Discussion
Daveyraveygravey said:
I'm getting fed up of the constant revisiting of what each of the characters did 5 minutes/1 hour/7 days ago. We don't all have the memory of a goldfish! And if I see one more of them have a slow speed off...
That's how you turn 20 minutes of actual programming into an hour of TX time.I just Sky+ everything and fast forward through it all.
nammynake said:
Me and couple of lads from the club did the long route - pretty tough route, with a strong headwind for much of it.
https://www.strava.com/activities/621648539
Fair play. That's pretty impressive.https://www.strava.com/activities/621648539
Johnny said:
Caught up with the 2 latest episodes.
Finding it amusing and infuriating/annoying in equal measure tbh.
Same here. I managed to find Episodes 2 & 3 on catch-up telly so indulged myself. Some of the 'celebs' are truly annoying. Hugo? He can't be bothered so why is anyone bothering with him? Lucy? I desperately want to like her if she's as much of a novice as is claimed. But strewth! She doesn't half make it difficult. Angelica Bell is weirdly less irritating on this show than I've found her to be in other stuff I've seen her in. I find myself really wishing that she makes it through to the end, but sadly I'm not sure she can beat the broom wagon in the big event. I think I like her because I'm closer to her than I am to Austin despite having cycled for a long time now. Jodie Kidd? I missed ep 1, so didn't see much about the injury she suffered. I didn't used to be a fan of hers, not of 'models' generally really. But I met her (briefly) at the Goodwood FoS one year, and she really grew on me. I hope her leg/knee holds up. Darren Gough? I liked his 'no nonsense, John Smith's attitude' at first. Then he was a complete dFinding it amusing and infuriating/annoying in equal measure tbh.
head and brought his dehydration moment upon himself. It wasn't big, nor clever, and made me think 'hypocrite' when he then had a go at Hugo for buggering off to Glasto. Amy Williams? The pick of the ladies for me personally. Although she's got a massive head start in terms of knowing how to train and being fit. Seems to be a team player, so I think I'd like to be in her team if I were on the show. Austin Healey? Motormouth more like. I know it's a show built in the editing suite, but he comes across as pretty impatient with the real novices. As we've seen, he's already got a 'leg up' in this sort of event with his pal Dallaglio's charity rides. Plus he's a fit lad anyway, so I'd like to see him be a bit less selfish and try to keep his less able team-mates together more. Encourage and support them, not roll eyes and cycle off into the sunset. It's supposed to be a team game after all? Louie Spence? Isn't he the annoying voice of the "Spin Genie" radio ads? Not a good start Louie,I already found you annoying before I tuned in to TdC. For a man who's supposedly a dancer, and therefore 'professionally fit' he's a bit of a wash-out. He could do it, but doesn't seem willing to try. Supposedly it was only 8 weeks of prep. If a man who had to stay fit and learn complex dance routines can't knuckle down for a couple of months, especially if he's being paid for it (which I assume they all are), then I begin to lose respect for him. It's an interesting idea. It lacks something in the execution though. I assume it's been dumbed down a bit to appeal to non-cycling "reality TV" fans as well as cyclists. I don't know the viewing figures but I suspect that this 'half way house' has lost elements of both viewer groups. I'm going to watch the last one, as I want to see what happens, but I doubt I'd watch another series like this. It was proper 'bubble gum telly' when all's said and done. My biggest gripe was with the amount of screen time given over to bad weather, injuries, riders falling off repeatedly, and folk retching at the roadside. Hardly a positive recruitment film for cycling, despite me very rarely seeing much of that kind of thing going on in real-world amateur leisure riding. On the whole a disappointing waste of an opportunity to showcase many of the positive elements of the sport...
df76 said:
Quite impressed by them all, looked mighty hard work and hot!
Me too. I was particularly impressed by Amy only finishing a handful of minutes behind Jodie Kidd. The route looked spectacular though. Were it not for the imminent arrival of lauda Jnr II in the early new year, I'd be tempted to sign up for 2017.
Are we grown ups here? Is it OK to talk about the result without folk crying about spoilers?
OK then.
That was better (as a TV show I mean). Apart from what felt like ten minutes at the start of the show going back over old ground, at least.
It looks like an incredible event. One that I always thought was pointless me entering (even if I could afford getting there and the entry fee). Now, after seeing even Angelica Bell beat the broom, I'm thinking "exactly how hard can this thing be?"
No offence to any of them, and I'm DEFINITELY NOT saying it looked easy, but it certainly didn't come across as being as tough as it was billed to be. Hugo, once again, was the most irritating thing about the show. Wussing it for 45 minutes with a puncture was bad form really, and ultimately was the difference between his team winning or losing. Disappointing to see the trouble Jodie was having with her gears as well. With pro cyclists on the coaching team, you'd assume some level of mechanical ability, and probably a team mechanic with at least ten riders out on the course, possibly more as most of the 'less able' or less confident celebs seemed to have a chaperone riding with them. If she was dropping her chain that much maybe a dog-fang chain catcher could have helped? Cheap as chips and seconds to install. But hey? Without the jeopardy (real, invented, or imagined) where would 'reality' TV and celeb challenge shows be?
