Slashdot Mirror
Mapping The Tour de France Riders From Space
Roland Piquepaille writes "It was just a matter of time before someone gets the idea of using satellite localization to map the positions of the cyclists of the Tour de France. In a first test on July 21 during the ascension to l'Alpe d'Huez, ten riders were equipped with receivers and tracked by the EGNOS European satellite positioning system, a preparatory programme for the Galileo system. The European Space Agency (ESA) reports about this first test in "The best view of the Tour is from space." It's highly possible that all riders can get receivers as soon as next year. And this data will be available on the Web, so you will know in real time the exact location of your favorite champion. Read this summary for more details and a computer-generated image showing the respective positions of Lance Armstrong and Richard Virenque, the top-ranked climber, while climbing to the top of l'Alpe d'Huez."
They are tracked with GPS receivers. EGNOS (European Geostationary Navigation Overlay System) is the European equivalent of WAAS (Wide Area Augmentation System). These systems reduce the distortions introduced by atmospheric effects by measuring the distortions at a number of base stations with known locations and transmitting the distortion map via geostationary satellites.
Would be nice if they used some sort of extrapolation of the original data points to make the animation more smooth. Currenlty, they just place a picture of the rider at each data point, which doesn't looke very attractive. Would be nice to see an animated picture of the pike and rider as well. But then again, this is a proof of concept for the Galileo project, and not a tool for the media.
who | grep -i blond | date cd ~; unzip; touch; strip; finger; mount; gasp; yes; uptime; umount; sleep
http://tinyurl.com/4u8sa
There are issues related to possible conflicts.
The sports world in general is being marred by a drug controversy. There's a huge inquiry in the US about BALCO, a lab that allegedly distributed steroids to a lot of athletes. The type of steroid was THG, which was until recently undetectable in drug tests.
As far as cycling is concerned, the drug scandal revolves around EPO, which increases the amount of oxygen in the blood and boosts endurance. The scandal reached a peak in the late nineties when a LOT of riders tested positive, among them Richard Virenque. Just a couple of weeks ago former Tour champion Greg LeMond accused Lance Armstrong of using EPO. Although Lance has been forced to deflect doping accusations for a few years now, I don't think anyone as well known as LeMond had make such an accusation.
---- Yay! I have a sig!
Lance's bike is too light for the tour specs anyway, they have to add weight to make it conform. I imagine that all the necesary equipment can be stufffed inside the tubes of the frame or no? If not, the disadvantage is not in weight, but in aerodynamics
When I first read the headline, I envisioned a geostat satellite taking a visual survey of the tour de france. But if you RTFA its nothing but a souped up european version of WAAS + GPS, and the trackers are not even attached to the riders bikes to boot. Kinda disappointing... but at the same time not much of a loss. Cycling isn't exactly a play by play sport. The espn highlight reels more than suffice to capture the excitement and perhaps some mayhem when someone crashes the peloton. Do you really want to see Lance climb a mountain for 2 hours.
As for drug use in the TdF, despite what many people say, the reason why drug use seems so prevalent in the TdF is because of how seriously the French race officials enforce their regulations, opposed to say major league baseball.
Nuclear war would really set back cable. - Ted Turner
Having stood along with the crowds along the Champs-Elysee on the last day of the Tour, I don't know if I'd call it "riveting".
The last day is mostly for the cameras and the crowds. The winner is already known and has practically no chance of losing at that point. The leaders don't even bother trying to win the stage and come in waaaaay in the back of pack, often over 20 seconds behind the stage leader. 20 seconds doesn't seem like a lot, but that actually puts them at the back of the pack. Lance is known to drink champaigne and chat with reporters while "racing" on his last day.
This year, Lance came in 114th.
The last day of the Tour is a lot of fun with the crowds, the booths, the parades (lots of parades) and the music, but its not "riveting". However, I did get lots of great photos and movies as they passed me over 20 times!
The
there we go again... Brandt was tested positive on Methadon, a substance that DOES NOT HELP cycling better. It's some sort of pain killer.
Additionally, the dose was miniscule. So small that it is impossible to have any advantage or even effect whatshowever. It is very likely that he's the victim of eating something which contained some Methadon without his knowledge. (did you know for instance that tap water in many cities contains high traces of Oestrogen ? Does that make you a transexual ?)
This is rediculous. Methadone is a narcotic. It was designed to get people off Heroin by having a slower rush and longer half-life (dulling the steep on/off effects of heroin).
In short: it's a painkiller. Don't tell me that doesn't help.
I think the point of testing for methadone in cycling is two-fold :
1. Methadone can be a painkiller, which means that perhaps a cyclist could push harder despite the pain and cramping from lactic acid buildup in the muscles.
2. As mentioned above, methadone is most commonly used to treat heroin addiction, so the presence on methadone NOW could possibly indicate the use of drugs previously in the year.
Regardless of how it got into his system, they have to follow the rules. Accidentally ingested methadone? That's a tad far-fetched, don't you think? What kind of team chef is this guy working with that allows drugs to fall into the pot of pasta? And what kind of team doctor wouldn't be on the lookout for the banned substances when keeping an athlete on a medical regimen?
While I don't agree with the comment in reference to Lance Armstrong, Greg LeMond was somewhat on target when he said, "In cycling, there are no miracles, only explanations." There's an explanation for the methadone in Brandt's blood and someday the truth will surface.
A lot of people don't appreciate how big a role nutrition plays in Tour performance. The typical rider consumes about 7,000 calories per day; almost all of them lose weight over the course of the race. About 70% of the body's energy production uses carbohydrates; so they need about 5,000 carb calories per day; your muscles and liver can store about 2,000. So lots of the calories have to be ingested while riding. A typical rider will sweat about three gallons during a stage, and almost all of that needs to be replaced. Lots of drinking while riding as well. Small errors in the amount you eat and drink and what you eat and drink can make a very large difference at this level of performance.
There's a low limit weight on the bikes. 6.8 kg I think. Lance's bike was under that, and they had to add stuff to make it heavier. They can easily add a 100g or so device, and stay at the 6.8kg mark.
It's now not so much a matter of making the bike lighter, as what part to make lighter.
They (Postal) use special lightweight clothes for the climbing stages. No joke.