2012 Tour de France Review

[auscyclefan94]

2012 Tour de France Review

Here is an official review thread. This thread is different to others such as "Tour de Bore" because it is not slanted one way or the other on your opinion on the Tour.

Above, will be a poll on rating the Tour from 1 (being terrible) to 10 (being awesome).

Here are some questions to prompt discussion.

Biggest Dissapointment?
Biggest Surprise?
Best Stage win?
Positives?
Negatives?
Funniest moment?
Improvements for 2013 and beyond?

I might add some more questions later if they are appropriate.

 

[on3m@n@rmy]

Biggest Dissapointment? Samu bad luck. Nobody breaks Sky stranglehold.
Biggest Surprise? Froome #2 on GC in support of Wiggins. Erm, NOT.
Best Stage win? Sky train & Cav kills the field on the Champs.
Positives? Brits got er done. KOM for Voeckler, TJVG best youngster, Frank S.
Negatives? Mr. Tack sabotage. Frank S.
Funniest moment? Phil & Paul many, many quotes.
Improvements for 2013 and beyond? More difficult, meaningful mountain stages. And the return of Bertie.

 

[luckyboy]

3/10
Probably would've been a 1 without Sagan seeing how my answers turned out..

Biggest Disappointment?
How boring it turned out to be. It didn't look as if it would turn out a classic edition in the run-up, but jesus christ..

Biggest Surprise?
Sagan dominating by that much, and Zubeldia doing that well I guess.

Best Stage win?
Sagan's first, then Millar/Voeckler. Not many exciting ones.

Positives?
Fränk Schleck's.

Negatives?
.....

Funniest moment?
Sagan celebrations/body-signing, Farrar storming the Argos bus, Och in the ditch.

Improvements for 2013 and beyond?
Proper mountain stages, less TT kms, put something in the first week

 

[on3m@n@rmy]

Funniest moment?
Sagan celebrations/body-signing, Farrar storming the Argos bus, Och in the ditch.

+1. Forgot about those, but definately yes.

 

[Warhawk]

I gave it a 7. It's pretty much always an exciting event, it would have to be pretty bad all around to get less than, like, a 5. There's always something interesting, even if it may have been lacking in certain respects.

Biggest Dissapointment? Everyone who crashed. Not that they were disappointments, it's just disappointing that they, as a result, were gone. Beyond that... maybe Goss. Menchov. All of Lampre and Cofidis. RSNT riders on an individual level (luckily they were, and this was entirely inadvertent, a pretty good team). No American stage winners, but that's getting to be a trend at this point.

Biggest Surprise? Hard to say. Tejay>Evans, Froome(arguably)>Wiggins. Pinot, for a certain value of 'surprise'. Sagan, for a certain extremely narrow value of 'surprise'. And the total level of British and French dominance (a jersey apiece, only countries with 2 riders in the top 10, a whopping 12 stage wins).

Best Stage win? Sprints aside, since a number of them were pretty sexy wins but are difficult to truly differentiate (though if I had to pick one it would be Cav just plain riding away from everyone on stage 18), I'll go with LLS outsmarting everyone on the road into Foix, closely followed by Tommy V's two wins.

Positives? Young riders making big splashes (Tejay, Pinot, and Sagan, once again), which is good for the future. Voigt being Voigt. Vino being Vino. Nibali at least trying to make things interesting.

Negatives? Damnit Frank. Also, crashes, obviously.

Funniest moment? In a laugh out loud kind of way, Wiggins saying it was time to call out the raffle numbers on the podium in Paris, followed closely by Sagan's Forrest Gump shtick.. In a "what the hell is this" kind of way, Farrar trying to storm Argos' bus.

Improvements for 2013 and beyond? More variety in the TTs (I'm OK with the length, just want more hills, and/or descents). Less crashes... also, Andy back. And Alberto. I like that it's starting on Corsica, could help with the crashing early. Bigger numbers so P&P don't misidentify every single rider. Fewer bellends with tacks.

