Most Boring WorldTour Race (In General, Not This Year)?

[Bye Bye Bicycle]

TDU has more tradition as well-loved forum favorite Strade Bianche or all those US/Arab stage races that popped up in the last decade.

Last time I checked the Herald Sun Tour there were no alpine climbs at all. But who wants to see alpine climbs in January anyway? Give the riders some offtime and some easy-going early races to start the season. TDU's perfect for that.

And finally: De gustibus non est disputandum, but TDU always provided stunning scenery for me: clear blue skies, red earth, the green of the eucalyptus trees - and all that during miserable European winters.

 

[nhowson]

TDU for me as well.

For all the reasons mentioned + the scenery is dire: everything is basically brown and lifeless in lieu of the baking summer. In fact, a lot of the route has been shrouded in bushfires over the last week. Not the place for a bike race.

If Australia is to have one big WT race, it should be the Herald-Sun Tour: has a long history, has produced some quality winners and has excellent (and beautiful) parcours (including some genuine alpine climbs).

TDU (like Beijing) is the perfect example of the ill conceived quest to globalise the sport by looking at balance sheets rather than reason.

San Luis takes all the proper climbers. Have you seen the parts around Aldinga Beach? Also do you not understand how exotic it is for some people and that has appeal all of its own.

 

[Dekker_Tifosi]

The ENECO Tour of the past 2 years is actually very nice with a cobble stage and a hilly stage and a short ITT.
Before that it was boring because it just had 1 ardennes stage and a tt that was too long and no cobbles.

 

[The Hegelian]

TDU has more tradition as well-loved forum favorite Strade Bianche or all those US/Arab stage races that popped up in the last decade.

Last time I checked the Herald Sun Tour there were no alpine climbs at all. But who wants to see alpine climbs in January anyway? Give the riders some offtime and some easy-going early races to start the season. TDU's perfect for that.

And finally: De gustibus non est disputandum, but TDU always provided stunning scenery for me: clear blue skies, red earth, the green of the eucalyptus trees - and all that during miserable European winters.

Well, yes the Herald-Sun tour has been changed a lot of late (principally because of the TDU) - it used to be run in October through the Victorian high country and now it is a bit of a pedestrian affair on worse parcours in summer.

I could see how in the midst of a European winter, seeing a peloton ride inside a tandoor oven would be aesthetically pleasing. Not my place to question that!

 

[The Hegelian]

San Luis takes all the proper climbers. Have you seen the parts around Aldinga Beach? Also do you not understand how exotic it is for some people and that has appeal all of its own.

I'm not saying the Herald-Sun tour should be the first WT event of the year, thus replacing the TDU and competing with San Luis. I'm just saying it has a much richer history and much better parcours than the TDU. Ergo, if for reasons of globalisation Australia must have a WT event, that's what it should be.

 

[Archibald]

San Luis takes all the proper climbers. Have you seen the parts around Aldinga Beach? Also do you not understand how exotic it is for some people and that has appeal all of its own.

can't say I've every seen or heard of Aldinga Beach being referred to as 'exotic'

 

[nhowson]

can't say I've every seen or heard of Aldinga Beach being referred to as 'exotic'

Exotic was separate to Aldinga Beach, sorry I didn't make that clear and made myself sound stupid Anyway, the Adelaide Hills and how barren and brown they are can be interesting for some people, especially if they've seen nothing like it. No one has seen boring scenery until they've watched a Belgian race, although it is very subjective, obviously, and their bergs more than make up for it!

 

[nhowson]

I'm not saying the Herald-Sun tour should be the first WT event of the year, thus replacing the TDU and competing with San Luis. I'm just saying it has a much richer history and much better parcours than the TDU. Ergo, if for reasons of globalisation Australia must have a WT event, that's what it should be.

Sorry I misunderstood. I agree in as much that any Australia race should be in October and not January.

 

[Archibald]

Exotic was separate to Aldinga Beach, sorry I didn't make that clear and made myself sound stupid Anyway, the Adelaide Hills and how barren and brown they are can be interesting for some people, especially if they've seen nothing like it. No one has seen boring scenery until they've watched a Belgian race, although it is very subjective, obviously, and their bergs more than make up for it!

not stupid at all. I can see folks from other lands seeing Aussie beaches as exotic...
"Ahh... the serenity"

 

[nhowson]

not stupid at all. I can see folks from other lands seeing Aussie beaches as exotic...
"Ahh... the serenity"

It's just a beach, a normal beach. The final of the stage to Paracoombe will be all burnt up so that will be interesting.

 

[Lupi33]

TDU for me as well.

For all the reasons mentioned + the scenery is dire: everything is basically brown and lifeless in lieu of the baking summer. In fact, a lot of the route has been shrouded in bushfires over the last week. Not the place for a bike race.

If Australia is to have one big WT race, it should be the Herald-Sun Tour: has a long history, has produced some quality winners and has excellent (and beautiful) parcours (including some genuine alpine climbs).

