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Rate the 2014 Tour De France!

Page 2 - Get up to date with the latest news, scores & standings from the Cycling News Community.

Rate the 2014 Tour De France!

  • 1 (Crap)

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Aug 16, 2013
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I give this route a 8, really nice, balanced and suprising route.

Really like that the Tour returns to the Vogezen. Especially the stage to La Planche des Belles Filles looks fantastic on paper. I also like the fact that the finishing climbs are not the regular ones like Alpe d'Huez and La Toussuire, bit Risoul and Chamrousse. Gives a extra spice to the race and some originality.

Of course the stage with the cobbles is nice, a good choice by Preudhomme. I also like the fact that Pla d'Adet returns. Always good racing up that mountain. The only thing i'm disappointed about is the fact that in the Alpes or Pyrenees, there isn't a big climb like Madeleine, Iseran or Galbier at the beginning of a stage. Always delivers proper racing.

A long flat TT is good, because i think every GT has to have one. Also really interested at the wall on stage 8, could be quite nice to watch.
 
Arredondo said:
I give this route a 8, really nice, balanced and suprising route.

Really like that the Tour returns to the Vogezen. Especially the stage to La Planche des Belles Filles looks fantastic on paper. I also like the fact that the finishing climbs are not the regular ones like Alpe d'Huez and La Toussuire, bit Risoul and Chamrousse. Gives a extra spice to the race and some originality.

Of course the stage with the cobbles is nice, a good choice by Preudhomme. I also like the fact that Pla d'Adet returns. Always good racing up that mountain. The only thing i'm disappointed about is the fact that in the Alpes or Pyrenees, there isn't a big climb like Madeleine, Iseran or Galbier at the beginning of a stage. Always delivers proper racing.

A long flat TT is good, because i think every GT has to have one. Also really interested at the wall on stage 8, could be quite nice to watch.

Huh?!? :confused:
 
Aug 16, 2013
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Netserk said:

I had to come up with a climb in a short time, so i took La Toussuire, because it was part of this year's tour;)

Wat i really mean, is climbs like Alpe d'Huez, and finishes in Morzine, Le Grand Bornand and Briancon:p

(La Toussuire was held in 2006 en 2012, so 2 times in 7 editions, which is actually a good score)
 
Arredondo said:
I had to come up with a climb in a short time, so i took La Toussuire, because it was part of this year's tour;)

Wat i really mean, is climbs like Alpe d'Huez, and finishes in Morzine, Le Grand Bornand and Briancon:p

(La Toussuire was held in 2006 en 2012, so 2 times in 7 editions, which is actually a good score)

Huh?!? :confused:

:p
 
As others have mentioned the first week is pretty much as good as it gets from a Tour in recent memory.

The mix of hilly/mountain stages and bunch sprint opportunities feels right and the cobbles stage should be a fascinating wild card in the middle.

As for the 2nd part of the tour - yeah, it's good to see Chamrousse and Risoul and the Risoul stage isn't bad per se. The run-in into Chamrousse feels like a missed opportunity to really use the Chartreuse (Col de Porte entirely or Col Du Coq) and the steep climbs on the other side of the Rhone valley (Col De Pre-Long for CRYING OUT LOUD).

As for the Pyrenees. Horribly designed stages on the whole. I'm not even really faulting the stage into Luchon but those last two sub 150km stages.. especially the way ASO dropped the ball on the Hautacam stage? Shocking really.

A 6 from me - mainly for the pretty great first 9 days.
 
Apr 15, 2013
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I gave it an 8. Very happy with the first week, with the way the Vosges stages are designed, we have a tour with 3 mountain blocks.

The Chamrousse stage is actually quite interesting, I expected flat and big MTF, we get a climb before to spice things up. The Risoul stage is my only real big disappointment, They could have gone for Sarenne or Started at St Jean de Maurienne and had the Galibier to begin the stage, ah well.

The Pyrénées are not bad, I like the Luchon stage, a good downhill finish. The Pla d'Adet is a good combination of 4 climbs with no time out. I would have prefered a finish at Argelès via Soulor-Spandelles rather than a final MTF up Hautacam, but Hautacam as last MTF of the Tour will be tough.

No really overall quite happy : this design brings some unpredictability, which is what the tour needs. lots of stages where you don't know exactly what to expect : will it be a big sprint or will a Sagan ensure that it is a small peloton sprint? Will the breakaway win or on of the big guns ? Is that a stage for a Gilbert style puncher, or is it too hard and for a climber/GC rider ? etc.
 
Aug 16, 2013
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Aug 16, 2013
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Netserk said:
Huh?!? :confused:

:p

That was on Peyragudes ;-)

No, on La Toussuire, that was the first time, Peyragudes was the second time;)

Look at this, Froompie on La Toussuire

hqdefault.jpg
 
Got to say I like it. Could have done with one more climb in the second alpes stage, and (at least) one more climb on the last pyrenees stage to really shake it all up. But balanced against that its got that Yorkshire stage, cobbles, stage 8 and 10 both look great, and stage three is likely to pass within about 5 miles of where I grew up (depending on the route they take). All of which is great in my mind!
 
Aug 16, 2011
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Looks like a pretty good route and seems balanced pretty well. Very glad to see the cobbles back of course. And very happy to see that it's not weighed down with lots of time trial km's.

Also like the looks of stage 2, La Mauselaine sounds like it will be fun, and Pla d'Adet on stage 17 looks nice and hilly.

Anyone familiar with the descent of 16? how technical is it? Hopefully technical enough that it can be used to open up gaps.

I'm feeling generous so I'll give it an 8.
 
Aug 16, 2013
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Afrank said:
Looks like a pretty good route and seems balanced pretty well. Very glad to see the cobbles back of course. And very happy to see that it's not weighed down with lots of time trial km's.

Also like the looks of stage 2, La Mauselaine sounds like it will be fun, and Pla d'Adet on stage 17 looks nice and hilly.

Anyone familiar with the descent of 16? how technical is it? Hopefully technical enough that it can be used to open up gaps.

I'm feeling generous so I'll give it an 8.

First k's quite technical, these were the km were Schleck dropped Gesink, Gadret etc. After a couple of k, it's just a simple one, lots of long straight parts at 5/6%

The gaps at the finish of course developed due to the chain problems from Andy, not due to the descent. Sammy Sanchez tried to put pressure on Contador and Menchov, but couldn't get a decent gap.
 

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