Freire: tour is the most boring race of the year

[Kwibus]

If I were him then I'd totally agree. He won pretty much everything that he could win. In the TDF he's unlikely to impress, because his topspeed isn't good enough for the TDF bunchsprints anymore.

It's not like he's young anymore and wants to ride the Tour just to be riding the Tour. He's done that plenty of times.

So if you look at it from his point of view the TdF most certainly is boring. Actually from the point of view of a lot of people the Tour is rather boring and I agree that the 1 day races are a lot more interesting usually.

Still I think the Tour is fun, because the one that wins the Tour is the absolute best GT rider out there. It's very prestigious and the level is very high.

 

[Libertine Seguros]

Freire, throughout his career, has been a whimsical, perhaps enigmatic character.

As has been pointed out, he has Tour stages, he has a green jersey, and the race doesn't include any sprint stages challenging enough for him to really capitalise, so he has nothing to gain from being at the Tour.

But ultimately, he's right. The flat stages are too long for breakaways to be fresh enough to be a threat, not given enough of a leash due to the high tensions and high average speed in comparison to the Giro and Vuelta, and the stages are too short for the relatively insignificant obstacles that those stages throw our way to be the challenge that they could be.

Put the Poggio ahead of a San Remo finish after 160km of racing, and it's a péloton sprint every time. Put it ahead of a San Remo finish after 290km of racing, and people drop all over the place.

The problem with the Tour is that everybody knows that that is the #1 time when the world's eyes are on cycling. It's too important to teams and sponsors to risk something unpredictable happening. When was the last time you saw a team stick men on the front to reel in the break because men in the break threatened their 10th position on the GC outside of the Tour?

At the intermediate sprints in the Tour, from the first 6 days, not one break had been allowed to gain more than 3'30" on the péloton. But they'd leave them hanging there for hours so as to dissuade other attacks. Chris Boardman tweeted that he went to sleep, woke up an hour later and the exact same situation was unfolding in front of him. The time gap to the break hadn't even changed.

The Tour is formulaic, and very often boring. The few items of excitement it produces are disproportionately exciting for what they are because of how important they are, but that's part of what makes the Tour what it is, the incredible spectacle of it. An attack to gain ten seconds in the last few hundred metres of a mountain climbed en masse would be nothing to write home about in the Dauphiné, Paris-Nice, Castilla y León or Trentino. But in the Tour, this is a big thing because the race is so important that those 10 seconds could be vital.

 

[El Oso]

Fail post... try again...



LOL? Maybe a guy called Alejet sounds to you??? He won la maillot vert last year you know? He was 36yo last year


What was exciting from last year's TDF? besides:
1. Vino hammering 1min against the c0cky c0ck going at 100%
2. Mende
3. Vino winning in Revel...
4. See HWHHWJHKG failing again and again...
5. Alejet sprinting style and winning
6. Samu hammering 40secs in a descent
7. Dani Navarro pwning the peloton when He was on the front...
8. The last ITT
What else?

That in 21 stages of the most prestigious cycling race in the world? that sounds like a big fail to me...

I'd add Barredo's wheel fight and Renshaw's headbutt Those were fun to watch

 

[Descender]

I suppose your talking 'bout Nicolas Roche. When did he use the Tour as a prep for Vuelta? Last year certainly not.

He's talking about Stephen Roche.

 

[Escarabajo]

Pero las uvas estaban verdes.

http://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/La_zorra_y_las_uvas

http://www.une.edu.ve/kids/cuentos/fabulas/zorra_uvas.htm

Freire y las Uvas.

 

[Magnus]

He's talking about Stephen Roche.

I thought Stephen Roche stopped his career before '95?

 

[Mambo95]

He's talking about Stephen Roche.

I doubt he was. In Roche Snr's day, the Vuelta was in April.

 

[Cobblestoned]

Ah, Oscarito is just upset because some young or faster guys keep on kicking his a*** in sprints and team goes full GC. He should go to Milram now or talk to Zabel.
He got old, slower and somehow he is now Mr.Unpredictableonehitter.
Le Tour will live forever and I even enjoy "boring" stages won my Alberto and Cavendish.
But I would give Oscar a spot anyway, since he is able to sprint into Top10 on his own - if he choses to content in the sprint.

Vuelta is by far the most boring GT, because you don't even have an alternative when there is another boring stage.
You can't watch landscape and scenery, cause its the stagerace of Autobahn and Steppe, while Spain is having siesta and people don't even notice most of the time, that there is actually a bikerace going on, called Vuelta.

 

[M Sport]

Freire has today announced that he will not be riding the your de France as the team wants to give everything for the GC of Gesink. But more fun are his other statements about the tour:

That is one hell of a fragile basket to put all your eggs into. What's the back up plan?

 

[theyoungest]

That is one hell of a fragile basket to put all your eggs into. What's the back up plan?

There's also Luis Leon, Mollema, Barredo, Boom... to pick up a stage win or a decent GC. Let's hope they get some freedom with or without Gesink, because to build an entire team around a possible top-5 is just lame.

 

[Mellow Velo]

There's also Luis Leon, Mollema, Barredo, Boom... to pick up a stage win or a decent GC. Let's hope they get some freedom with or without Gesink, because to build an entire team around a possible top-5 is just lame.

