Figueira Champions Classic - Casino Figueira 2026 (Feb 14)

[tobydawq]

Ive never seen Red enjoy a race no matter what but Ive only been here 2 years soon what is that. Good guy tho

He said he liked how Yates won the Giro on the Finestre stage.

Later, he of course said that it was a terrible Grand Tour.

 

[Netserk]

picnic ends up only scoring 6 uci points. auch

 

[Red Rick]

Everybody else: Nice racing, good to see a race where it's unpredictable down to the wire, exciting riders going for the win!

Red Rick:

Rider magically turning into negative IQ riders when racing against UAE is a plotline even the writers of Game of Thrones would consider lazy

 

[Red Rick]

He said he liked how Yates won the Giro on the Finestre stage.

Later, he of course said that it was a terrible Grand Tour.

Best stage of the year, terrible Giro.

Where is the contradiction, assuming we judge the Giro d'Italia as a race of 21 stages in 23 days?

 

[KoopaCycling]

Rider magically turning into negative IQ riders when racing against UAE is a plotline even the writers of Game of Thrones would consider lazy

Aside from going to early, he rode well enough (aranburu). Nothing would have been lazy enough for D&D.

 

[tobydawq]

Best stage of the year, terrible Giro.

Where is the contradiction, assuming we judge the Giro d'Italia as a race of 21 stages in 23 days?

There were lots of great stages in that Giro, and we had a GC battle with constant twists and turns and a huge climax. It was just a great race overall even if, sadly, Roglic was unlucky.

 

[KoopaCycling]

There were lots of great stages in that Giro, and we had a GC battle with constant twists and turns and a huge climax. It was just a great race overall even if, sadly, Roglic was unlucky.

Well the other GT's last year were over before they began so.. easily GT of the year 2025

 

[Cycling111]

Rider magically turning into negative IQ riders when racing against UAE is a plotline even the writers of Game of Thrones would consider lazy

It's curious, because that stage of the Giro happens because of that negative IQ problem you mentioned.

 

[James M]

I want to see McNulty's power numbers from the last 50k. Dude just kept riding till the finish, insane.

Was in the early break from 50km which eventually got caught. Then as they were caught, he re launch the new break from the peloton again, pulled that group on his own to 6 km to go, and still rode to 6place madness.

Unselfish ride and incredibly strong. Easily MVP of the day, and the numbers must have been insane for sure.

 

[James M]

Also great ride by Widar this one gotte say.

 

[KoopaCycling]

Was in the early break from 50km which eventually got caught. Then as they were caught, he re launch the new break from the peloton again, pulled that group on his own to 6 km to go, and still rode to 6place madness.

Unselfish ride and incredibly strong. Easily MVP of the day, and the numbers must have been insane for sure.

Yes, perhaps McNulty has grown over the years, or Pogacar gift did wonders. Or was it just my imagination McNulty was a somewhat selfish rider in years gone by

 

[tobydawq]

Well the other GT's last year were over before they began so.. easily GT of the year 2025

I honestly think it's the second best Grand Tour of the decade so far. At least top 4.

 

[Cycling111]

I honestly think it's the second best Grand Tour of the decade so far. At least top 4.

I think you're overrating this Giro because it was simply better than the previous years; that wasn't difficult.

 

[Netserk]

I honestly think it's the second best Grand Tour of the decade so far. At least top 4.

tour22
tour23
vuelta24
giro25
tour24
vuelta21
tour25
giro21
tour21
vuelta23
vuelta22
giro24
giro22
giro23
vuelta25

give or take

 

[tobydawq]

I think you're overrating this Giro because it was simply better than the previous years; that wasn't difficult.

I'm well capable of assessing the quality of a Grand Tour without commiting that error, thank you.

 

[tobydawq]

tour22
tour23
vuelta24
giro25
tour24
vuelta21
tour25
giro21
tour21
vuelta23
vuelta22
giro24
giro22
giro23
vuelta25

give or take

We have to include the 2020 races due to the game we played several years ago with the 2010-19 GTs, and then the 2020 Giro would also be up there. But yeah, the top four looks a lot like I was thinking too. I would not place the 2024 Vuelta above the 2025 Giro, though.

 

[Cycling111]

Cofidis won last week

Morgado's desire to win the race was evident given he did almost the entire last part at the front

Desperation to win a race isn't the same as anxiety

Well, you haven't seen Morgado's career to say that.
He wasn't nervous even when he was a junior. He was a guy who didn't seem like a junior in many ways; his lack of nervousness was one of them.

I didn't remember the Cofidis victory (Morgado also won this seaosn ) but Cofidis need for wins is bigger.

 

[tobydawq]

Cofidis won last week

Morgado's desire to win the race was evident given he did almost the entire last part at the front

Desperation to win a race isn't the same as anxiety

He even smiled when he won!

