. More pink. Now Katusha can have proper borscht in bidons!” At the 5km mark, five riders broke free of the peloton with the polka dot jersey wearer Michael Morkov again part of the breakaway for the third day running. He must have some serious energy in those legs to run at the head of the field every single day this year.

As the pace quickened , first big crash of the day came at around the 79km mark, when a Lampre rider went to ground, taking with him Astana’s Janez Brajkovic and Alexander Vinokourov. However no major damage was done, with only Brajkovic needing treatment on his elbow (while rolling alongside the medical car), and was paced back to the group by teammates Vino and Bozic.

Sadly the next crash wasn’t as harmless. This came after 140km had been done for the day and involved, among others, Sagan (LIQ), Farrar and Vande Velde (GRM), Urtasun (EUS) and Sivtsov (SKY). Everyone except Sivtsov got back on their bikes, licking their wounds drafting behind their respective team cars, but the Belarusian sustained nasty injuries, and despite trying to remount was forced to retire. This would be a minor set back to his team leader Bradley Wiggins as Sivtsov was a useful domestique for him.

Among all this panic, Movistar had moved to the head of the peloton, and were pushing the pace, much to the annoyance of Sky riders who confronted Jose Gutierrez asking him to slow the pace down. For people new to cycling, it is one of those few sports where rivals look after each other even in today’s cynical age. It’s an unwritten rule in the sport that no team takes advantage of a major crash, and the peloton eases its pace to allow the stricken riders a chance to catch up.

Nevertheless the Spanish team weren’t in the mood to slow down much, with the five men breakaway still tearing ahead of them. However as they say karma is a bitch, and just about 20km later, another big crash caused Movistar’s Joaquin Rojas to take a nasty fall. Unfortunately the Spaniard too had to abandon his fight for this year with a broken collar-bone. Simon Gerrans (OGE) was another rider affected by the fall, which eventually cost him a huge 10 minutes in arrears to the leaders.

Up ahead Morkov was once again in his own on the climbs, capturing a major chunk of the points to retain his lead in the King of the mountains classification. In addition his performance yesterday earned him the dossard rouge for the stage as well. Ultimately he could not respond to the frequent bursts in pace by Andriy Grivko and eased into the peloton with 8km to go (the Ukrainian himself was caught just a kilometer later).

With 5km remaining on the day, Chavanel yet again attempted for glory, breaking away solo and he continued to fight till being caught inside the last kilometer. He might have been good enough to claim the stage, had he not been so close to Tour leader Cancellara. Once he broke free, Cancellara’s team Radioshack went crazy at the head of the field to  close the Frenchman down at any cost.

Sagan though timed his acceleration to perfection, claiming the day’s honours ahead of compatriot Peter Velits, whose third place finish made a day to rejoice for the small European nation. Top men Wiggins, Evans and Nibali must have been pleased to finish unscathed, both physically and with respect to their overall timings. No changes then in any of the leader boards, meaning a thrilled Cancellara continues in yellow. He later tweeted, “Hard day will ending now.awesome job from @RSNT boys.nice result on the finish,sagan is just to strong. #yellowDay25.”

Fifth day of racing takes us today along the Normandy coastline for a considerable stretch, providing some breathtaking landscapes. It is one of the longest stages this year, covering a distance of 214.5km from Abbeville to Rouen. No major trouble expected en-route as yesterday, though cross winds coming from the coast can cause a few worries in the peloton at times. Overall its a routine sprint stage which means we get to see another face off between the likes of Cavendish, Greipel and Goss. The German would still be smarting from his loss on Monday and would be keen to get one over the Sky rider. Can anyone defeat the Manx missile??? That should be answered by the end of the day.

Jersey Holders

  

General Classification

Maillot Jaune

Fabian Cancellara

     Fabian Cancellara

14h 45’ 30”

Maillot Vert

Peter Sagan

     Bradley Wiggins

14h 45’ 37”

Maillot à Pois Rouges

Michael Morkov

     Sylvain Chavanel

14h 45’ 37”

Maillot Blanc

Tejay Van Garderen

Stage Result

  

Team GC

Peter Sagan

4h 42’ 58”

Sky Procylcing

44h 17’ 04”

Edvald Boasson Hagen

4h 42’ 59”

Radioshack-Nissan

44h 17’ 08”

Peter Velits

4h 42’ 59”

BMC Racing Team

44h 17’ 10”

Michael Morkov

Dossard Rouge
ps: An interesting tweet from Jens Voigt on yesterday’s stage.

Tour de France 2012 – Stage 2

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They said he cannot do it without his regular lead-out train. They said he cannot do it as he had lost too much weight. They said he cannot do it as his focus is the Olympics and not the Tour. He said ‘Yes I can’, and he, Mark Cavendish aka the ‘Manx Missile’ answered emphatically with the 21st victory of his Tour career in yesterday’s stage 2.