+1
Unfortunately, a common practice for tour teams of late. Some people blame the defensive riding that accompanies this "ambition" for making the Tour dull.
Riding for 6th or 7th ain't pretty.

 

[Sasquatch]

Fail post... try again...



LOL? Maybe a guy called Alejet sounds to you??? He won la maillot vert last year you know? He was 36yo last year


What was exciting from last year's TDF? besides:
1. Vino hammering 1min against the c0cky c0ck going at 100%
2. Mende
3. Vino winning in Revel...
4. See HWHHWJHKG failing again and again...
5. Alejet sprinting style and winning
6. Samu hammering 40secs in a descent
7. Dani Navarro pwning the peloton when He was on the front...
8. The last ITT
What else?

That in 21 stages of the most prestigious cycling race in the world? that sounds like a big fail to me...

Best moment of the Tour de France last year was seeing Evans cry and his dreams shattered.

 

[Sasquatch]

That is one hell of a fragile basket to put all your eggs into. What's the back up plan?

They have riders such as Garate and Sanchez who can win a stage.

 

[hrotha]

+1
Unfortunately, a common practice for tour teams of late. Some people blame the defensive riding that accompanies this "ambition" for making the Tour dull.
Riding for 6th or 7th ain't pretty.

I think Gesink can aim at least for a podium spot.

 

[Astana1]

Best moment of the Tour de France last year was seeing Evans cry and his dreams shattered.

Agreed. Did his wife blog about it?

 

[Astana1]

Every year I seem to care less and less about the Tour and more about the classics. I think it has less to do with the Tour being boring and more to do with the riders who are likely to win. I just don't like Schleck, Clenbutador, Basso and Co. They all seem like weasels to me for some reason.

The sprint stages are far more interesting to me. And I think any Grand Tour without a TTT is incomplete.

 

[Dekker_Tifosi]

+1
Unfortunately, a common practice for tour teams of late. Some people blame the defensive riding that accompanies this "ambition" for making the Tour dull.
Riding for 6th or 7th ain't pretty.

The thing is, Rabo's ambition is not top 5.

They seriously believe that Gesink can win the Tour. This year

 

[theyoungest]

The thing is, Rabo's ambition is not top 5.

They seriously believe that Gesink can win the Tour. This year

Of course, you have to give confidence to your leader. Lotto also believe that VDB can win the Tour.

 

[Mellow Velo]

The thing is, Rabo's ambition is not top 5.

They seriously believe that Gesink can win the Tour. This year

The trouble is with being Rabo-centric, is that one tends to read comments with them in mind.
Hrotha has it wrong as well.
My comment was in response to theyoungest's final sentence, which appeared to be a general criticism of teams settling for 5th-10th spot in the Tour.
This does appear to have a negative impact of the way in which many teams have approached the Tour over the years.

Anyhow, no worries.

FWIW, I see RG has having a definite shot at the podium.
Let's hope he rides to win it, rather than adopt the approach outlined above.

 

[movingtarget]

Best moment of the Tour de France last year was seeing Evans cry and his dreams shattered.

I disagree. The best moment was Cancellara's look of disgust at the end of the neutralised stage when some riders rode ahead of the bunch, contrary to his instructions. A look that seems familiar over the past week or so. That plus Contador's look of utter relief after the final time trial when he realised that he almost blew it.

 

[Timmy-loves-Rabo]

The trouble is with being Rabo-centric, is that one tends to read comments with them in mind.
Hrotha has it wrong as well.
My comment was in response to theyoungest's final sentence, which appeared to be a general criticism of teams settling for 5th-10th spot in the Tour.
This does appear to have a negative impact of the way in which many teams have approached the Tour over the years.

Anyhow, no worries.

FWIW, I see RG has having a definite shot at the podium.
Let's hope he rides to win it, rather than adopt the approach outlined above.

Bobby G I assume will go for the win, he has always gone for it.

I have no issues with a team being based around one rider, but I don't like some of the other guys not getting a go on a stage or two.
Would be a shame if the Boom's and LLS don't get some chance to shine.
And yeah maybe Mollema or LLS should get a free role also. But I'm sure on the crucial stages it will be all for Gesink.

 

[Mambo95]

I disagree. The best moment was Cancellara's look of disgust at the end of the neutralised stage when some riders rode ahead of the bunch, contrary to his instructions. A look that seems familiar over the past week or so.

And one of those riders was Hushovd. Fabian needs to decide whether he wants Thor behind him or in front of him

 

[theyoungest]

Another interesting tidbit from the Freire interview:

Sometimes I think that if I had Robert Gesink's legs, I'd have won the Tour already. He doesn't yet ride as smart as me.

 

[luckyboy]

There's also Luis Leon, Mollema, Barredo, Boom... to pick up a stage win or a decent GC. Let's hope they get some freedom with or without Gesink, because to build an entire team around a possible top-5 is just lame.

They will be going for the podium at least, and that is where I can see Gesink ending up.

Can't wait to see where his climbing is in whatever race he does in June (Dauphine, Suisse etc.)

 

[hfer07]

Let's say he's absolutely right-but in his own terms: He's had accomplished what a rider of his kind wants out of the Tour- and now that he's older, he finds no real justification to be part of it anymore-even with his personal record telling him otherwise.
His description is accurate on the predictability of the TDF winners-so that's why IL GIRO & LA VUELTA are far more exiting & therefore riders of all kinds have far more chances to success & create a different atmosphere.