Grand Tours, a week to far?

[Darryl Webster]

The sport has a long tradition re the GT`s.
They werre began long before any one realy understood the implications on a riders body of such a grueling schedule and by sponsors( newspaper owners) who had zero interest in riders health, all they wanted was the grand spectacle of suffering , in many ways the modern equivalant of the amphitheatre.
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Intimate-Portrait-Tour-France-Masters/dp/0964983508
That that tradition has survived into this century tells us much about our appitite for witnesing great struggle and the overcoming of adversity and we applaud the survivers and the victorious and for that entertainment we are prepared to set asside a certain humanity.
What other sport asks of compettitors to continue with fractures and serious abrations?
What other sport accepts the diminshment of blood values to levals that would have many a GP advising bed rest?
What other sport practicly demands of GC contenders that they slim to BMI levals that are in the realm of anerexia?
Do these things present to our youth a healty ideal of what sport should be?
For the few the rewards are rich pickings, for the rest retirement is a retun to the less than glamerous world of obscurity in ordianery life.
For some thats a tremendously difficult adaptation.
Shorter stages are not and never were the answer..in fact evidence sugests they may even have made the situation worse.
NO other indurance sport demands so much of the body as cycling, no other sport goes on for three weeks.
I dont need to see a 3rd week of suffering to feel I`ve had my pound of flesh and I suspect when we look in our hearts none of us realy do. I watch the riders struggle and it brings tears to my eyes, I know what it is to hurt that much but I thank god I never endured 3 weeks of it.
It`s time for sanity to prevail .

Le Grand Debacle indeed.

 

[Maxiton]

How can you expect someone to read through your post, think about it, and respond thoughtfully if you can't even be bothered to use spellcheck? And it's not "to," it's too. I see this all the time and it's annoying as hell. Didn't we learn the difference in like second grade or something? Don't be lazy.

 

[Anonymous]

How can you expect someone to read through your post, think about it, and respond thoughtfully if you can't even be bothered to use spellcheck? And it's not "to," it's too. I see this all the time and it's annoying as hell. Didn't we learn the difference in like second grade or something? Don't be lazy.

no need for that. Not everyone has english as their first language, not everyone can write or spell properly, people have dislexia, or learning difficulties, or sometimes just find typing a struggle (as i often do), or sometimes just arnt that bright, and a spell check does not know the difference between to and too, might not be typing on a computer with spellcheck. no need to be the grammar police.

 

[Darryl Webster]

How can you expect someone to read through your post, think about it, and respond thoughtfully if you can't even be bothered to use spellcheck? And it's not "to," it's too. I see this all the time and it's annoying as hell. Didn't we learn the difference in like second grade or something? Don't be lazy.

I am dislexic. Its a forum ffs not a spelling or grammer test..is there anything you truly didnt understand?

Ignorant TXt.

 

[Anonymous]

Back to the original point, i think three weeks is fine, two weeks would completelyt change the race too much and turn it into more of an extended paris nice. I dont know why this tour has seen so many injuries, riders not concentrating, whatever, all a bit odd.

 

[hfer07]

The sport has a long tradition re the GT`s.
They werre began long before any one realy understood the implications on a riders body of such a grueling schedule and by sponsors( newspaper owners) who had zero interest in riders health, all they wanted was the grand spectacle of suffering , in many ways the modern equivalant of the amphitheatre.
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Intimate-Portrait-Tour-France-Masters/dp/0964983508
That that tradition has survived into this century tells us much about our appitite for witnesing great struggle and the overcoming of adversity and we applaud the survivers and the victorious and for that entertainment we are prepared to set asside a certain humanity.
What other sport asks of compettitors to continue with fractures and serious abrations?
What other sport accepts the diminshment of blood values to levals that would have many a GP advising bed rest?
What other sport practicly demands of GC contenders that they slim to BMI levals that are in the realm of anerexia?
Do these things present to our youth a healty ideal of what sport should be?
For the few the rewards are rich pickings, for the rest retirement is a retun to the less than glamerous world of obscurity in ordianery life.
For some thats a tremendously difficult adaptation.
Shorter stages are not and never were the answer..in fact evidence sugests they may even have made the situation worse.
NO other indurance sport demands so much of the body as cycling, no other sport goes on for three weeks.
I dont need to see a 3rd week of suffering to feel I`ve had my pound of flesh and I suspect when we look in our hearts none of us realy do. I watch the riders struggle and it brings tears to my eyes, I know what it is to hurt that much but I thank god I never endured 3 weeks of it.
It`s time for sanity to prevail .

Le Grand Debacle indeed.

then don't do it-Pro Cycling has a very exiting 1 week races like Paris-Nice, the Dauphine, the Settimana Lorbarda, etc. just choose the one of your liking

 

[RedheadDane]

Well... Italy, France and Spain are... kinda... big countries... you more-or-less need three weeks to get as much around the countries as possible...

 

[Darryl Webster]

Nice to see issues I commented on being responded to in a thoughtful , considered manner...NOT.