Yes the rider himself wasn’t sure of his sprint chances without the perfect launching platform, but he decided to go for it solo nevertheless. In the end it was his indisputable physical talent and innate ability to judge a sprint to perfection that allowed him to pip hot favourite Andre Greipel by a slender margin. What inflamed the German further, is that Cavendish used his wheel to be guided into the sprint, making Greipel his unlikely domestique.

Cav then rubbed it in with a cheeky comment after the race, “As you can see, it was close. Normally I win by….ah, bike lengths, but today I had to lunge for the line. It wasn’t too easy,” adding further, “I had to do it by myself, but I came in to the race with no pressure so I could be plucky about it. With a team, I’d be expected to win a sprint like that. But when I’m a bonus rider, it’s different. It’s a great feeling.”

This victory leaves him one short of Armstrong’s record of 22 career stage wins. He should equal and even surpass that figure this year, rising to 4th in the list of highest Le Tour career stage wins (led by who other than the iconic Eddy Merckx). His solo effort would surely deflate other sprint teams, but would also make him more of an equal in his own Team Sky, which till now has been all about one man – Bradley Wiggins.

As hectic as the finish may have been, the day started at a more leisurely pace, with the first attack coming after 22km. It was Anthony Reux (FDJ), who despite his fall on Sunday, broke free of the peloton and managed to open a gap. He was pursued and later joined by Christophe Kern (EUC) and Michael Morkov (STB), the King of the mountains leader who was part of the breakaway in stage 1 as well.

Christophe was blessed with a boy on 28 Jun as the teams were preparing for the official presentation and maybe harboured thoughts to repeat Neil Stephens‘ feat, who in 1997, then recently a father won the stage to Colmar. Côte de la Citadelle de Namur was the only climb of the day, and as the trio peddled its cobblestone roads one could see Reux riding with his left hand off the handlebar all the way. Obviously the earlier day’s injury had not healed and could not suffer vibrations of the cobbled road. Proof yet again of the immense pains these riders take (literally) and their steely determination to be a part of the Tour.

Behind him Tony Martin was another such fighter who had fractured his wrist in a crash early on stage 1, but continued with a plastic cast of his injured hand. Apart from it he also had a big plaster on his left elbow and a massive square plaster covering some road rash further up his arm. “We will take it step by step, kilometer by kilometre,” said Martin. “The first objective is to try and arrive to the next time trial on next Monday. I know it won’t be easy, it will be painful, but I really want to try. The Tour de France is really important to me and I don’t want to give up without trying.”

As the stage progressed the escapees were being reeled in at a gradual pace, and their lead which once had risen to 8min was being chipped with every passing kilometer. With 31km to go for the day Reux decided to take the matter in his own hands (he was back to using both his hands by now), breaking away from Kern and Morkov, who had succumbed to fate and were cruising to be sucked in by the main pack.

Eventually with 14km remaining the Frenchman too was gobbled up by the peloton, which like a multi headed serpent was being steered by various teams. Reux’s efforts were not to be in vain as he was adjudged the ‘most combative rider’ of the day, earning him the Dossard Rouge, or a red bib which he gets to wear in today’s stage 3 (apart from a few thousand euros).

There were a few punctures in the final kilometers, however none of the leaders were troubled. Once in the 3km ‘safe zone’ all GC contenders backed off for the sprinters to fight it out in a typically intense finish. And typically it was the reigning world champion who was smiling at the end, with Greipel typically grimacing at yet another close defeat.

Behind them everyone finished safely, with no injuries nor setbacks of any sort. It meant that Cancellara held on to his yellow jersey ahead of Wiggins and Chavanel, though he transferred the points leader jersey to Peter Sagan. The Slovak was second till yesterday behind Cancellara, but was wearing it in any case as a rider cannot wear two jerseys at the same time (it would get really hot and look rather ridiculous too). Evans and Nibali maintained their deficits on the leaders to same as after the prologue, 17 and 18 seconds respectively.

Sadly there were more instances of fans trying to get too close to the action and almost tiptoeing into the riders’ path. This is risky on any day, but infinitely more so during the finish of a sprint stage when the peloton is steaming in at 70km/hr. A faint touch, or a panic evasive manoeuvre and it could end the race (at best or career at worst) of more than a handful of riders. None of the athletes are impressed by such fans, and couple of them did vent their feelings on twitter:

Thankfully nothing bad resulted of those misadventures yesterday, and hopefully won’t for rest of the Tour as well (can’t be sure though). Moving on to today’s stage 3 and it promises lots of action for sure. Even the Tour’s official website reviews the stage in an exciting fashion, “Six big climbs in 100 kilometres, four of which in the last 16 kilometres. This could mark the opening of hostilities in the Tour. There is no way the sprinters will be there at the finish, which will be decided at the same place as the French Championships won by Chavanel. I think the bunch will be smashed to smithereens.”

We finally enter France this year and the legs are fresh, nerves still touchy, ensuring speeds will be high as everyone tries to stay at the head of the field (and out of trouble) on narrow twisty back roads. Hence the lead-up to the climbs might do more damage (read crashes) than the modest climbs themselves. Also none can count on having too many teammates around himself for support in such narrow confines, and hence we might see riders battle it out themselves towards the end.