 

[ericthesportsman6]

Biggest Dissapointment? Gesink, Evans, Vanendert. Thought this was RG's year for a podium. Thought Vanendert would do more than he did.

Biggest Surprise? TVG, Froome, Pinot. Knew they had talent but didn't expect such great results.

Best Stage win? Voeckler's stage 16 romp. Not a ton of memorable options here.

Positives?The French riding well, TVG, Nibali's agression, Sagan

Negatives? Sky

Funniest moment? FDJ's team director screaming at Pinot

Improvements for 2013 and beyond? More summit finishes with steeper gradients, less TT's, better riders, something interesting in the first week

 

[Afrank]

Biggest Dissapointment- the lack of a rider that could blow the field apart on a climb with a single attack, No one being able to put Wiggo into real difficulty.

Biggest Surprise- Froome

Best Stage win- stage 18, the action in the break on the climb, then Sanchez and Roche sprinting for the finish when Cav shoots past them. Also each of Sagans wins were great.

Positives- Voeckler getting polka dots, Van Garderen getting white and 5th overall.

Negatives- Tacks, Schleck, no one able to repeat a long range solo attack like Schleck did last year.

Funniest moment- Sagans victory salutes.

Improvements for 2013 and beyond- Less TT kilometers, More mountain top finishes, something to make the first week interesting (cobbles perhaps?).

 

[pugdog]

Biggest Dissapointment? The Tour route

Biggest Surprise? Pinot. Fantastic performance for a 22-year-old, and a climber in a Tour that shouldn't have suited him.

Best Stage win? L.L. Sanchez, and Cav st.18

Positives? Liquigas with Nibali and Sagan

Negatives? Voekler's mystery knee injury healed after rest day and sprinting 1st across col after col after col.

Funniest moment? Sagan's panoply of victory salutes

Improvements for 2013 and beyond? The improvement is already planned with the departure from Corsica.

 

[UpTheRoad]

Stage 5 was my favorite stage...was really excited to see the breakaway win only to be deflated when Urtasun was caught with 100m or so to go.

The downer was that the finale was marred by Farrar's crash earlier, but the last bit of racing was my favorite.

 

[phanatic]

I feel like I watched the same race in May.

 

[movingtarget]

2012 Tour de France Review

Here is an official review thread. This thread is different to others such as "Tour de Bore" because it is not slanted one way or the other on your opinion on the Tour.

Above, will be a poll on rating the Tour from 1 (being terrible) to 10 (being awesome).

Here are some questions to prompt discussion.

Biggest Dissapointment?
Biggest Surprise?
Best Stage win?
Positives?
Negatives?
Funniest moment?
Improvements for 2013 and beyond?

I might add some more questions later if they are appropriate.

Evans and Goss for disappointment and Menchov.
Pinot's and TJVG's performances were the surprise.
Best stage win was Valverde's.
Positives were Sagan's enthusiasm and stage wins. Horner's performance for an old guy.
Negatives were Gesink's inability to avoid crashes and total dominance by Sky killed off interest in the race by the end of the second week.
Funniest moment was Marc Madiot's excitement at a possible stage win and the Tack incident which was pathetic as well as funny along with Rolland's subsequent attack.
Improvements. Needless to say, a better route although Wiggins would disagree of course and jail time for owners of unleashed dogs at bike races. Would also like to hear a new version of the Tour theme music ....it needs a remake, it's a bit stale. New fashions for the podium girls and Cavendish must start his sprints from the back of the bunch.

 

[rzombie1988]

Biggest Dissapointment? Menchov and everyone who went down early. This course was made for Menchov(and other good TT guys) and he showed that time has passed him by. He's never going to get another chance like this again. Samu was a disappointment because this was probably his best chance along with most of the peloton with no Bertie or either Schleck around. The whole Rabobank squad was a disappointment too. Bauke and Gesink should have been right up there but both went down early. I expected more from Stevie K. too. This tour should have been packed for names but almost all of the names went down.


