- May 4, 2010
- 16
- 0
- 0
For the sake of the fans, if not for the sake of determining the GC, all mountain stages must end on a mountaintop.
Those of us in the USA stuck with watching the Tour of California saw a waste of time final stage, and a waste of time "Queen" stage 2 days previous, both of which included climbs, but both of which ended with flat road. Obviously, the USA is not a serious cycling country as the Giro is not televized here at all.
Predictably on the 2 "mountain" Tour of California stages, although the sprinters got left far behind, or abandoned, the GC group rode in together, as I knew it would.
What's the point in watching a mountain stage that ends with a descent or a flat stretch when the viewer already knows the GC contenders will re-collect into one group??? Why call it a mountain stage at all, why not a "Sprinter Disappearance Stage" instead?
I find mountaintop finishes to be the most exciting bicycle racing to watch of all, and along with the terribly boring TT stages, the most decisive.
Ending a mountain stage going down or flat reminds me of the endless caution flags in NASCAR wiping out all the hard work of the leaders, or the impossibility of passing in F1, where qualifying largely determines the race finish. What's the point of watching at all????
Those of us in the USA stuck with watching the Tour of California saw a waste of time final stage, and a waste of time "Queen" stage 2 days previous, both of which included climbs, but both of which ended with flat road. Obviously, the USA is not a serious cycling country as the Giro is not televized here at all.
Predictably on the 2 "mountain" Tour of California stages, although the sprinters got left far behind, or abandoned, the GC group rode in together, as I knew it would.
What's the point in watching a mountain stage that ends with a descent or a flat stretch when the viewer already knows the GC contenders will re-collect into one group??? Why call it a mountain stage at all, why not a "Sprinter Disappearance Stage" instead?
I find mountaintop finishes to be the most exciting bicycle racing to watch of all, and along with the terribly boring TT stages, the most decisive.
Ending a mountain stage going down or flat reminds me of the endless caution flags in NASCAR wiping out all the hard work of the leaders, or the impossibility of passing in F1, where qualifying largely determines the race finish. What's the point of watching at all????