Don’t let it fool you though, it’s no leg breaker of a mountain stage. The GC contenders should still finish in a bunch and its again Sagan and Boasson Hagen who will be in with a shout at victory. Such stages also often prompt local French riders to form an early breakaway and ride the vociferous home support to a surprise victory (Chavanel’s national victory is a portent). Can Cancellara hold on to yellow though, am not so sure. Much will depend how his team carries him through the initial climbs, if he is left behind early, then we could see a new leader by end of the day. All in all it should be the most exciting day on the Tour thus far. Rubbing hands with glee!!!

Jersey Holders

  

General Classification

Maillot Jaune

Fabian Cancellara

     Fabian Cancellara

10h 02’ 31”

Maillot Vert

Peter Sagan

     Bradley Wiggins

10h 02’ 38”

Maillot à Pois Rouges

Michael Morkov

     Sylvain Chavanel

10h 02’ 38”

Maillot Blanc

Tejay Van Garderen

Stage Result

  

Team GC

Mark Cavendish

4h 56’ 59”

Sky Procylcing

30h 08’ 07”

André Greipel

4h 56’ 59”

Radioshack-Nissan

30h 08’ 11”

Matthew Goss

4h 56’ 59”

BMC Racing Team

30h 08’ 13”

Anthony Roux

Dossard Rouge

Tour de France 2011 – Preview

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So it’s that time of the year again. Time for all things French – champagne, sunflowers, crazy costumes, and above all time to stand in awe of couple hundred brave cyclists. Its time then for Le Tour de France. I did a stage by stage coverage last year, read it in case you are want to refresh on what happened in the 2010 episode of this legendary event. Plan is to do the same this year, opening with this preview for 2011.

Starting then with the defending champion, Alberto Contador of Spain. He has switched to the Danish team Saxo bank (ironically his main rivals last year), but that is not the talk of the town. Tour lovers are in conundrum over Contador’s alleged use of clenbuterol, for which he tested positive in October last year, albeit in arguable circumstances. As is the case with legal battles, the final verdict in this case is scheduled to come in August, which would make his standing in this year’s Tour highly debatable.

Almost everyone who follows international cycling has an opinion, and the general consensus is that UCI should have made a final decision before the Tour. This ambivalence is doing no one any good, not the Tour, not the sport, not UCI itself and certainly not the cyclist under scanner. Contador for his bit is focussed as ever and according to some reports is shunning meat altogether (as a contaminated piece of meat is supposedly to blame for the positive test).

His main competitor though has no such worries. Andy Schleck of Luxembourg left Paris last year with the words, “I have a meeting on the Champs-Elysées next year with the yellow jersey. I’ll be back to win it.” As his rival, he too has changed teams, leaving Saxo Bank for his native Leopard Trek, but crucially with most of the same crew. And if his brother can stay out of injury for the entire three weeks this time, then Contador has real reason to worry.

Their battle last year was legendary, exploding with the chaingate controversy at Port de Balés. However for me, the defining moment of 2010 was the final 10kms to the summit of Col du Tourmalet. A climb steeped in legend and the two best riders battling treacherous weather to spar all the way till the top, you can’t ask for better than that. It was spine tingling stuff by the end of which I felt more spent mentally than the riders themselves. Precisely the kind of duel which gives Le Tour its revered status in the hallowed gallery of international sport.

Behind the lead duo too, there are enough interesting battles to keep one engrossed. Mark Cavndish missed out on the maillot vert narrowly and would go all out to finish in green this year. Team Sky, the high-profile British outfit tailor-made by Dave Brailsford will return armed with experience and have much to prove to everyone. Geraint Thomas and Bradley Wiggins, the two home riders for Sky seem keen to punch above their weight and this is definitely a team to watch for.

For me personally there would be a big hole in the absence of Lance Armstrong. The burly Texan retired for good after last year’s Tour and he is not one who can ever be replaced. Champions come and go, legends leave their ghosts behind forever. Lance’s foundation “Livestrong” would definitely be associated and I hope it can use the Tour’s image to further its noble cause.

As to the route, this edition does away with the dangerous cobblestone stages of previous year. We start pedalling across a beautiful tidal causeway and leave France briefly for a day (end of stage 17) in Italy. The Team Time Trial returns after 2009, making for the second stage, and I for one am keenly looking forward to it. As last year, the Individual Time Trial makes up the penultimate stage (final for all practical purposes) and hopefully will provide the same nail-biting finish.

However the really interesting part, one which gives the 2011 Tour de France its unique essence, comes when the riders leave Italy on stage 18. This snorter of a stage records the highest summit finish the Tour has ever seen. Culminating on one of its most fearsome mountains, the Col du Galibier (standing tall at 2645m) after the peloton would already have scaled two Hors Catégorie climbs in the day, it will prove to be a test of nerves and stamina.