Biggest Surprise? So many members of the old guard going down. Levi, Menchov, Evans losing a ton of time, Valverde, Basso(well not that surprising) and Scarponi. I had all most of those guys in the top 15. I'm surprised at JvDb doing so well, Janez and Froome. I'm also surprised that Froome didn't go for it. Froome showed how strong he was, but next year is when Bertie and Schleck will be back. He's never going to have a chance like that again. Okay, sure he would have lost it all in the TT anyway, but this is the best chance he's ever going to have at the Tour. Vuelta and Giro look more possible though.

Positives? Alot of young guys made their names and may have made their careers off this tour. Good to see Froome, Rolland, Pinot, TJ and others do well. Also, it was nice to see Tommy V. do good for the most part.

Negatives? Alot of people being too afraid to attack. I know the course didn't have alot of great inclines to attack on, but that means you have to attack smarter and earlier. Sky was really good but if a group of three teamed up on them they could have taken down Sky, as sooner or later they have to run out of gas.

Improvements for 2013 and beyond? I'd like a couple more MTF's. I love the idea of doing a mountain stage in the first week too. It should theoretically space the guys out more so they won't have as many crashes, but of course it could totally backfire. I have no problem with the amount of TT's. In the 80's they did alot more than what we got in this tour and it never seemed to be a problem. If you can't TT, you don't deserve to win, simple as that. I'd like to see the return of the cobbles too. The biggest thing I want is bonuses. If need be, put them before the finish too. We need more aggressive racing and bonuses should help that.

 

[Andre.J]

Biggest Disappointment?....le parcours...Le parcours
Biggest Surprise?...........Gilbert not winning the green or the Liege stage
Best Stage win?...there weren't any
Positives?.....VDB and Nibali riding good
Negatives?..............Contador and De Gendt missing
Funniest moment?...when the camera showed the 3 donkeys dressed in yellow, Green and Polka Dot.
Improvements for 2013 and beyond?......fire Christian Prud'homme.

There might never be a good course design since it's such a Nationalistic sport. The French knew in years past and knew this year that none of their riders could win the GC. So they set up stages mostly to benefit French riders to at least come across the line in first place in as many stages as they can. The same thing happens in The Giro and La Vuelta....the designers try to come up with ways for their own to flourish.


Andre

 

[Spartacus Rising]

Biggest Dissapointment?
Definitely the tour living up to its poor design. Prudhomme got what he wanted though, the big fish, a British win.

Biggest Surprise?
Biggest surprise would have to be that I was able to still sit through a lot of it. Second biggest was that although everyone expected a lot from Sagan he really smashed the tour to bits.

Best Stage win?
Valverde or Sagan's first.

Positives?
Good to see a British win.

Negatives?
Schleck having his drinked spiked. That is outrageous. Luckily he doesn't eat steak.

Funniest moment?
Froome being hauled back. Farrar forcing himself into a crash then getting upset about it.

Improvements for 2013 and beyond?
No TT. Alright, one short one. Froome and Wiggins on different teams! This would have blown the race apart. Agree with AFrank; lots of cobbles early on and more mountain top finishes. Better riders.

 

[piemonster]

I should probably have posted higher than 6/10 with the British win. But I just cant that excited watching somebody ride tempo 3500km

Biggest Dissapointment?
The 'we like sky' vs the 'we dont like sky' err... debates

Biggest Surprise?
Tack attacks

Best Stage win?
Voeckler, mainly for the gurning

Positives?
Cor blimey guvnor, there's a largely British rider on the top of the podium

Negatives?
Schleck, Tacks, the fact that one team dominated

Funniest moment?
Cavs speed finishing stage 18

Improvements for 2013 and beyond?
Same amount of ITT, but more mountains and MTF's

 

[greenedge]

I voted 5- there were some good moments but unlike last year i was not staying up to watch it each night and mainly watched the last 50km after Evans was shut down on La Toussire.

