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Effects of coronavirus on professional races

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hayneplane

Sep 4, 2017
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The Olympics is the pinnacle for the vast majority of sports featuring in the games.

If they have to then I think 99% of competitors will do whatever is required of them to be able to enter.

A cyclist can target the Tour every year and will likely get several chances of routes that suit them but only one or two Olympic road race parcours that allow them a big shot at Gold.
 
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yaco

Jun 20, 2015
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hayneplane said:
The Olympics is the pinnacle for the vast majority of sports featuring in the games.

If they have to then I think 99% of competitors will do whatever is required of them to be able to enter.

A cyclist can target the Tour every year and will likely get several chances of routes that suit them but only one or two Olympic road race parcours that allow them a big shot at Gold.
Click to expand...

I agree it is underestimated how much cyclists value the Olympics BUT there is no way they'll miss the TDF if it's already a target - Anyway, you can't run an Olympic Games if athletes have to quarantine for 14 days - It doesn't work.
 
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search

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I can't see another way to do it - only think you could argue about is reducing the duration to a week or so. Most competitors in the Olympics aren't even "real" professional athletes, those cyclists coming directly from a bubble are a rare exception - and even in there you have those entries from Azerbaijan, Burkina Faso, or wherever, and treating them differently just because they don't do the Tour would not be fair either.
 
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Sciatic

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It’s also possible that a number of riders will have received the vaccine by then, though it will vary by country. And perhaps the idea suggested upthread about doing a chartered flight of Tour riders/coaches going to Japan could work, though the UCI would probably have to organize it with national teams footing the bill?
 
TourOfSardinia

TourOfSardinia

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No Sagan, Viviani, Ganna or Froome at Vuelta San Juan
due to Covid travel risks.
That's what gazzetta is reporting in italiano
www.gazzetta.it

Ciclismo, Froome nuova vita con Israel, ma niente debutto in Argentina

Il 35enne britannico andrà all’inseguimento dello storico quinto Tour, intanto l’esordio slitta
www.gazzetta.it www.gazzetta.it
[Froome's] debut is postponed: it should have been in January, from 24 to 31 at the Vuelta San Juan in Argentina, but soon the official news will arrive that due to the health emergency in any case the big Europeans (Sagan, Viviani, Ganna as well to Chris) will not be at the start with their teams or with the national teams.
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Sciatic

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Salvarani

Oct 15, 2017
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hayneplane said:
The Olympics is the pinnacle for the vast majority of sports featuring in the games.

If they have to then I think 99% of competitors will do whatever is required of them to be able to enter.

A cyclist can target the Tour every year and will likely get several chances of routes that suit them but only one or two Olympic road race parcours that allow them a big shot at Gold.
Click to expand...

An olympic gold medal is probably the biggest you can win as an athlete. Thats glory for eternity. I feel like people, in a lot of countries, would care and remember that more than anything else. At least where I come from, it is like that.
 
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BlueRoads

BlueRoads

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Salvarani said:
An olympic gold medal is probably the biggest you can win as an athlete. Thats glory for eternity. I feel like people, in a lot of countries, would care and remember that more than anything else. At least where I come from, it is like that.
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That's right for many kinds of sports, but for cyclists I'm sure everyone would rather win the Tour de France than Olympic Gold, even if there is a Tour every year. If you win Olympic Gold, that's just one medal among so many which are given in those weeks. Also, because it's just one day, a win will always be a bit more random than a Tour win. If, however, you think you will win the Tour one day anyway (like Evenepoel, probably) or that you will never win the Tour because you are no way a GT GC rider, Olympic Gold should be very high on your list of goals.
 
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Salvarani

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BlueRoads said:
That's right for many kinds of sports, but for cyclists I'm sure everyone would rather win the Tour de France than Olympic Gold, even if there is a Tour every year. If you win Olympic Gold, that's just one medal among so many which are given in those weeks. Also, because it's just one day, a win will always be a bit more random than a Tour win. If, however, you think you will win the Tour one day anyway (like Evenepoel, probably) or that you will never win the Tour because you are no way a GT GC rider, Olympic Gold should be very high on your list of goals.
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Netserk said:
Ullrich is better remembered for being the (losing) prime opponent to Armstrong than his Olympic gold.
Click to expand...

