Tour De France Blog

Its not tourng thats racing. Be better to call it race de france.

Tour means race in French.

Staring up into the pale gray sky, I thought I was back on the east coast, not the rolling landscape of Santa Barbara. Two local hikers approached from up the trail and I asked what happened to the Santa Barbara skyline. They advised it was June glum; a reference to the weather condition occurring every June when the fog rolls over the coastline to paint over the artistic colors of green landscape, and blue skies.

For this day, the Cat 3 riders were the beneficiaries of June glum at the Elings Park mountain bike race. The cool morning weather with thick fog was sure to minimize any dehydration problems for these MTB riders. For the Cat 1 riders who rode later in the day, the piercing sun awaited them with upper 70 degree temperatures.

The mountain bike race at Elings Park is one of the largest in the area, and sure to remind people that Santa Barbara is one of the best locations in California to take a trip with the family. With the majestic Pacific Ocean as a backdrop to the rolling green hills, bringing a camera is highly recommended.

To capture some speed in motion, I decided to bring out the video camera today. With its mix of single track trails and fire roads on a multi-lap course with plenty twist and turns, there would be many opportunities to capture some good footage.

For this course, a solid warm-up is mandatory. Within a short distance after the start, you are going vertical. The course climbs to the top of Elings Park, mainly on fire roads, and then adds single track trails at the top. On the second lap, the course changes at the beginning section as you tackle a winding trail with plenty of U-Turn climbs to the summit.

After shooting some video and photographs of the mountain bike competitors, I discovered a good shooting location on the climb of the second lap. So far, today was going well. I hadn’t fallen down any hills with my gear. But I realized later, the day was just beginning.

The bright sun welcomed the Cat 1 and 2 riders with high 70 degree weather. The goal for the day was to shoot these MTB racers up close so I trekked through the hills to find a good location and the heart beat of the Elings Park mountain bike race. After sliding down a couple of hills, I realized I created some new ventilation in my jeans…an eight inch gap from the crotch downward. Thankfully, any competitors coming my way only cared about one thing…going fast.

Once the mountain bike racers reached the top of the hill, they were given a spectacular view of the Pacific Ocean. However, the view was short lived due to the winding trails.

Deep in the bushes, I managed to find a good location to capture the MTB riders as they raced around me. I was in the zone, and focused.

Since I got all the race footage I needed, I finally took a look at my surroundings. It was then that I realized one of the few disadvantages of focusing too much. Surrounding my eight inch rip in my pant leg stood multiple poison ivy plants! The mountain bike race at Elings Park will never be forgotten. It reminded me that I too must keep my eye on the path before me.

If you are looking for a great race to take the family for a few days, the Elings Park mountain bike race is one of the best. Put together by Team Big Bear, the race is sure to challenge your mountain bike fitness level.

Staying on the trail is highly recommended.

Keith Rejino is a sports photographer for Dreamscape Images, a personal trainer, mountain biker and triathlete. His Socal Mountain Bike website provides mountain bike event coverage, training and sports nutrition tips for the mountain biker. For more mountain bike event coverage, check out Dreamscape Images MTB site.

Technorati Tags: bike, bike racing, cycling, exercise, fitness, mountain bike, mountain bike race, mountain bike racing, mtb race, sports competition, sports;

Are there any good and safe sports websites to watch Tour de France 2010 live streaming online ? thanks.

You could try a tv for pc to watch 2010 tour de france live online. Get it here.

http://top-tv-online.com

There are hundreds of worldwide TV channels like ABC, TNT, ESPN, CBS, FOX, BBC, Sky TV, CBC, VS. NBC, TSN, Local…
Download and install it on your computer.
With it, you can watch 2010 Tour de France and lots of tv channels live online legally, comfortably and in good quality.
No matter where you live . Hope this helps.

The song played during rolling of the final credits after the prime time show of the last stage of the 2010 tour de france on the TV channel Versus. Its not mentioned in the credits.

The song is This Is War by 30 Seconds to Mars.

http://www.myspace.com/thirtysecondstomars

See NASCAR for example. The girls at the World Cup and tour de france look non whorey. At NASCAR they look like Hustler hookers. Why?

Foreign girls usually look better. thinner, makeup is better and they dress better, typically.

I love watching the tour de france. But I don’t quite understand all about the jerseys, I want to know what time of day they actually begin the stages, where the riders stay, who determines the course each year, etc. I don’t even understand the little graph that appears on the screen periodically (US coverage). Is there a website where I can find the answers to my questions? I can’t find it on my own. I guess I need the Dummies’ Guide to the Tour! Thanks.

Wikipedia, as ever, is a good place to start as it has a lot of information on how the Tour works and its history. Bookshops and libraries are also good, as there’s a great deal of literature about the Tour – I especially recommend Tim Moore’s French Revolutions (http://www.amazon.co.uk/French-Revolutions-Cycling-Tour-France/dp/0099433826), in which the author cycles the route of the Tour and includes all sorts of interesting facts, figures and phenomena in a funny and easy-to-read way.

Quick answer re. the jerseys: the yellow jersey, or le maillot jaune, is worn by the overall leader, ie, the rider who has achieved the fastest time over all stages in the tour at any one time (classification leader). The green jersey is worn by the rider who has amassed the most points during sprints. The polka dot jersey is awarded to the King of the Mountains, the rider who has been given the most points for climbing. As the Tour takes in a number of very difficult climbs (such as the Col du Tourmalet, which they’ll climb twice in 2010), this is considered the most prestigious award in cycling by many riders and fans. The white jersey is given to the best young rider.

There are also other awards, including the Prix d la Combativite which is awarded to the rider judged to have been the most combative in each stage. Another award is the Lanterne Rouge, the last rider to finish the Tour, in which case that rider may carry a small red light under his saddle. Despite being in last place, this status is actually highly respected in cycling (simply finishing a race as harsh as le Tour is a definite achievement, no matter where one is placed) and the rider is likely to be approached with lucrative sponsorship deals.

I am sure wearing helmet is mandatory during any professional race now. However, while I was watching highlights of previous tour de france, I notice they were not wearing helmets during some mountain stages.

A crash by Italian pro Fabio Casartelli on July 18, 1995, changed all that. The Olympic gold medalist lost control on a descent in the Pyrenee Mountains and died of head injuries. At first, Tour officials said a helmet would not have helped Casartelli. But the doctor who examined the cyclist’s body said otherwise.

How to watch 2010 Tour de France live for free over the internet ? thanks.

You could try a tv for pc to watch 2010 tour de france live online. Get it here.

http://top-tv-online.com

There are hundreds of worldwide TV channels like ABC, TNT, ESPN, CBS, FOX, BBC, Sky TV, CBC, VS. NBC, TSN, Local…
Download and install it on your computer.
With it, you can watch 2010 Tour de France and lots of tv channels live online legally, comfortably and in good quality.
No matter where you live . Hope this helps.

How to watch tour de france 2010 live streaming for free through the internet ? thanks.

You could try a tv for pc to watch 2010 Tour de France live online. Get it here.

http://top-tv-online.com

There are hundreds of worldwide TV channels like ABC, TNT, ESPN, CBS, FOX, BBC, Sky TV, CBC, VS. NBC, TSN, Local…
Download and install it on your computer.
With it, you can watch 2010 Tour de France and lots of tv channels live online legally, comfortably and in good quality.
No matter where you live . Hope this helps.

Mark cavendish is my favourite cyclist in the tour de france and I missed it, how can I watch the ending? Thank you.

Go to versus.com

http://www.versus.com/