- The overall route ( was not great ) and how boring it was. A Brit winning ( might have been assuaged if it was Froome ). Poels, Menchov, Kittel, Gesink, Samu, Cofidis, Lampre, Vaconsoleil and Saur. Goss getting out of the Green jersey run in. Like the Giro but even without an epic Stelvio stage. Skys' stranglehold on the race. Stage 7 JVDB puncturing. No Andy or Alberto.

- Evans losing so much time. Pinot, TJVG and Sagan ( for the average fan ). Taaramae going so well on stage 7. LLS recovering so well. Cav doing some good work for Wiggins.

- Stage 7, 1, 10,11, 13. I liked those quite a bit.

- Europcar. Froome proving that he is better than Wiggins in the mountains- hopefully he can lead next year if still at Sky. Sagan and Greipel giving some competition to Cav. Fedrigo and Millars' wins. Voigt, Vino, Kessiakoff, Morkov, CAS and other breakaway riders...

- Samu. Frank Shleck. Sky in the mountains.

- Froome slows down for Wiggins on two mountain stages. Him shaking his head when Rogers hugs Wiggins ( i could have won is what i think he is implying ). Hinault pushing the spectator off. Sagan. Wiggins gets pushed over on stage 3.

- Froome ( if staying should lead Sky ). No more crashes for GC riders. Andy/ Alberto- hopefully JROD as well. A more mountainous route. A new set of riders to fight to get into each jersey. The Devil back.

 

[FoxxyBrown1111]

Biggest Dissapointment? Robot/Computerized Racing because of Race Radios and Powermeters. Route design.
Biggest Surprise? That this TdF was light years better than last years tour & the Giro 2012. And that besides the mentioned above!
Best Stage win? Pinot
Positives? see biggest surprises
Negatives? see biggest dissapointments
Funniest moment? Stage 8 when Madiot pushed Pinot to his limints and the shouting match between the guys of Prudhommes & Mavics equipment car.
Improvements for 2013 and beyond? Remove race radios and powermeters

 

[armchairclimber]

Biggest Disappointment? The crashes and DNFs...particularly Samu, Tony Martin, Rojas. Expected more from Taraamae and Cobo.

Biggest Surprise? After the first few days, Tommy suddenly sprouting wings.

Best Stage win? Sagan on stage one was a highlight. Cav on 18 was funny.

Positives? Fantastic after all these years of watching to be cheering on Brits for GC. Great to see Tommy V doing his inimitable stuff. Cancellara too.

Negatives? The association of SKY branding taints the great achievements for me.

Funniest moment? FDJ's team director screaming at Pinot. Tommy's faces. The look on LL Sanchez and Roche's faces when Cav went by on 18. Wiggins' face while the fat lady sang. Sagan's celebrations.

Improvements for 2013 and beyond? Be good to see a TTT and more mountains. Look forward to seeing the SKY train versus Contador and Schleck.

 

[the asian]

2012 Tour de France Review

Here is an official review thread. This thread is different to others such as "Tour de Bore" because it is not slanted one way or the other on your opinion on the Tour.

Above, will be a poll on rating the Tour from 1 (being terrible) to 10 (being awesome).

Here are some questions to prompt discussion.

Biggest Dissapointment- The crashes in stage one which injured some contenders

Biggest Surprise- Sky getting 1 & 2

Best Stage win- Pinot
Positives- The young guys Pinot, TJVG, Sagan

Negatives- A rich & powerful team dominating, reminding us of USPS days, F Schleck & R de Gregario

Funniest moment- Madiot screaming at Pinot & virtually ensuring his victory.

Improvements for 2013 and beyond- Get rid of race radios, hire a stage designer who knows how to use mountain stages properly.

