Cobbles in le Tour

[LaFlorecita]

That one was even funnier!
Because you don't? Using pretend in the first part already makes it clear that I don't.

Oh wow, look at that non-native speaker making a mistake in English, she must be ***!

 

[LaFlorecita]

Westra and Fuglsang definately were very strong, but do keep in mind that Contador never put his nose in the wind the entire stage and. Nibali certainly put his nose in the wind.
In fact most GC contenders never put their noses in the wind and were sitting in the wheels of domestiques during the entire stage. Of what I remember Porte did some racing near the end after he stuck to Thomas wheel for a wheel to take some extra time on most the other GC men.

So this only confirms that Nibali was by far the strongest of the GC men on the cobbles and he would more likely have taken even more time if there were no domestiques, ofcourse that's not part cycling and completely irrelevant.

Actually after analysing this I only respect Nibalis performance during this stage more then I did before.

P.s. I also was yelling at Contador to move forward at that time, but in hindsight I feel like he simply had a really hard time during this stage.

Okay, I agree on all points. (Except "respecting" Nibali's performance because I don't "respect" performances )

Yes Contador had a really hard time (why else would he drop from the second group?) As I posted earlier he failed massively

 

[cineteq]

And in the other corner we have the Nibali fans, who are so overconfident they cannot be taken seriously.

I happen to be a cycling fan, and yes I am a Nibali fan too. And guess what, I'm a Contador fan too. Happy he won La Vuelta. Of course, you look away when I praise him.

 

[LaFlorecita]

I happen to be a cycling fan, and yes I am a Nibali fan too. And guess what, I'm a Contador fan too. Happy he won La Vuelta. Of course, you look away when I praise him.

I don't look away, I just can't take anything you post seriously anymore.

 

[The fridge in the blue trees]

I would take that as a compliment cineteq.

 

[LaFlorecita]

I would take that as a compliment cineteq.

I take it you haven't read Kwibus' latest posts

 

[The fridge in the blue trees]

Of course I read it. And disagree. Somebody who repeatedly insults riders, calling them hyenas is not decent. And becomes a hypocrite the moment she then starts crying and whining when others call her a hyena. "Unacceptable, unacceptable!"

 

[LaFlorecita]

Of course I read it. And disagree. Somebody who repeatedly insults riders, calling them hyenas is not decent. And becomes a hypocrite the moment she then starts crying and whining when others call her a hyena. "Unacceptable, unacceptable!"

Ah, that was you. Thanks for reminding me, now I know I should just ignore you.

 

[The fridge in the blue trees]

Ah, that was you. Thanks for reminding me, now I know I should just ignore you.

Or stop insulting riders maybe?

 

[Netserk]

Why? Is it against the rules? Nope.

Unlike insulting other members here...

 

[BigMac]

Why? Is it against the rules? Nope.

Unlike insulting other members here...

Does it have to be explicit in the rules, though? One would think, particularly in a cycling forum, that insulting riders - a rather common practice in this parts - is not right. How is it no worse than joking about a crash (which is readily reprehensible)?

 

[The Hitch]

Does it have to be explicit in the rules, though? One would think, particularly in a cycling forum, that insulting riders - a rather common practice in this parts - is not right. How is it no worse than joking about a crash (which is readily reprehensible)?

Becuase they aren't here to hear it so who gives a ****. Same reason its ok for someone to make jokes about their mother in law when they are amongst friends but not so much when they are in her presence.

 

[Angliru]

There is WAY too many people on this forum that care more about Contador than Cycling. They pollute every single thread they can possibly squeeze his name into. Best Cyclist of all time? CONTADOR!!!! Best ride of all time? CONTADOR!!! Best tyres for riding in the wet? CONTADOR!!!. It like trying to have a conversation with a bunch of children screaming over you. And I actually like the guy, he's pretty awesome, but his fans? oh my god....

Where can I get a pair of those Contador tires? I took a fall on wet pavement last year and they would've come in handy.

 

[BigMac]

Becuase they aren't here to hear it so who gives a ****. Same reason its ok for someone to make jokes about their mother in law when they are amongst friends but not so much when they are in her presence.

The last time I looked, the predominant kind of language on a forum is not either familiar or jargon, so I don't see how these two are comparable. And I don't avoid speaking ill of someone just because they are around or vice versa. Do you mean, then, that we should be allowed to joke about crashes, since riders are not around to feel offended?