As if this wasn’t a stern enough test of the resolve and ability of the riders, race directors make them do it again the next day – this time from the Col’s harder side. And then we finish stage 19 on top of another legendary climb, the Alpe d’Huez, which at 1850m sounds almost a relief. Undoubtedly then, the rider emerging ahead after these two gruelling tests shall be best placed to wear the maillot jaune at Champs-Elysees, and definitely would be the most deserving.

All in all we have very enticing three weeks ahead of us. Le Tour has seldom disappointed its true fans, and they can be assured of more grit, bravery, scintillating scenery and glory. I can’t wait for evening to come soon enough and forgetting all the politics, enjoy just the road, the fans and some great moments. And till then you all can feast yourself on this teaser :)

ps: you can also follow this coverage and a lot more at www.isport.in

Classy Copenhagen

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Copenhagen, the first thing that probably comes to your mind on hearing this name is the Climate Conference that was held here and caught worldwide attention. Sadly my trip was before these series of meets and otherwise too my knowledge of recent events falls far short than my knowledge of history (or maybe even the future). Anyways for me it was a convenient halt in my journey from Amsterdam to Gothenburg.

But having been there, I can perfectly understand why the city was chosen for a Global Climate Council. I’ve been to a few cities in my brief lifespan, and while they might just be a sprinkling of the wide world, I’m yet to see a city closer to nature than the Danish capital. Notice the word capital, cause one would never associate greenery and bonhomie with nature in ruthless, pragmatic and self-important capital cities. All that nature humdrum is better left to second rate cities, so that they have something to talk about. National capitals have much more important things like economy and governance to focus on, rather than the irritating and trifling issue of environment conservation.

Anyways, as I boarded the train from Amsterdam, which was supposed to be an overnight journey through Germany, I found that the 6 people compartment was just having me and two others (what inefficiency I say, would never happen in India). So I had to kill time with two pretty girls from Norway and US (needless to say who was more interesting). Both incidentally were backpacking too and it was great fun to exchange notes – isn’t this the best part of travelling, meeting random people and learning from them, its just what makes the whole experience unforgettable.

Since we were just the three of us, the Norwegian came up with a suggestion for two of us sleep on the bench chairs (these trains don’t have bunks like back home, they have padded benches as in a day train/local) while the third sleeps on the floor. Now I was a bit ambivalent as naturally I would have to be chivalrous enough to take the floor. But to my surprise the Norwegian insisted as she found the benches too uncomfortable! These Europeans I say. Good banter apart, I was also fortunate enough to share some great Norwegain (sort of) pancakes, which – might I say – were quite strange yet yummy.

15 deg on a summer afternoon!!!

Disembarking bleary eyed in Copenhagen I was immediately hit by the cold. I mean it was summers then and was pretty sure this was far cooler than any Mumbai winter I had known. The next thing to hit me (as I got out of the train station) was the number of cyclists. For a moment I thought I’ve travelled back in time as there were hardly any motorised vehicles to be seen. Thankfully though I could find some oil burning contraption in this nature hugging city to ferry me till my hostel.

Now everyone had warned me about the exorbitant prices in Scandinavia. But no one mentioned extortion. I got to experience this first hand as my hostel (which had already charged me a fortune to bunk my a**), asked me to pay extra for bedding. “Go to hell” was my initial reaction, which thankfully I managed to subdue just in time, and refused the accessories as I was carrying a sleeping bag with me. “No” was the stern reply as “guests are not allowed to use their personal bedding due to health concerns.” Being the principled person I am (???), I refused to bow to what I felt was plain extortion, and hence thought of declining the bedding altogether. But just in time a gust of cold breeze blew all my principles away with it, and I grudgingly swiped my card, succumbing to the corporate fleecing, not for the last time.

Citybike - absolute bliss :)

But soon I was to see the good side of the city. As I picked a few fliers and sat down to plan my day (with a wonderful cup of coffee), I found the the city council provides free bicycles (with an accurate map) for tourists to explore the city (not restricted to tourists, but locals have other options). The concept is that you walk to any of the several bike ATMs (my word, not the official jargon) and deposit a 20 kroner coin to unlock a bike. Thereafter you can use it for as long as you desire (within city limits ofcourse), and having finished you lock it back at the nearest ATM anywhere in the city, and out pops a 20 kroner (well not the same coin you deposited ofcourse).

Ironically it is the same corporate culture that I have vilified above, that supports this concept. The bikes are illustrated with ads, and the benefiting company in turn pays for the machine and its maintenance. It’s just such a beautiful concept, one step ahead of even the Paris Velo programme (which in itself is brilliant). To be able to explore a city on the sedate pace of a bike is far better than zooming from monument to monument in any public transport (I need not point out the extra cheese it helps you burn out).

I would point out though, that the comfortable (slightly chilly infact) climate and the small size of the capital do act as major advantages to make this concept a success. And the city does it’s bit by having one of the most organised bicycle traffic management system in the world. Amsterdam is generally more famous as the city of bikes (supposedly having more bikes than people), but there one is perennially under the terror of being run over by one. There are too many of them, going too fast and mostly with the singular aim of maiming an unsuspecting tourist. I have a strong feeling they have some sort of national league in Amsterdam wherein locals gather points for terrorising tourists by their bikes. Bonus points ofcourse if you run someone over.