Louie Spence was being his usual attention-seeking drama queen self. Fair enough if you're hot enough to need some shade and a breather for a few minutes, but that short-cutting nonsense? Scripted, surely? All in all though, I thought that all eight of the celebs came out of L'Étape pretty well. No-one had to face the embarrassment of being 'swept up' and all finished the course under their own steam. Some of them needed a rocket inserted somewhere vital with all the walking they were doing, as I'm sure that they were capable of plodding up those inclines ON the bike rather than beside it, but being fair a few of them were not 'cyclists' at all merely 8 weeks prior to the event.
One annoying thing for me was Angelica being told to keep to the middle at the top of one ascent where she was walking (keep to the sides, surely, when other riders are riding up?) and then again where she climbed off right on the finish line for the 'hold the bike aloft' photo, and two riders at reasonable pace had to thread their way between her and her coach to cross the line in the accepted 'proper' fashion.
N'er mind though. I missed episode 1, caught up with episodes 2 & 3 eventually, but in the end it wasn't the utter waste of time I feared it might be. The Alps certainly looked like an amazing place to ride a bike! Well done all (even Hugo and Lucy
) - and to be fair to Channel 5 it all came good in the end.
OK then.
That was better (as a TV show I mean). Apart from what felt like ten minutes at the start of the show going back over old ground, at least.
It looks like an incredible event. One that I always thought was pointless me entering (even if I could afford getting there and the entry fee). Now, after seeing even Angelica Bell beat the broom, I'm thinking "exactly how hard can this thing be?"
No offence to any of them, and I'm DEFINITELY NOT saying it looked easy, but it certainly didn't come across as being as tough as it was billed to be. Hugo, once again, was the most irritating thing about the show. Wussing it for 45 minutes with a puncture was bad form really, and ultimately was the difference between his team winning or losing. Disappointing to see the trouble Jodie was having with her gears as well. With pro cyclists on the coaching team, you'd assume some level of mechanical ability, and probably a team mechanic with at least ten riders out on the course, possibly more as most of the 'less able' or less confident celebs seemed to have a chaperone riding with them. If she was dropping her chain that much maybe a dog-fang chain catcher could have helped? Cheap as chips and seconds to install. But hey? Without the jeopardy (real, invented, or imagined) where would 'reality' TV and celeb challenge shows be?
Louie Spence was being his usual attention-seeking drama queen self. Fair enough if you're hot enough to need some shade and a breather for a few minutes, but that short-cutting nonsense? Scripted, surely? All in all though, I thought that all eight of the celebs came out of L'Étape pretty well. No-one had to face the embarrassment of being 'swept up' and all finished the course under their own steam. Some of them needed a rocket inserted somewhere vital with all the walking they were doing, as I'm sure that they were capable of plodding up those inclines ON the bike rather than beside it, but being fair a few of them were not 'cyclists' at all merely 8 weeks prior to the event.
One annoying thing for me was Angelica being told to keep to the middle at the top of one ascent where she was walking (keep to the sides, surely, when other riders are riding up?) and then again where she climbed off right on the finish line for the 'hold the bike aloft' photo, and two riders at reasonable pace had to thread their way between her and her coach to cross the line in the accepted 'proper' fashion.
N'er mind though. I missed episode 1, caught up with episodes 2 & 3 eventually, but in the end it wasn't the utter waste of time I feared it might be. The Alps certainly looked like an amazing place to ride a bike! Well done all (even Hugo and Lucy
) - and to be fair to Channel 5 it all came good in the end. 
mcelliott said:
Is that the full fat version of the etape? i was surprised there was less than 3000m of climbing.
Didn't a landslide chop out one of the climbs?Agree with YJ. Either that wasn't as big a challenge as I thought or (more likely) the 8 of them were better trained, and put in more time, than the programme would have us believe.
Re. Jodies chain dropping 10 times... surely one of the pros they had with them knows how to set up a front mech limit screws
Gren said:
mcelliott said:
Is that the full fat version of the etape? i was surprised there was less than 3000m of climbing.
Didn't a landslide chop out one of the climbs?Agree with YJ. Either that wasn't as big a challenge as I thought or (more likely) the 8 of them were better trained, and put in more time, than the programme would have us believe.
Re. Jodies chain dropping 10 times... surely one of the pros they had with them knows how to set up a front mech limit screws
45 minutes for a puncture though, unforgivable...
As a MTB'r i watched this mini series with complete novice eyes, but that last challenge didnt seem as hard as they had been building it up to be?
Must admit i'd quite fancy trying it?
Ive done 70+ miles off road in the yorkshire in 10hrs so i'm pretty sure i could do it in their 10 hour time slot?
not really done any road riding and certainly never used curly bars is there anything thats similar over here?
Must admit i'd quite fancy trying it?
Ive done 70+ miles off road in the yorkshire in 10hrs so i'm pretty sure i could do it in their 10 hour time slot?
not really done any road riding and certainly never used curly bars is there anything thats similar over here?
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