 

[The Hitch]

The last time I looked, the predominant kind of language on a forum is not either familiar or jargon, so I don't see how these two are comparable. And I don't avoid speaking ill of someone just because they are around or vice versa. Do you mean, then, that we should be allowed to joke about crashes, since riders are not around to feel offended?

Joking about crashes is as far as I recall, allowed, or at least I remember plenty of jokes on Menchov and Schleck and Soler and others and their fondness for crashing. Those are jokes about crashing. No one ever got banned for calling Menchov "The Pope".

A certain type of celebratory attitude to crashes that cause bad injuries perhaps not (again plenty of people laughed at crashes by Menchov or Gesink that didn't cause injuries, so). Not because you are insulting the rider but because its considered bad taste by most to celebrate other people's pain and considered off topic to have those discussions.

 

[Afrank]

Does it have to be explicit in the rules, though? One would think, particularly in a cycling forum, that insulting riders - a rather common practice in this parts - is not right. How is it no worse than joking about a crash (which is readily reprehensible)?

Yes, it does.

Riders are public figures and by being public figures they open up the doors to all manners of criticism or insult (speaking not specifically about this forum but just in general about what happens when someone puts themselves in the public eye). In the same way it wouldn't be against the rules to insult or make fun of some celebrity, it's not, to a degree, against the rules to do so to a rider. Because both are figures in the public eye.

My personal opinion about joking about a crash is that it is very distasteful and not something that should be allowed on the forums. For example what if the rider in a crash ended up seriously injured or worse, dies? And you were the guy on the forum that laughed at it? No, I don't think we need that. This is one of those exceptions to the rules or even one place where an insult or making fun of a rider goes too far.

 

[damian13ster]

Its kind of sad how people forget about normal decency and personal culture. Thinking its somehow okay to insult anybody just because they are around, and them achieving something (or gaining popularity in any other way) somehow justifies throwing **** at them.

Keep it classy people, keep it classy.

 

[happytramp]

And in the other corner we have the Nibali fans, who are so overconfident they cannot be taken seriously.

Actually, i'd say it's the other way around. Contador fans are over confident, while Nibali's are annoyingly insecure. I prefer Nibali myself but I don't think he's as good a cyclist as Contador.

 

[LaFlorecita]

Actually, i'd say it's the other way around. Contador fans are over confident, while Nibali's are annoyingly insecure. I prefer Nibali myself but I don't think he's as good a cyclist as Contador.

hmm, that could also be true, I am not sure what Nibali fanbois are, I just know they're annoying but I am not really overconfident when it comes to Alberto, I actually tend to underestimate him

 

[BigMac]

Joking about crashes is as far as I recall, allowed, or at least I remember plenty of jokes on Menchov and Schleck and Soler and others and their fondness for crashing. Those are jokes about crashing. No one ever got banned for calling Menchov "The Pope".

A certain type of celebratory attitude to crashes that cause bad injuries perhaps not (again plenty of people laughed at crashes by Menchov or Gesink that didn't cause injuries, so). Not because you are insulting the rider but because its considered bad taste by most to celebrate other people's pain and considered off topic to have those discussions.

Joke about a crash, with a celebratory attitide or not, and you will have your comment deleted. I have no problem with it, it's the loose and arbitrary criteria I don't agree with it.

Yes, it does.

Riders are public figures and by being public figures they open up the doors to all manners of criticism or insult (speaking not specifically about this forum but just in general about what happens when someone puts themselves in the public eye). In the same way it wouldn't be against the rules to insult or make fun of some celebrity, it's not, to a degree, against the rules to do so to a rider. Because both are figures in the public eye.

My personal opinion about joking about a crash is that it is very distasteful and not something that should be allowed on the forums. For example what if the rider in a crash ended up seriously injured or worse, dies? And you were the guy on the forum that laughed at it? No, I don't think we need that. This is one of those exceptions to the rules or even one place where an insult or making fun of a rider goes too far.

They are people before that, and the main characters of the sport - and of this forum as well. By blatantly saying it is alright to insult riders, you're encouraging it, as it's observable in the amount of insults distributed for free in various comments throughout the boards. And I don't agree that somehow being a public figure makes one lose their most basic and trivial rights. If we can agree that insulting is wrong in itself, we must not cherry pick and make it acceptable when applied to a certain group. A matter of civility and of respect even to simple forum members who distaste, just like you do with joking about crashes, coming here and having to read through paragraphs of tosh, abuse and offence. Critisize alright. My opinion for those who care about it.