A cyclist or a cyclist fan will probably value a GT more, than an Olympic gold. Not what I was saying though. I think yall missed the point of what I was saying.

I was just saying winning an Olympic gold is huge in many countries. No matter what sport it is. It is a lot of exposure when you win something like that, with people who probably never watches that sport. A whole nation celebrating or talking about it. The impact and the achievement open many more doors in the future for the person. You can ride on that wave long after your career. In many countries they would say that first, when describing someones achievements.

Cycling is an old sport with many prestigious races to win. For people following the sport closely, the Olympics might feel a bit underwhelming. I feel like a lot of people (most) dont hold that win as high as a big classics win or GT. Im on your side of that. There are other sports where you would probably value other things higher, so I know what you are saying. Like the WC in football for example. Instead of the Olympic gold in football.

I think you have to look at it from a different perspective though, and more to what it means in the grand scheme of things to be viewed as an Olympian champion. Hence, it is not a bad thing to target or really try to win it. For the glory. As one probably only get 1-2 chances, if that, during their career. Unless you are fortunate and gets more chances at it.

Edit: And Im also sure it is different how much an Olympic Gold means to everyone in many countries.
 
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Koronin

Koronin

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Sciatic said:
It’s also possible that a number of riders will have received the vaccine by then, though it will vary by country. And perhaps the idea suggested upthread about doing a chartered flight of Tour riders/coaches going to Japan could work, though the UCI would probably have to organize it with national teams footing the bill?
Click to expand...

I suspect many in western European countries (specifically) will be vaccinated before the Olympics start. As they seem to think they can have at least half their population vaccinated by the end of spring.
 
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Koronin said:
I suspect many in western European countries (specifically) will be vaccinated before the Olympics start. As they seem to think they can have at least half their population vaccinated by the end of spring.
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hopefully, yes, but what exactly that means for the infection risk of those not vaccinated still needs to be found out. Personally, given the scale and importance of the Olympics, I think it's the right way to try to be on the safe side . If there turns out much less a risk come July, and they can be more relaxed about the rules, even better - but you can't plan an event like this based on hopeful thinking
 
Koronin

Koronin

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search said:
hopefully, yes, but what exactly that means for the infection risk of those not vaccinated still needs to be found out. Personally, given the scale and importance of the Olympics, I think it's the right way to try to be on the safe side . If there turns out much less a risk come July, and they can be more relaxed about the rules, even better - but you can't plan an event like this based on hopeful thinking
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I suspect we'll know by the end of January how well their vaccine rollout is going.
 
Escarabajo

Escarabajo

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Olympics is the pinnacle of most sports, but not all sports. Cycling can be one of them IMHO. As a Colombian we value more the Tour de France than the Olympics. So it would be a no brainer to sacrifice the Olympics for the Tour de France. Additionally, the chances for many of the climbers increases with the stages in the Tour. So that would make for an easier decision.
 
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Son of Amsterhammer

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I think the Olympics mean different things to different riders. For some, the idea of winning the road race probably trumps any other accomplishment they can imagine. For others, it probably will feel like an extra WC road race that year, or maybe a monument. It's certainly a big deal, but the fact is, the riders pro teams (and sponsors) are the ones paying them every month and will expect them to represent the team if it makes sense (and miss the Olympics).
 
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Ludwigzgz

Ludwigzgz

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Escarabajo said:
Olympics is the pinnacle of most sports, but not all sports. Cycling can be one of them IMHO. As a Colombian we value more the Tour de France than the Olympics. So it would be a no brainer to sacrifice the Olympics for the Tour de France. Additionally, the chances for many of the climbers increases with the stages in the Tour. So that would make for an easier decision.
Click to expand...

Exactly. For example, no footballer or soccer fan in the world, not a single one, would exchange an Olympic gold for a World Cup.

Even in Japan, everyone would rather win the World Cup than Olympic gold in Tokyo.
 
RedheadDane

RedheadDane

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yaco said:
It appears the UAE Tour is going ahead, so it will be interesting to see how many teams compete in the race - Last two years had a full compliment of WT teams, so doubt much will change in 2021 - Possibly the French teams could miss.
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Given how things went for two-out-of-three French teams last year... but of course, meanwhile the organisators - and UCI - has learned how to deal with a situation like that.
 
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