Copenhagen has well defined, wide cyclists-only lanes, with their own dedicated traffic lights. And this is not on the sidewalks or for side roads, it runs all across, including all major intersections. Cycling in the city then, was THE experience for me, and I can’t wait for the day I would be able to do that in amchi Mumbai (in the so called winters atleast).

 

 

 

For all interested, yes I did visit (insanely popular) The Little Mermaid overlooking Copenhagen’s breathtaking harbour. Having read so much about it, in reality I was a bit let down. It’s really tiny and has a queer expression which is somewhere between bored and waiting (or do the two go hand in hand). But that’s understandable considering how long the poor thing has been sitting there watching ships sail in and out.

Copenhagen harbour incidentally is one of the very few in the world, whose waters are clean enough to swim. And not some small isolated corner, but a huge area literally metres away from the shipping channel. One can see lots of crazy Danes jumping in the harbour water and making merry. Quite a shocker for me, as our Navy divers think twice before jumping in to inspect a ship (and then come out looking right off the sets of an Indian Jones movie having finished the slush fight scene).

The visual treat does not end with the crystal waters though, and soon the visage changes to a lush green treat. Now I’ve seen beautiful and massive parks in cities (Munich’s vast and famous Englischer Garten comes to mind), but Copenhagen I felt is an average sized city – in a huge park. Everywhere I went I could see vast flowing greenlands, or tree lined boulevards. Water so crystal, you could drink, and no sign of any human caused pollution (is there any other kind). But I did have one serious (unanswered) question – don’t they not produce ANY garbage!

As I explored, I walked into their maritime academy – which was a shocker in itself, cause in any other part of the world I would not be allowed within light-years of it, and would be kept off bounds with multiple rings of perimeter fencing. Instead here I walked right in and enjoyed watching two academy teams play football (albeit guarded by an armed soldier). I also strolled near their barracks which were in the middle of achingly beautiful rippling green fields, adorned with windmills and little memorials. And it just wasn’t me, there were several other people jogging, cycling, reading; and all this at 4pm!!! back home I (and most) take a tea break at that time, preparing for another 2-3 hours of work.

 

 

 

 

 

The only blot (if I may use the rough term) that I found was the Tivoli entertainment park. Garish, noisy and totally out of place. It is extremely popular and must be great from the inside, but I hadn’t come this far to go into an amusement park, especially when there were much more interesting things to explore. Sadly I just had a day and needed to change after all the strenuous cycling. Reaching back I found a boisterous Brazilian in my dorm who had just arrived, also for the first time in the country.

We struck a conversation and I learnt she was on her way to Ibiza, to get drunk and party hard (as if Brazil is not good enough for that). So we thought of getting her a little practice and went to the local Hard Rock Cafe, which is unlike any other you would visit. It has an unmistakable European feel and most of the patrons prefer to sit on the sidewalk rather than the air-conditioned interiors. I do not remember much after that (I was tired you see), except that we had an amazing conversation and coupled with some great Danish beer (not Carlsberg though).

There is much much more to explore in the city, sadly I cannot bring it all out here – and frankly would not want to either. Safe to say that the day and half I spent there has left me hungry for more and if I were ever be given a chance to pick a city to live in, I would choose Copenhagen with my eyes closed. Don’t get me wrong, Paris is beautiful and a treat to visit, Rome is awe inspiring, London feels so alive, but if you wan to LIVE somewhere and enjoy your existence on Earth as god desired it to be, then Copenhagen is the closest that you can get to it.

ETERNAL CHARMS OF THE ETERNAL CITY

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Magnum Forum

In my earlier post on Rome, I tried to provide a brief, an extremely brief walk-through of ancient Rome. But to ensure that my (already bored?) readers did not doze off reading it, I had to limit myself without describing what is possibly more Roman than anything else – Forum Magnum (commonly known as the “Roman forum”).

SPQR!!!

 

Located right next to the Colosseum, between Palatine and Capitoline hills, this was the oldest part of Rome, and for a long time, its grandest too. It was the judicial, political, economic and religious epicenter of the city and a place for the whos who to make their presence felt. In today’s world this would be like squeezing Champs Elysees, Wall street and 10 Downing street, all into one block. This was also then, the place where a victorious Roman legion (and there were many of those) would be welcomed by the citizenry and royalty of ancient Rome.

Today sadly, what is left of it are some pillars and mostly rubble, leaving much to ones own imagination. Being very limited in that part of my brain, I just engrossed myself in admiring the size of the imposing pillars (but was totally lost as to why did they build those in middle of a plain ground). Imposing they were till I saw a little tomb, which on closer inspection proved to be of a curiously named bloke, Julius Caeser (now where did I hear that name).