Cheers. Perhaps this should be moved.

 

[pigoonse]

Westra and Fuglsang definately were very strong, but do keep in mind that Contador never put his nose in the wind the entire stage and. Nibali certainly put his nose in the wind.
In fact most GC contenders never put their noses in the wind and were sitting in the wheels of domestiques during the entire stage. Of what I remember Porte did some racing near the end after he stuck to Thomas wheel for a wheel to take some extra time on most the other GC men.

So this only confirms that Nibali was by far the strongest of the GC men on the cobbles and he would more likely have taken even more time if there were no domestiques, ofcourse that's not part cycling and completely irrelevant.

Actually after analysing this I only respect Nibalis performance during this stage more then I did before.

P.s. I also was yelling at Contador to move forward at that time, but in hindsight I feel like he simply had a really hard time during this stage.

I remember watching and being frustrated that Nibs was going to pay heavily wearing himself out by moving to the front as often as he did, aggressively passing so many riders, and not waiting for a teammate to help him. In the end, he really was assisted by Fuglsang, but yeah Nibali riding so well on cobbles was a revelation to me.

Kwibus, thanks for your reply a couple pages back. The only point I think we might disagree about is how often cobbles be included. I think you voted for cobbles every few years and I voted for every year My reason for wanting them included every yr. is that they add more interest to a GT and imo the cobbles are a relevant skill test like an itt or mountain top finish, ect. (but my opinions are subject to change, since I am relatively new at following pro cycling)

I was also yelling at Contador to go for it, and get moving...especially when he began to get over 2 minutes down to the Nibs group.

Also was not happy to see Froome abandon the stage. But the cobbles cannot really be blamed for the abandonment of Froome. Had both Contador and Nibali had to abandon stage 5 and Froome remained, I do have to wonder how interested in TdF 2014 I would have been. Thus, I have to empathize and give slack to anti-Nibs posters resenting Nibali's great performance on stage 5.

 

[Kwibus]

I remember watching and being frustrated that Nibs was going to pay heavily wearing himself out by moving to the front as often as he did, aggressively passing so many riders, and not waiting for a teammate to help him. In the end, he really was assisted by Fuglsang, but yeah Nibali riding so well on cobbles was a revelation to me.

Kwibus, thanks for your reply a couple pages back. The only point I think we might disagree about is how often cobbles be included. I think you voted for cobbles every few years and I voted for every year My reason for wanting them included every yr. is that they add more interest to a GT and imo the cobbles are a relevant skill test like an itt or mountain top finish, ect. (but my opinions are subject to change, since I am relatively new at following pro cycling)

I was also yelling at Contador to go for it, and get moving...especially when he began to get over 2 minutes down to the Nibs group.

Also was not happy to see Froome abandon the stage. But the cobbles cannot really be blamed for the abandonment of Froome. Had both Contador and Nibali had to abandon stage 5 and Froome remained, I do have to wonder how interested in TdF 2014 I would have been. Thus, I have to empathize and give slack to anti-Nibs posters resenting Nibali's great performance on stage 5.

Atleast you are honest about it (last part)
I'm all for cobbles when they are in northern france, but they shouldn't themself up there every year just for the cobbles. That's the reason for my vote.

It was a great stage, that's for sure so that's plenty of reason to stop ignoring the cobbles and i'm glad that Prudhomme noticed that.

 

[happytramp]

I think most (non-biased) cycling fans love it when things don't go according to plan. It always makes the most memorable races. The Cobbles this year, Saxo drilling it in the crosswinds last year, Talanksy/Contador/Froome in the Dauphine too. I think a cobbles stage, and a couple of Classics style stages early on can really spice up the (sometimes boring) early days of a GT.

 

[RedheadDane]

Just a bit of a thought I just had.

In a way cobbles can be compared to some of the bigger mountains. They should be used from time to time, sometimes even two years in a row - like this year and next year - but not every year, just like you wouldn't put Alpe d'Huez on the route every year.

 

[gunara]

To me it's either regularly (every year or every even year) or never at all.
Just to minimize the chance of the winner being asterisked, "other contenders lost time on cobble" or something like that. I like stage races to have strong characteristics, great stage variety from year to year but with certain format and less randomness.