| Duffer's speak |
English
|
| "Tail end Charlies" |
Riders struggling at the back of
the peloton |
| " He will be licking his lips" |
Looking forward in anticipation
(to the climbs/sprint /TT etc) |
| "Turn your granny to the wall" |
The riders will be descending a
treacherous Alpine road at over 80 kph. It will be too scary for your
grandmother to watch. |
| "He goes round corners like a fifty pence piece" |
Description of Jan Ulrich's
ragged cornering style |
| "Raining cats and dogs" |
Above average rainfall for this
time of year |
| "Going
full bore out" |
Traveling at top Speed |
| "Cheeky little chappie" |
Rider of restricted height who
keeps trying to get away from the peloton. Often Spanish or Italian. |
| "Come a box of tricks" |
Have an accident and end up on
the floor. Often while descending or sprinting. |
| "Er..." |
Frequently uttered timefiller on
long flat stages. |
| "Riding himself to a standstill" |
Riding so hard he will not be
able to sustain it. |
| "Face as long as a fiddle" |
Unhappy looking rider. Often the
day after he has "Come a box of tricks" |
| "On the
rivet" |
Sitting right over the front of
the saddle whilst riding as fast as is possible. |
| "After doing
the thick end of ...(fifty)..miles" |
After riding ...(fifty).. miles |
| "The
man with the hammer has got him" |
The rider is so fatigued he can
barely continue. |
| "The
hammer's gone down" |
There has been an increase in
speed |
| "Riding
himself into a frazzle" |
Riding very hard |
| "Hang on to your hats" |
Watch carefully. |
| "Rough
end of a ragman's trumpet" |
No translation available.
Suggestions please. |
| "Its
all over bar the shouting" |
The race is already decided |
| "Its
not over till the fat lady sings" |
The race could be won by anyone.
Often uttered five minutes after "Its all over bar the shouting" |
| "Ripped
this thing to pieces" |
A rider is making life very
difficult for other riders in the peloton |
| "Hanging
on for grim death" |
A rider is struggling to
maintain the pace of the other riders |
| "Put
the cat amongst the pigeons" |
An attack has happened that will
illicit a strong response |
| "Go
absolutely bananas" |
Get very excited |
| "Lying
a bit doggo" |
A rider is very tired in the
peloton or break. From "dog tired". |
| "A
gnat's whisker away" |
Very close. Often in a sprint
when a photo finish is required. |
| "Its
about as useful as a chocolate chainring" |
Its not very useful at all. |
| "It's
a bit dark over Bill's mother's" |
The weather over there looks a
bit ominous |
| "He's
gone all around the Wrekin" |
He's taken the long way around
[the roundabout. |
| "It
might blow the valves in your television set!" |
Turn the volume on your TV down
as the commentary is going to be very loud and excited |
| "He
had the toilet two steps in no uncertain terms" |
He has been suffering from gastroenteritis.
In this instance referring to Francesco
Casagrande in the TdF2001 |
| "It
must feel like he's been hit with a shovel" |
The rider out in front on the
climb has been overtaken rather quickly by the chasers |
| "He's
at the bottom of the barrel" |
The rider is now very fatigued |
| "He's
like a fisherman reeling in his salmon" |
The rider is passing other
riders who were ahead and catching them one at a time. (Whilst they are
probably being hit with a shovel. And at the bottom of the barrel.) |
| "There
are 21 stages in the race and 21 teams. Each team will win a stage except
some which will win more" |
There are a lot of teams and a
lot of stages which will be hotly contested. |
| "Come
down the finishing straight like a dose of salts" |
Traveling
at high speed approaching the final sprint. |
| "Its
not all beer and skittles by any means" |
The racing at the moment is so
hard it can't be enjoyable for the riders. |
| "They're
a chirpy little lot, like Kelme used to be" |
The team are well suited to
climbing in the high mountains and instigate a large number of attacks. |
| "Mike
Smith in Paris, I need to see a man about a dog!" |
Mike Smith, please can you cover
for me on this long stage as I need to pop to the toilet! |
| "He's
come out of there like a cork from a bottle" |
A rider has launched a
devastating attack and left the peloton behind. |
| "He's
shot his bolt and gone out the back" |
The rider has pushed himself too
soon and is now getting left behind |
| "Sackcloth
and ashes" |
I apologise for an earlier
mistake I may have made |
| "Time
for a quick sherbert" |
Time for a quick drink |