 

[Cycling111]

I'm well capable of assessing the quality of a Grand Tour without commiting that error, thank you.

Well, you are superior to the average human in controlling that feeling, because there's nothing more human than overvaluing something after a bad experience.

It happens to me, like most people.

I didn't expect you'd take the comment the wrong way.
The Giro is in such a decline that this feeling is normal. It might not be your case, but I think most people feel that way.

And in some cases, I think the fact that the stars weren't there contributed to it.

I think this is the only sport where I see certain fans saying they don't want to see the best compete each other.
At the last Australian Open, everyone wanted that Alcaraz vs. Djokovic , instead of two lower-level players match although could have been entertaining.

 

[tobydawq]

Well, you are superior to the average human

I'll take it.

But I would like to see some arguments against the '25 Giro other than 'I'm a Roglic fan' and 'you must only be comparing it to the last three Giri which all sucked dirt'.

 

[Squire]

I'll take it.

But I would like to see some arguments against the '25 Giro other than 'I'm a Roglic fan' and 'you must only be comparing it to the last three Giri which all sucked dirt'.

I can give you some.

It had two weeks of nothing except losing the two strongest riders (and Landa ) and a good sterrato stage. No proper mountains until stage 16. Final result felt a bit unsatisfactory considering the first point despite the nice Yates fairytale. A decent GT with some great stages, but not without negatives. Bit like a Temu version of the TDF 2011. Haven't really thought about a ranking of the 2020s GTs, so I don't know where I'd rank it, but if that's the 3rd best, we must have had an awful decade for GTs so far (which actually is the case, but still).

Hopefully this extremely off-topic talk doesn't hurt now that the Figueira race is over.

 

[Cycling111]

I'll take it.

But I would like to see some arguments against the '25 Giro other than 'I'm a Roglic fan' and 'you must only be comparing it to the last three Giri which all sucked dirt'.

I mentioned previous Giros, not just Roglic's. I like Pogacar, and "in the last Giros", are included his Giro, Hindley's, and others.

You're ranking it as the second-best GT in years.

For me, all the Tour de France races in recent years have been infinitely superior.

A competition between the best in the world is always a better competition. As I said before, cycling is the only sport where some people have the opposite perception. However entertaining is a match between the 11th and 12th-ranked players in tennis ATP might be, it's not superior to a match between Alcaraz and Sinner, or Nadal and Federer.

Besides, these haven't been Froome's Tours with few attacks. They've been full of attacks, and the level of competition in them is impossible to find in a other two GT. Last Giro with a rider Visma signed in decline to be a domestique (Visma offered Jorgenson the team lead) and a Carapaz who in 2023 was looking for breakaways.

For me, the level is important, and for the fans of 99% of other sports. But also, these have been Tours with attacks, not Sky's Tour.

 

[tobydawq]

I can give you some.

It had two weeks of nothing except losing the two strongest riders (and Landa ) and a good sterrato stage. No proper mountains until stage 16. Final result felt a bit unsatisfactory considering the first point despite the nice Yates fairytale. A decent GT with some great stages, but not without negatives. Bit like a Temu version of the TDF 2011. Haven't really thought about a ranking of the 2020s GTs, so I don't know where I'd rank it, but if that's the 3rd best, we must have had an awful decade for GTs so far (which actually is the case, but still).

Hopefully this extremely off-topic talk doesn't hurt now that the Figueira race is over.

Stage 11 wasn't bad either (apart from the camerawork) - even Peyresourde's ranking shows what a crazy attack Carapaz delivered that day.

 

[Squire]

A competition between the best in the world is always a better competition. As I said before, cycling is the only sport where some people have the opposite perception. However entertaining is a match between the 11th and 12th-ranked players in tennis ATP might be, it's not superior to a match between Alcaraz and Sinner, or Nadal and Federer.

The difference is that in most other sports you're not wasting two hours (or 21 days) watching a foregone conclusion with zero suspense. It's not comparable to tennis at all. I'd take the 2020 Giro anyday over 2024, and 100/100 times I'd watch Tiller vs Berckmoes in the Brussels Cycling Classic than watch the 15th Pogacar solo of the year. I think your 'everybody wants to watch the best in the world' perception is a lot less prevalent in cycling than you seem to think.

 

[Netserk]

The difference is that in most other sports you're not wasting two hours (or 21 days) watching a foregone conclusion with zero suspense. It's not comparable to tennis at all. I'd take the 2020 Giro anyday over 2024, and 100/100 times I'd watch Tiller vs Berckmoes in the Brussels Cycling Classic than watch the 15th Pogacar solo of the year. I think your 'everybody wants to watch the best in the world' perception is a lot less prevalent in cycling than you seem to think.

yep

The race actually got better TV ratings that last year's in Italy and apparently also the best ratings in 10 years on German Eurosport, showing that the Pogacar isn't that big of a draw as cycling media wants us to believe...