TDU (like Beijing) is the perfect example of the ill conceived quest to globalise the sport by looking at balance sheets rather than reason.

you must be from Melbourne

I cant see whats wrong with the website
http://www.tourdownunder.com.au/the-race/tour-details/stages

I've seen far worse on bigger WT races

if you live in Australia though, nothing about Adelaide and its surrounds is exotic. Its about as far away from exotic as you could physically get

 

[Bavarianrider]

Vuelta a Espana

 

[Carols]

Now that Bejing is history it has to be TDU. But that won't stop me from watching it since it is Live cycling in January!

 

[manafana]

Tour of Dubai is up there for sure especially when on those bloody highways.

 

[Gloin22]

Tour of Dubai is up there for sure especially when on those bloody highways.

It's not WT.. and there was only one edition we can hardly call it anything yet.

Qatar and Oman started as total crap too, but both are good races now. Dubai has a hill top finish this year, should spice it a bit.

 

[nhowson]

It's not WT.. and there was only one edition we can hardly call it anything yet.

Qatar and Oman started as total crap too, but both are good races now. Dubai has a hill top finish this year, should spice it a bit.

I've actually really enjoyed Oman the last few years. They've got enough hills and mountains to make it quite an interesting parcours.

Most boring WT race has to be Vattenfall Cyclassics... But, I do understand the want for a sprinter's one day race.

 

[Libertine Seguros]

I've actually really enjoyed Oman the last few years. They've got enough hills and mountains to make it quite an interesting parcours.

Most boring WT race has to be Vattenfall Cyclassics... But, I do understand the want for a sprinter's one day race.

Why, there are lots of them. If a sprinter is a bit versatile then there's races like Gent-Wevelgem, Sanremo, Kuurne; otherwise there's S**********s, Paris-Tours, Brussels Cycling Classic (even more sprinter-oriented than the old Paris-Bruxelles, which went from a toughish race to one won regularly by Robbie McEwen), and dozens of 1.1 races that often go to sprints, like Coppa Bernocchi, GP Costa Etruschi, Drenthe, Ronde van Zeeland, GP Pino Cerami, GP Denain, Memorial Steenbergen, Halle-Ingooigem and so on.

If they wanted a WT one day race with sprinters having the best chance to win, it's simple: bring Paris-Tours back to that level. It's a strong race with a long and storied history. Vattenfall is an OK race, but it offers nothing different to the calendar. Germany's one-day race in the World Tour should be Frankfurt, that's got a parcours that makes things interesting. Yes, the final ascent of the Mammolshain is 40km from the finish, but the Taunus climbs burn off enough sprinters for the attackers to build up a gap, and a couple of years ago we legitimately still had both Domenico Pozzovivo and André Greipel in the running for victory with 500m remaining. If they did double Feldberg perhaps, to toughen up the first part of the race, it could be quite something.

 

[nhowson]

Why, there are lots of them. If a sprinter is a bit versatile then there's races like Gent-Wevelgem, Sanremo, Kuurne; otherwise there's S**********s, Paris-Tours, Brussels Cycling Classic (even more sprinter-oriented than the old Paris-Bruxelles, which went from a toughish race to one won regularly by Robbie McEwen), and dozens of 1.1 races that often go to sprints, like Coppa Bernocchi, GP Costa Etruschi, Drenthe, Ronde van Zeeland, GP Pino Cerami, GP Denain, Memorial Steenbergen, Halle-Ingooigem and so on.

If they wanted a WT one day race with sprinters having the best chance to win, it's simple: bring Paris-Tours back to that level. It's a strong race with a long and storied history. Vattenfall is an OK race, but it offers nothing different to the calendar. Germany's one-day race in the World Tour should be Frankfurt, that's got a parcours that makes things interesting. Yes, the final ascent of the Mammolshain is 40km from the finish, but the Taunus climbs burn off enough sprinters for the attackers to build up a gap, and a couple of years ago we legitimately still had both Domenico Pozzovivo and André Greipel in the running for victory with 500m remaining. If they did double Feldberg perhaps, to toughen up the first part of the race, it could be quite something.

They would bring Paris-Tours back but then it would make Vattenfall obsolete. Not familiar with that race, but the way you've described it makes it sound very exciting

 

[Lupi33]

It's not WT.. and there was only one edition we can hardly call it anything yet.

Qatar and Oman started as total crap too, but both are good races now. Dubai has a hill top finish this year, should spice it a bit.

a hilltop in Dubai? really?

is it man-made too?

 

[sienna]

The WorldTour race calendar is the official calendar of preference for CN forumites, beating out the traditional Gregorian (i.e. Jan-Dec) calendar, the Hirji, Hebrew and the one with Chinese New Year.

Its most festive times of year are the classics, the Giro and (arguably) the Tour de France.

However, all years have their dark times. Those moments that sent bears and Russians into hibernation, those that show little-no light, days that thunder with anger and cry with sadness. We are currently witnessing one of those dark times. The Tour of Beijing, a pan flat stage race that started with a TT, the 2nd last race on the calendar. No crowds, smog, rider care factor zero, it is a depressing moment of the year.

Certainly it is a top contender for Most Boring WorldTour Race (In General, Not This Year). But taking a step back, considering the full WorldTour calendar, is it the most boring race of the year? And if not, what is? This thread discusses these very ExtraOrdinary questions.

Chinese government officials are kindly requested not to respond in the forum, so as to remove any bias.

How does a real cycling fan define boring?