What was even more surprising was to have found some fresh flowers on top of it, which I was sure would have been placed as a routine job by an employee of the heritage council. “No friend”, retorted my guide, as she pointed out that this tomb has never been without flowers on any day. Be it rain, snow or hail, there is someone – from the normal Roman public – who finds time to honour the legend more than two centuries after his death. She proudly brought out that this is a feat that even Jesus Christ himself cannot boast of (see he was born after dear Julius).

But all these great personalities and the might of the empire could not save them from the two most hungry and dreadful enemies – corruption and mismanagement. By the late 5th century AD, these two aspects of Roman administration had all but killed the once unassailable empire. Wants to make me remind our politicians that we’re nowhere near as strong as the Roman empire, so please do not tempt fate by befriending those two enemies for long. Anyway lets leave politics for another day.

Disclaimer: The views that follow are purely personal and I take total responsibility for them. They definitely bear resemblance to actual monuments and real people, but the slant on them may not be according to everyone’s liking.

Now I move on to a glorious second chapter in Roman history, the Renaissance. It was the time of art, of science, of religion and of controversy. Rome had its share, maybe not in equal measure, but in abundance of each of those factors. The city is littered with shining marvels of art and science which are perfect examples that when these two great human aspects combine, the results seem to transcend time and space with their beauty (listening Mr Hawking).

Fountain of the old boat, notice the water is drinkable!!! “Spanish steps” in the background

 

Fontana di Trevi

Be it the Fontana della Barcaccia (a baroque boat shaped fountain) at Piazza di Spagna, or the “fountain of four rivers” (Fontana dei Quattro Fiumi) at the achingly beautiful Piazza Navona, or maybe the colossal Fontana di Trevi, every single one of them is equally mesmerising to a first time, or a returning visitor. Infact they are so good, that a certain Mr Dan Brown wrote a bestseller, revolving his plot around four of the defining monuments from the city’s medieval heritage.

The crowning jewel among them all according to me is “St Peter’s square”, which if nothing else, is a mathematician’s fantasy for the perfect dimensions and symmetry it possesses. Everyone I meet seems to talk only of the imposing basilica and its humongous dome. Yes, the structure is captivating (as from outside, so much more from inside), but brave a tiring and claustrophobic climb up its very “beautiful dome” (trust me the beauty diminishes with each successive sweaty step as you climb it) and you’ll realise that the square outstrips everything around it.

It seems like a circular vortex ready to engulf the basilica and all people around it and the obelisk at its centre seems to point down the road towards infinity (or the end of space and time as Mr Hawking would put it). From here one can get a view of the Papal residence right below and the Vittoria Emanuele memorial in the distance (looks like a giant white typewriter to me), but I was repeatedly being drawn towards St Peter’s square.

It was then that it hit me. The so called “square” is actually circular in shape. Which absent minded, pot smoking, vernacularly / geometrically challenged buffoon named this masterpiece. How ironic is it that a study in geometrical symmetry by a master of the ancient art has to bear the ignominy of such a blasphemous name (all those who do not agree with my naming theory, please refer a few paras above “all views are purely personal”).

Anyways moving inside the basilica, immediately on the right is a marble statue called “Pieta”. Now I admit that my understanding of medieval art is as good as any man’s understanding of women (which is, well…….ha ha ladies, you can’t kill me here), but one does not have to be a connoisseur of art (or a mind reader in the case of “understanding” women) to be blown away by the beauty of the sculpture. It’s surreal as one can almost see Christ’s body shivering and feel the pain in mother Mary’s eye.

I’m not sure what the other tourists were making of my facial expressions then, but then I don’t think too many people would be interested in studying my expressions rather than the masterpiece. It only got worse once I read that this little gem was crafted by Michelangelo when he was all of 24 years old. 24!!!!!!!! God all I was doing at that age was getting drunk (ok I’m still doing that, but hey atleast I’m consistent at what I do).

Rest of the basilica is full of what anyone would find in an Indian temple, albeit with names and attire changed. Oh but there is one difference. All the pious propaganda duties carried out so successfully by “pandits” back home, have been delegated to an electronic audio guide by the tech savvy Vatican (is that an oxymoron?). It keeps reminding you every second minute that you are staring at something built in “xvz year of our lord” and once – and I’m NOT joking – encourages you to detest England and France, as you face a statue of a prominent clergy stamping over those two old rivals of the papacy. So much then for sermons of peace and harmony (again all views personal).

At this juncture I get a feeling that writing more would only invite trouble, if I’m already not skin deep in that (but really ladies, I didn’t mean that). Anyways Rome has tons more to offer, but that’s for you discover. Take my suggestion, save that money you were about to blow away on a home theatre and large screen TV; add a little more and you’ll get to witness the grandest theatre there is and walk through a script unlike any movie. So get on a plane and let Rome take you on a journey of a lifetime. But hey, don’t forget – when in Rome, do as Romans do (all bricks and bats at the comments section below, for unparliamentary attacks, choose my mailbox).

ps: St Peter’s SQUARE……arrrrrrrgggggggghhhhhh!!!!!!!!!

