Idiot MTB professional jumps TDF Peloton?

[[email protected]]

Did this really happen, can anyone verify? Reports are that Dave Watson, a
professional MTB rider in the employ of Kona bicycles launched himself
over the heads of riders in the TDF peloton!!

from velonews:
http://www.velonews.com/race/mtn/articles/4606.0.html
"Watson pulled off a monumental stunt, actually jumping over the back half
of the peloton during the Alp d'Huez stage of the Tour de France. Watson
estimated that the jump, a road gap, was about 45 feet in distance."


and a MTB mag:
http://www.nsmb.com/shore_news/slopestyle_07_03.php
"Four km from the summit of the Col De Galibier, the penultimate climb of
the Alpe D'Huez stage of the Tour de France, Dave Watson launched his Kona
over a group of perhaps 15 riders. "

This seems really foolhardy to me, and dangerous to the TDF riders, what
if he had landed on their heads? Can anyone confirm that these rumors are
true or false?

If true, perhaps pressure shoudl be brought to bear on Kona to fire him?

take care,

Jester

--
************************************************** *************************
Politics is the entertainment branch of industry. -- Frank Zappa
************************************************** *************************

[Sam]

Looks like Kona got some pub out of it. I am guessing that was the goal.


> wrote in message ...
> Did this really happen, can anyone verify? Reports are that Dave Watson, a
> professional MTB rider in the employ of Kona bicycles launched himself
> over the heads of riders in the TDF peloton!!
>
> from velonews:
> http://www.velonews.com/race/mtn/articles/4606.0.html
> "Watson pulled off a monumental stunt, actually jumping over the back half
> of the peloton during the Alp d'Huez stage of the Tour de France. Watson
> estimated that the jump, a road gap, was about 45 feet in distance."
>
>
> and a MTB mag:
> http://www.nsmb.com/shore_news/slopestyle_07_03.php
> "Four km from the summit of the Col De Galibier, the penultimate climb of
> the Alpe D'Huez stage of the Tour de France, Dave Watson launched his Kona
> over a group of perhaps 15 riders. "
>
> This seems really foolhardy to me, and dangerous to the TDF riders, what
> if he had landed on their heads? Can anyone confirm that these rumors are
> true or false?
>
> If true, perhaps pressure shoudl be brought to bear on Kona to fire him?
>
> take care,
>
> Jester
>
> --
>
************************************************** *************************
> Politics is the entertainment branch of industry. -- Frank Zappa
>
************************************************** *************************

[S. Anderson]

> wrote in message ...
> Did this really happen, can anyone verify? Reports are that Dave Watson, a
> professional MTB rider in the employ of Kona bicycles launched himself
> over the heads of riders in the TDF peloton!!

<<snip..>>

> If true, perhaps pressure shoudl be brought to bear on Kona to fire him?
>
> take care,
>
> Jester
>
> --
>
************************************************** *************************
> Politics is the entertainment branch of industry. -- Frank Zappa
>
************************************************** *************************

Yeah, that's pretty careless. Everything went well so nobody may care, but
imagine what would have happened if he had taken someone out. I mean, he'd
be in huge trouble. Lawsuits, assault/manslaughter charges, who can say?
He'd never be able to enter the USA again if he landed on top of Armstrong
and broke his neck! That's like going to a Formula 1 race and as a sideshow
having Lance Murdock jumping the track in a 68 Chevelle while Schumacher is
going by! When he's not in action, he's in traction!!

Cheers,

Scott..

[bobby carter]

pressure should be brought to bear on your ass with the FTC for using
government time and computer resources to read and post to a newsgroup.
> wrote in message ...
> Did this really happen, can anyone verify? Reports are that Dave Watson, a
> professional MTB rider in the employ of Kona bicycles launched himself
> over the heads of riders in the TDF peloton!!
>
> from velonews:
> http://www.velonews.com/race/mtn/articles/4606.0.html
> "Watson pulled off a monumental stunt, actually jumping over the back half
> of the peloton during the Alp d'Huez stage of the Tour de France. Watson
> estimated that the jump, a road gap, was about 45 feet in distance."
>
>
> and a MTB mag:
> http://www.nsmb.com/shore_news/slopestyle_07_03.php
> "Four km from the summit of the Col De Galibier, the penultimate climb of
> the Alpe D'Huez stage of the Tour de France, Dave Watson launched his Kona
> over a group of perhaps 15 riders. "
>
> This seems really foolhardy to me, and dangerous to the TDF riders, what
> if he had landed on their heads? Can anyone confirm that these rumors are
> true or false?
>
> If true, perhaps pressure shoudl be brought to bear on Kona to fire him?
>
> take care,
>
> Jester
>
> --
>
************************************************** *************************
> Politics is the entertainment branch of industry. -- Frank Zappa
>
************************************************** *************************

[[email protected]]

bobby carter > wrote:
> pressure should be brought to bear on your ass with the FTC for using
> government time and computer resources to read and post to a newsgroup.

