If they're allowed, I'm guessing no helmet.

When they had the mountain TT in 2001, Lance wore an aero helmet for the first, flatter, segment and then tossed it off before starting the climb.

THere's only about 1K of flat in the beginning, thne all uphill. I'd guess no helmets on this stage.

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Separate but related question: Do UCI rules require brakes? If not, wouldn't ditching front and back calipers, brake cables and possibly (depending on whether or not you're using STI) brake levers be an easy way to save a pound or more? In a normal TT the chances of needing brakes are slim. Going up L'Alpe, they are almost nil.

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Anyone who tells you they're as fast now as they were when they were 18...
sure wasn't very fast when they were 18.

don't know if brakes are required, but there is a total minimum weight limit for bikes. most guys--at least the gc guys anyways--are hitting the weight limit darn near on the nose and thus, they probably can't shave off any more weight...

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f/k/a mclamb6

towards the last 2km you need your brakes...

I didn't think the weight limit applied to TT bikes. If it does, you're right, they can easily get to the minimum even with brakes.

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Anyone who tells you they're as fast now as they were when they were 18...
sure wasn't very fast when they were 18.

after watching the "enthusiasm" of the fans on stage 13 I was wondering will Alpe d'Huez be fenced off the whole way up or will it be open? Lance said that he couldn't go as fast as he wanted with all the people around him, and if something did happen to knock someone down there would be no hope of a "gentlemen's rule" as it is a time trial. It would be a shame if someone lost time because they were knocked over by an excited fan.

The last two kilometers are fenced off. Until that point, it will be a zoo.

Zoo is right. I heard somewhere they were expecting over a million people!

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"If ginseng really does aid in mental clarity, we're encouraging Brit to drink up." -E! Online

Are we sure about that? Typically, it's only the last few km's, but I thought Phil &/or Paul said the whole climb will be fenced off this year due to the number people expected on the mountain. When seconds count, you can't have the fans that close.

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Jim Manton / ERO Sports

That was just what I heard on OLN. I am no expert.

I heard they were going to fence off the last 5K for this - normally it's the last two.

I thought they said the last 4k yesterday but it seems like we all have different numbers :-)

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"your horse is too high" - tigerchik