Senatus Populusque Romanus

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So I finally resume my travelogue after a pause that is much beyond a break. To be frank, I never had the time to sit and write during the latter stages of my trip, and then surely lacked motivation. But with recent encouragement from a few friends, I’ve decided to start again (and as the wise men say – better late than never). The tough part was from where to start. I guess the silver medal winner in my opinion would be the best (having already written about the gold winner – Paris).

The eternal city as it is called – more commonly known as Roma or Rome – is definitely a city with more history and contribution to the world than maybe any other. Epicenter of probably the most imperial and powerful empire the world has ever known, it has seen all the trials and tribulations of mankind since the past 2800 years.

Rome is also called the city of seven hills, ofcourse due to the surrounding terrain, and on one of this, the famous “Palentine hill” is where it all began. Legend has it that long ago two brothers Romulus and Remus were raised by a she wolf – and the myth’s given official status in the form of the city’s symbol (its a she wolf feeding two human children). Eventually as always happens in history, the great arrive riding the chariot driven by victory and tragedy, so too Romulus did sometime in BC 750 after killing his brother to win the city and he founded his base on Palantino. There is a line of thought that the modern word “Palace” originates from the adobe Romulus built for himself here.

What happened then as they say is history and I’ve no inclination of reiterating it here. As soon as I reached Roma Termini, I knew I was somewhere different. Yes there was the crazy Rome traffic everyone warns you about, but hailing from India, it seemed quite nice actually. The hostel I stayed in was an absolute dream. I mean among all the other comforts was also a small incentive that I happened to be in a 8 bed dorm with 6 other occupants being from the fairer sex :P

As I started walking, the heat immediately made me realise I was nearer the Mediterranean than I had been for the past month or so. But nothing refreshes you more than an Italian Gelato. Having already spent a few days in Italy, I was quite disappointed with the Roman Gelatos. Maybe they face the same fate which all traditional things do in a megapolis like Rome, Bombay or London. But what certainly isn’t diluted is the remnants of the Roman empire. Being able to drink from cold water fountains that are still being served by underground aqueducts hailing from the era of the Roman forum, you know this place has seen something special.

However none of this can prepare you from avoiding a wide-mouthed-stupid-gawk taking over your (handsome?) face once you stand before the Colosseum. It just seems to rise up from the ground and merge with the sky (I don’t want to use the clichéd term “colossal” here). Though ofcourse a large part has collapsed thanks to the Vatican, who totally stripped it off all the exotic marble and other precious stone that once adorned it, but even in this nakedness, the pockmarked stones warn the visitor to approach it with caution and respect. That thousands bled here – many to their death – is impossible to picture as the place looks like a grand theater, which again was what it was called then. Thanks to the Hollywood epic “Gladiator”, hardly does anyone know the real name for this magnificent structure – Amphitheatrum Flavium (the Flavian Amphitheater), after the Flavian dynasty that commissioned its construction.

The movie probably did the marvel a great favour by making it folklore throughout the world, but nevertheless it also portrayed it in quite a different essence. Every guide in Rome (wherever he may be showing you around) makes it a point to bring out the fact that the Gladiators of that era would have been contemporaries of todays Ronaldos and Bolts. They were super stars, rich and received excellent care (though they were confined to live in teh gladitorial schools . The top men hardly dueled to death, and most formed the coup de grace of any games. Death mostly fell upon lower mortals such as thieves, enemies of the state and exotic animals brought from the vast expanses of the empire. Yes it was a dangerous sport and injuries (sometimes fatal) were inevitable, but those unfortunate to die were generally the new comers trying to make a name for themselves. The best always received top notch medial care (sometimes by the royal druid himself) as in today’s world.

I really want to write more here, especially the feel while standing where once thousands of blood thirsty Romans would have cheered for carnage. Sadly that’s impossible to bring here, cause how do you bring out the echo and the imposing walls in words. So in the next part I would tell a bit about the Roman forum, that great man Julius Ceaser and then another grand chapter in the city’s history, Renaissance and the Vatican. So while I know this post was a bit drab due to all the history, am sure that it was also a bit engaging and mystifying like the city itself. See you all in a few days then…

 

QUIRKY AMSTERDAM

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Well this isn’t going to be anything like a regular travel journal post. There was not much to write about Belgium and Amsterdam (as most of you already know, I was not too impressed by both those places). Well though I could still write a staid post about dull things, I decided to write something slightly different. So I’m writing of probably the most quirky thing I found in my trip yet.

In Amsterdam you’ll never find a public toilet. So in case you need to take a leak (you eventually will you know), you got to pay for it. Now it may not sound weird at first, but it is cause even if you’ve a meal in a restaurant (say McDonalds) or a drink in a pub and want to go to the toilet, they just ask you to pay!!! Yes anywhere you go in amsterdam, stations, shopping centres, anyplace. And the going rate is anywhere between 40 – 80 euro cents (which I think is quite extortionate even for their super clean toilets). Well why did it come down to this is the story that follows.