You are new to this interweb thingy, arentcha? Don't worry, you'll get the
hang of it soon enough.

take care,

Jester

--
************************************************** *************************
Politics is the entertainment branch of industry. -- Frank Zappa
************************************************** *************************

[Secret Squirrel]

wrote in message >...

> Did this really happen, can anyone verify?

I dunno about verify, but I can post the complete text of the press
release Velonews recycled for this 'story'. It's extremely lame, from
the inability to spell 'peloton' correctly to the fact that there were
actually exactly no riders under this bozo when he jumped ("just over
the back of the peleton" my arse).

**Begin lame attempt at hyping-up of clueless cretin sadly failing to
take himself out of the gene pool**

You've probably heard the rumors and now that Kona Clump rider Dave
Watson is safely back in North America we can confirm… Watson
gap-jumped the Tour de France peleton during the Alp d'Huez stage. The
jump took place just before the summit of the col de Galibier. The
set-up and preparation had to be done in secret, as the reaction of
the fans and organizers was unknown. Showing up several days before
hand, Dave with help from some staff at Big Bike, a French-based
Freeride magazine, built the jump and cleared the landing before many
fans showed up.

With three Freeride Entertainment 16mm cameras rolling to catch the
action and Scott Markewitz shooting stills, tension was high as the
helicopters appeared on the horizon marking the arrival of the lead
group. The amount of police and the mayhem created by the fans on the
take-off and landing meant that jumping the lead group was out of the
question. With communication hardly possible due to the noise created
by the fans, a group of about twelve riders was sighted in the
distance and the jump was on. Frantic preparations were made to clear
the landing of spectators and take-off jump.

Dave patiently waited as the riders rounded the corner. Prior to the
jump, Dave had not even had a chance to take a run in to the jump for
fear of giving away his intentions. Jump time came and Dave climbed
aboard his Stab Primo and punched it toward the lip with no
hesitation.

Jumping just over the back of the peleton as to take no chances of
injuring riders on an unknown jump, Dave sailed approximately 45 ft
before touching down. Due to a last minute brake check to ensure the
safety of the riders below, Dave came up slightly short and was bucked
by his bike into the rocky tranny. Fans rushed to Dave to see the
extent of his injuries. Slightly dazed with paramedics and police
surrounding him, the crew was unsure what the outcome would be.

Thankfully the end of this story is a happy one. The paramedics
insisted on taking Dave on a two-hour ride out the mountains to the
hospital and the police didn't seem to mind since the only person
potentially hurt was Dave. Released from the hospital with a partially
separated shoulder, sore back, neck, and a severely bruised groin,
Dave will recover fully.

Otherwise stay tuned for footage of the historic jump at the release
of Disorder IV – Ride the Lightning!

**End lame attempt at hyping-up of clueless cretin sadly failing to
take himself out of the gene pool**

[Doug Taylor]

(Secret Squirrel) wrote:

wrote in message >...
>
>> Did this really happen, can anyone verify?
>
>I dunno about verify, but I can post the complete text of the press
>release Velonews recycled for this 'story'. It's extremely lame, from
>the inability to spell 'peloton' correctly to the fact that there were
>actually exactly no riders under this bozo when he jumped ("just over
>the back of the peleton" my arse).

FWIW, a photo is up showing the bozo actually cleared some riders.

Weird.

http://mtbottawa.com/cgi-bin/media.pl?p=2&show=934&start=0&ds=1&search=2003-07-28&by=posted
--dt

[Karen M.]

Doug wrote:
> FWIW, a photo is up showing the bozo actually cleared some riders.
>
> Weird.
> http://mtbottawa.com/cgi-bin/media.pl?p=2&show=934&start=0&ds=1&search=2003-07-28&by=posted

Photoshop.

--Karen M.

[Stewart Fleming]

Karen M. wrote:
> Doug wrote:
>
>>FWIW, a photo is up showing the bozo actually cleared some riders.
>>
>>Weird.
>>http://mtbottawa.com/cgi-bin/media.pl?p=2&show=934&start=0&ds=1&search=2003-07-28&by=posted
>
>
> Photoshop.

Too easy. Post a full critique please.