 

[mickkk]

I am geographically biased, but the TT has to go. Its a road race or its not. Might as well add a Madison they way it is now. The TT might be good for the town its in, but its boring to watch and has killed the tour in recent years.

 

[ilmaffe]

Biggest Dissapointment? Menchov, Gilbert, Gesink, Taaramae, Goss, Vanendert.

Biggest Surprise? Van Garderen, Zubeldia, Pinot, Froome!, Kessiakoff, Sagan finishing in 42th position.

Best Stage win? Cavendish 19 by far

Positives? Nibali&Sagan, France, GB

Negatives? We missed AC and AS!

Funniest moment? Sagan's celebrations

Improvements for 2013 and beyond? -20 km TT, stop wasting mountains, at least 1 more HC summit finish. 10km neutralization in flat stage first week. Time bonuses: 10/6/4. 1 difficult stage in the first 5 days.

 

[18-Valve. (pithy)]

Biggest Dissapointment? There was no GC battle to speak of.
Biggest Surprise? Brajkovic's top 10 placing despite crashing hard several times. Pinot's consistency. Van Garderen to a lesser extent
Best Stage win? Rolland - great team effort by him and Kern
Positives? very good racing in several stages. This somewhat made up for Sky's dominance in each and every mountain stage
Negatives? the crashes.
Funniest moment? Madiot
Improvements for 2013 and beyond? a better designed and more mountainous route wouldn't hurt. Keep the long ITTs, but make the first week more decisive. Smaller teams. Invite more deserving pro conti teams than Saur and Argos...

 

[jsem94]

3/10. It was so boring a lot, except for Kessiakoff being a Swede and all.

Biggest Dissapointment?
Evans, also no one strong enough to contest Wiggo. Made me miss AC so badly.

Biggest Surprise?
For me, Van Garderen easily.

Best Stage win?
Cav's stage 19 sprint.

Positives?
Kessiakoff - showing form once again in July (last year in Austria).
Pinot - showing early potential, possible top 3 GT cyclist if he can work on his TTing and consistency.
Nibali - getting better and better.
Sagan - I expected him to win a few stages, but the way he contested the bunch sprints was phenomenal.
Zubeldia - Sneaking his way into the top 10 yet again.. lol

Negatives?
- Race radios very likely to have caused the big pile-up crash which took out many contestants for top 10/top 5 or perhaps even the final victory.
- Fans etc running alongside causing problems.
- Menchov's lack of consistent form.
- Tacks on the road. The one(s) responsible should be locked up.

Funniest moment?
The donkey farm with the green, polka dot and yellow jersey. Bruseghin must have been proud.

Improvements for 2013 and beyond?
More tests THROUGHOUT the race, that includes the first week. More decisive non TT stages, short mountain stages actually seem good - like the Alpe d'Huez stage last tour. Time bonuses.

 

[Pharazon]

Biggest Dissapointment? Cadel Evans
Biggest Surprise? Thibault Pinot
Best Stage win? Cavendish's win on stage 18
Positives? SAGAN!
Negatives? Lack of ability of any team to break team sky
Funniest moment? Sagan victory dances
Improvements for 2013 and beyond? Better designed mountain stages

 

[Pantani_lives]

7/10

Biggest Dissapointment?
Crashes of Gesink and Mollema.

Biggest Surprise?
Tejay van Garderen in the top 5.

Best Stage win?
Wiggins' second time trial or Luís León Sánchez.

Positives?
Wiggins used to be the new Chris Boardman; now he's the new Indurain. Also some young riders in the top ten.

Negatives?
No suspense for the yellow jersey in the mountains, no great climber except perhaps Froome, who wasn't allowed to attack against his team mate.

Funniest moment?
Vinokourov reacting furiously after losing his pedal in a sprint for a third place.

Improvements for 2013 and beyond?
A climb time trial would be great, and perhaps a MTF on the Madeleine or something.