Sometime after world war II, the Dutch started receiving a deluge of tourists, which maily was due to their liberal laws and the crazy time that was the 50s and 60s. So the Dutch obviously had to find a solution to a problem they’d never faced, a place for the tourists to relieve themselves in privacy and hygine. They had a brainstorming session and came out with a wonderful solution – the “public toilet”. Yeah it was novel to them then. OK so the Dutch being very european, wanted to do this with all flair and built some snazzy looking warm, spacious public toilets. Well not the ones like anywhere else, these were beatiful little round ones with enough space for two (though only one person could use it at a time.

All fine and settled then. Obviously not. Amsterdam being the crazy place it is, the tourists just found what they had been looking for. A warm, clean and spacious place to spend their night for free! Just imagine a old person entering the toilet, only to find it occupied by drugged backpacker(s) – notice the plural – in not the most sober and dignified state (of dress). The Dutch had enough of it and closed the nice little rest rooms (in every sense of the word), forcing people to often look for far flung public toilets (which were increasingly getting paid). Also at this point not many restaurants charged for the toilets, but then you had to have something there to use the facilities.

So again Amsterdam being what it is and the tourists being what they are decided to revolt against this decree by the authorities. And to their relief (pun intended), they found perfect solace in the many narrow alleys and dark corners Amsterdam is abound of. Now this was certainly getting too much for the Dutch authorities. As if sleeping in toilets were not enough, now these infidels were messing up their beautiful city. There was yet another brainstorming session and yet another innovative solution – the “pee deflector” (yes that’s the official name).

so basically this marvellous invention was just a smooth curved peice of metal installed at strategic locations. The shape of the thing was designed so as to reflect any liquid thrown at it, back to its source. Basically the Dutch told the tourists, you can do what you want, till such time you accept to mess yourselves up as much as the city.

Oh the poor souls totally misjudged the free spirit tourists of Amsterdam. I mean really, any self respecting half drugged / beer drunk tourist would relish such a challenge. “Ah a pee deflector, now that’s great. Let’s see how well that works / how can I defeat it”. Um, correction actually, by tourists here , I mainly mean the men rose to the occassion, the women thankfully stayed away (thakfully as this being Amsterdam, you never know). So now not only did the Dutch have stinking alleys and corners to deal with, they also had stinking tourists with wet trousers roaming about their beautiful city and its architectural marvels.

Now now this was just not on and certainly called for desperate measures. So started yet another brain storming session and after much heated arguments they came out with yet another novel idea. This one was to run a mild electric current in the pee deflectors. Ofcourse this sounds like the perfect recepie for disaster, especially considering all the mess the comparitively logical suggestions yet had created. But the authorities claimed that they had carried out the necessary tests and the system was perfectly safe (wonder who volunteered for the tests). So it would just give a mild tingle to jolt the offender out of his misdeed and would certainly discourage him from repeating it.

Amazingly, the system did wonders. Offending tourists were shocked out of the peaceful bliss they were living in till then and finally did raise the white flag. Amsterdam was clean once again and all was good in the world. Yes there were a few first time offenders always, but they learnt their lesson and stayed away, and thankfully the system was as safe as the authorities claimed it to be. So all did seem to be settled for good.

But then again, this is Amsterdam we’re talking about and it isn’t just the tourists who’re drugged and crazy, the locals are pretty good at that stuff too. So one fine evening the lady on duty (legend has it that she was a woman), decided to have a bit of fun at the cost of the chauvanist men. In her own perverse sense of humour she raised the current levels a bit. Now legend also has it that she was not quite sober while doing this and the Dutch for all their technical brilliance never foresaw such a situation and therefore had not set a safe cutt off to the current level. So while the lady did not realise, things got a bit out of hand. I do not need to write what followed, I guess it would suffice to say that it was a real painful tale for a poor half drugged soul who got the worst and fastest hangover remedy ever. The Dutch authorities felt the shock in equal measure as they got duly sued, big time. I mean you cannot half-eloctrocute someone just for peeing on the street.

So out went the current forever and in came the decree that tourists could relieve themselves at any place in Amsterdam, but they got to pay for it, irrespective of the nature of place. That provided enough places and you need not search for a safe haven, while also not putting undue burden on the merchants having a long line of people queing to relieve themselves for free. This arrangement stands to this day as do the pee deflectors. They do not run any electric current now, but if you ask me, well I never tried my luck and would suggest you do not either. Yeah paying 50 euro cents may be a bit high for one of nature’s basic functions, but it stll is better than discovering a crazy Dutch just played a pathetic prank on you.

So this was one of the famous tales of Amsterdam. There are many more, but this was quite bizzarre and a bit funny (but for the end). I know some of you might say that this is not what a travel journal is about, but then travel is as much about discovering places as discovering strage tales. And they do not come any more strange than this. Also this being Amsterdam we’re talking about, you cannot expect a nice sober tale from the city. Next one though should be a normal post, hope you enjoyed this one. Let the bricks and bats flow. So Dank U for reading this and Dag.