Tour of Qatar (no spoilers)

Raam

Highlights on at 1800 and 2300 on Eurosport this evening.
http://yahoo.eurosport.co.uk/tvschedule_clng2.shtml

xz

I'll watch the LIVE coverage at Midday................the joys of shift work.;)

Chips Lovell

Got the day off today. Much catch up with it on cycling.tv. Should be some good sprints.

Funkyzeit

Nice shout thanks Raam... Word of advice for anyone with sky plus - ALWAYS record the program following the cycling- Eurosport are desperate for keeping to their schedules...(a lot of the time in fairness out of their control)

Caroline_ie

Not really about the TOQ but ... I read this today

Velonews wrote:

Qatar hopes to stage Tour de France stage

Having decided to bid for the FIFA World Cup and the Olympics, Qatar is now hoping to host a stage of the Tour de France some time in the future.
Serious talks are underway between Tour de France officials and the Qatar Cycling Federation to bring the toughest cycling race to the streets of the oil and gas rich state, the Gulf Times newspaper reported on Sunday.
Transporting hundreds of cyclists with all their gear from Europe may seem a huge logistical problem but officials have a solution for that too: just arrange an Airbus A-380.
“In terms of the roads and all, (Qatar has) the perfect infrastructure."
— Eddy Merckx"We are honored with Qatar expressing their desire to host a stage here," Tour de France director Christian Prudhomme told the Gulf Times.
"Japan, Turkey and Scotland have also expressed their willingness as this is the biggest race in cycling. But there are plenty of logistics issues we have to consider and also the weather here in July," added Prudhomme.
The Tour de France chief said that the fact that London successfully hosted a stage last year has gone well with the Tour de France organizers.
"To host the first stage in London was a big move and we were thrilled to see the response. Over three million people hit the streets and we got goosebumps seeing the enthusiasm.
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"There are cyclists participating from all around globe and to offer an opportunity to be a part of the euphoria to different countries can do wonders to the sport," said Prudhomme.
Qatar Cycling Federation President Sheikh Khalid bin Ali al-Thani, a member of the country's royal family, was confident of the race coming to Qatar in the future.
"We are confident of successfully hosting a big event but we will have to get everything according to their guidelines and this could take some time. We will be taking the required steps in that regard," said Sheikh Khalid.
Belgian cycling legend Eddy Merckx, who works closely with the Qatari federation and helped establish the Tour of Qatar, is also hopeful.
"We have already had such a good Tour and now with the women's tour also coming, it's another big boost. For the Tour de France, however, we will have to consider a lot of logistics.
"We will need the latest A380 aircraft, for example. The teams will have to fly in and out with ease. A lot of groundwork needs to be done and put into place.
"But yes, in terms of the roads and all, we have the perfect infrastructure," Merckx told the Gulf Times.
He also was of the view that the strong ties between Qatar and France could play a lead role in reaching a decision soon.

niceonetom

Caroline_ie wrote: »

Not really about the TOQ but ... I read this today

Originally Posted by Velonews
...
Qatar hopes to stage Tour de France stage
"We have already had such a good Tour and now with the women's tour also coming, it's another big boost.
...

Chips Lovell

niceonetom wrote: »

Great film that.

victorcarrera

Well I guess that answers the black or white question for me. I think they look great in those black little numbers. I wonder what do they look like from behind? Any picks taken from the team camels?

xz

Those 4 echelon groups were really working quite hard, especially the first group with the Cervelo team in it, I would get bored easily on a straight road like that with just sand to look at.

Raam

xz wrote: »

Those 4 echelon groups were really working quite hard, especially the first group with the Cervelo team in it, I would get bored easily on a straight road like that with just sand to look at.

I got bored watching it so I went to bed. I wasn't home early enough to catch the 1900 showing. Boonen was shouting at everyone from what I remember. That stage was definitely not for the spectators.

ba

ah you missed the finish! could only get better.

Raam

ba wrote: »

ah you missed the finish! could only get better.

I read about it this morning. It actually sounded good!

shapez

Great finish. Fair play to Hammond for holding out for nearly 3km. Although, he's in good form after all the cyclo-cross over the past few months. Cervelo Test Team are going to cause damage this year.

Raam

I like the 'é' on the shoulders of their jersey too.

Chips Lovell

Raam wrote: »

I like the 'é' on the shoulders of their jersey too.

They've definitely got the nicest kit this season. Although I'm sure those helmets are freaking niceonetom out.