Good job there aint aint Grand Tours of USA, China or Russia eh?....5, 6 weeks each would barely scratch the surface folowing the above "logic"

 

[Darryl Webster]

Nice to see issues I commented on being responded to in a thoughtful , considered manner...NOT.

Good job there aint aint Grand Tours of USA, China or Russia eh?....5, 6 weeks each would barely scratch the surface folowing the above "logic"

 

[Michele]

Wasn't there an UCI proposal 2 or 3 years ago about shortening the GT for give more space to other UCI races?

Anyway no, Im against shortening it.
It's like saying "let's make Sanremo shorter cause it's way too much".

 

[ericthesportsman6]

99% of cycling races aren't three weeks long. And if the pain in cycling really bugs you that much, you should stop watching it and become a golf fan. Three weeks or not, riders are going to suffer in order to win races.

 

[FactChecker]

The sport has a long tradition re the GT`s.
They werre began long before any one realy understood the implications on a riders body of such a grueling schedule and by sponsors( newspaper owners) who had zero interest in riders health, all they wanted was the grand spectacle of suffering , in many ways the modern equivalant of the amphitheatre.

Cry me a river!

I could write an equally heart-felt lament about how modern rugby union goes on for 45 weeks of the year, facing collisions that would break most people every weekend. And they have it soft compared to the rugby league players, who choose an even more body crunching sport (though shorter seasons).

Others could write about how ice hockey players get smashed during a ridiculously long schedule.

The cyclists don't have to ride the tours you know. They choose to! The fight for the privilege rather than avoiding it.

 

[BroDeal]

I say we go to four weeks and let the real men come out on top. Double stage days should also return.

 

[olimpic]

I dont know why this tour has seen so many injuries, riders not concentrating, whatever, all a bit odd.

just a theory, but could some of the crashes be explained because a lot more riders are using 808's and other deep sections rims?

 

[RedheadDane]

Nice to see issues I commented on being responded to in a thoughtful , considered manner...NOT.

Good job there aint aint Grand Tours of USA, China or Russia eh?....5, 6 weeks each would barely scratch the surface folowing the above "logic"

Well... the very idea of GT's started in Europe! Most of Americans don't care about bike-racing. (And most of those who "do" only care about Armstrong and The Schack)

And... large parts of China and Russia are... Wilderness! Wilderness = no roads. No roads = no bikes!

 

[ozymandias]

99% of cycling races aren't three weeks long. And if the pain in cycling really bugs you that much, you should stop watching it and become a golf fan. Three weeks or not, riders are going to suffer in order to win races.

All that walking is pretty grueling. It's time they allowed the players to use carts, or at least shorten it to 12 holes.

 

[ozymandias]

Cry me a river!

I could write an equally heart-felt lament about how modern rugby union goes on for 45 weeks of the year, facing collisions that would break most people every weekend. And they have it soft compared to the rugby league players, who choose an even more body crunching sport (though shorter seasons).

Others could write about how ice hockey players get smashed during a ridiculously long schedule.

The cyclists don't have to ride the tours you know. They choose to! The fight for the privilege rather than avoiding it.

Not to mention that the life expectancy of an NFL player is 55 years:
http://www.sptimes.com/2006/01/29/Sports/A_huge_problem.shtml

 

[Darryl Webster]

Oh dear, I love the contradiction of the moral standpoint some take.


Go`s somat like this :We dispise the dopers and were concerned for riders health or /and distortion of the result.
What were more than happy to see is riders suffering like dogs so sod the debate about the demands of a 3rd week tour and the very real possibilty there it`s very unhealthy.

Thats a great messege to our youth aint it...the spectacle of sport is more important than health. The more you suffer the more we`l applaud.

Probably take a death, in Tommy Simpson style, to re aveluate such attitudes.
That other sports demands are great and some might consider greater tottaly miss`s the point.

 

[Archibald]

Oh dear, I love the contradiction of the moral standpoint some take.


Go`s somat like this :We dispise the dopers and were concerned for riders health or /and distortion of the result.
What were more than happy to see is riders suffering like dogs so sod the debate about the demands of a 3rd week tour and the very real possibilty there it`s very unhealthy.

Thats a great messege to our youth aint it...the spectacle of sport is more important than health. The more you suffer the more we`l applaud.

Probably take a death, in Tommy Simpson style, to re aveluate such attitudes.
That other sports demands are great and some might consider greater tottaly miss`s the point.

do you work for WSPA?

 

[Darryl Webster]

do you work for WSPA?

I presume you like your steak bloody?

 

[hoolaparara]

I agree with the original poster, but I would go further and say its 2 weeks too far. Everybody knows that the best GT at the moment is the hot new boy the Tour of California and I have no doubt that its brilliance will force the old fuddy-duddy european GTs to get with the times.

But its not just the GTs that should worry.. those classics are way too long, I mean hundred of kilometres really.. look at Liege-Bastogne-Liege. It starts in Liege and finishes in Liege and spends 200k riding around belgian backwaters? I mean what sort of product is that! No you want something hot fast.. 60 laps of a 1 kilometre circuit in Liege is the way to go.. wham bam thank you sir thats $12 for the meat pie and $15 for the watered down beer.

action action action.. its time cycling moved into the present...