Rate the 2017 Tour de France

[hrotha]

Misclicked and voted 4 instead of 3.

 

[Rollthedice]

Dan Martin liked the parcours, he wants more of this. I would give this edition a 3, one point because it is Tour de France, one point for awesome Barguil and one point for the excitement of those handful of seconds when Kwiatkowski was changing Froome's wheel.

 

[Alexandre B.]

On the plus side:

-the Jura week-end saw excellent racing from early saturday to late sunday. Attacks, counter-attacks, crashes and dramas all over the place. Cycling (almost) at its finest.
-A very good Bastille Day.
-Marc Madiot's pure joy after Démare won in Vittel.
-Calmejane vs. Gesink on the last climb to Les Rousses.
-The altiport sprint and its outcome.
-The mythical Sunweb roommates Barguil and Matthews.
-THAT second.

On the minus side:

-Too many flat stages, not enough crosswinds.
-Sky in control of the race 19 days out of 21.
-A rather uninspiring runner-up.
-Flattish finales after climbs which favors groups and team strength over solo rides.
-The "what if" people.
-A particularly loud french-bashing.
-Peter Sagan fans since his disqualification.

 

[Põhja Konn]

4. Couple of very good stages, but overall low initial expectations were fully justified. Close GC battle was effectively a mirage as Froome's clear superiority in TT-ing over his main rivals was well known beforehand and further confirmed yesterday. When Bardet failed to go all out last sunday, the Tour was effectively over.

Kind of fitting that in the year of the 100th Giro, the level needed to win that Giro was higher than the level required for winning the Tour.

Definitive highlights: Jura stages, Barguil's performance.

Definitive lowlights: UCI commisaires inconsistency in handling major issues, crashes eliminating important GC men.

 

[Moviefan1203]

I gave it an 8. Very close and competitive race. A lot of fun to watch.

 

[Dazed and Confused]

Warren lifted the rating to 4. Parcours was ok, but man our GC group really are mediocre imo.

And team sky is way too strong.

In any case my expectations for the tour are low coming into the race.

 

[Singer01]

WIth the route offered i think it was as good as it could be, with the riders available.

 

[jmdirt]

Re: Re:

I honestly don't understand all of the 'glass shattered' stuff. I makes me wonder if most of you prefer top fuel racing.
8
Those rating below 7 should have to ride their bicycle without the seat for 101 Miles! :lol:

That has absolutely nothing to do with how good the tdf was. It's like saying a football game without any chances, because one team is only defending, has to be good because defending so well is something very difficult.

It has everything to do with Tonton saying "Anyone who rated the Route 8 when it was made public should be sentenced to ride his bike without a saddle for one hundred miles." and having a little fun with it. :lol:

 

[Tonton]

Re: Re:

I honestly don't understand all of the 'glass shattered' stuff. I makes me wonder if most of you prefer top fuel racing.
8
Those rating below 7 should have to ride their bicycle without the seat for 101 Miles! :lol:

That has absolutely nothing to do with how good the tdf was. It's like saying a football game without any chances, because one team is only defending, has to be good because defending so well is something very difficult.

It has everything to do with Tonton saying "Anyone who rated the Route 8 when it was made public should be sentenced to ride his bike without a saddle for one hundred miles." and having a little fun with it. :lol:

I think that giggles missed my friendly attempt at impersonating Netserk criticizing my usual 8/10 rating .

 

[Jagartrott]

4
Because some riders wanted to go for it.

But whoever allowed this route to stand should be fired, along with the designer.
Everybody with some cycling knowledge knew the design was awful, it felt like an attempt to sabotage the Tour.
The winner didn't win one stage and never showed dominance (his multi-million team did though), the numbers 2, 3 and 4 never really gave it a proper go, the race for the white jersey was awful and the green jersey marred by accidents on and off the road. Inconsistent jury, poor (TV) directing at times, the French booing cyclists again and DS decisions and tactics that pissed me off.

Why did I give a 4, should've been a 3 looking back.

 

[Ikbengodniet]

I'll give it a 4.

Plus:

Stages in the Jura (Stage 8 was one of the best in a long time), stage to Foix, Mollema and Roglic solo's, Warren Barguil, Daniel Martin.



Minus:

Too much boring flat stages, Sky's dominance in the mountains, QS dominance on the flat, no proper GC action, too many great riders abandoning/disqualified/ had bad form.

 

[Tank Engine]

I gave it a 6. This is a biased view seeing as I wasn't able (and didn't want) to watch the stages in the first week apart from the finishes.

I tend to pick particular stages to watch (generally very hilly or mountain stages often at the weekend, sometimes I get lucky during the week if there's a stage I really want to watch or in the final week, when I'm not working).

I thought the Jura stages were really good, as was the second stage in the Pyrenees. The Alps were not so good, apart from the col d'Izoard itself (as a race for the stage, not a GC battle).

Highlights of the tour for me: G getting yellow, Dan Martin, Mike Flowers (my Celtic/Slavic bias). Warren Barguil and Matthews going crazy in the mountains, EBH's resurgence.

Downside: Too many flat stages and the elimination of Sagan and Cav early on. Kittel's crash put an end to the Green jersey battle, which in the final week was the most interesting competition. G/Majka/Bertie crash (among others). Sky still dominant, although the fact that Froome is not as dominant as he was 2-3 years ago made it look like there was competition for the yellow jersey.

Overall: Much better than 2012, about the level of 2014 (the cobble stage though might give 2014 the edge) and the two most recent years.

 

[Andy262]

4 for me. Just meh really.

Positives were great rides from Barguil and Landa and stage wins for Eddy Boss and Bauke. Froome was just Froome. Bardet at least tried but did Uran ever put his face in the wind? Quintana and Chavez not at the races. Glad Groenewegen won today.

Pissed at losing Cav and Sagan so early, and Piti. Then losing LRP on Mont Du Chat took alot from the GC race. Whilst Kittel retiring killed the Points race.

I hate seeing riders of the quality of Kwiatkowski killing themselves day in day out in the Skytrain. And Landa should be leading his own team. Just dull that Sky throw the kitchen sink at TdF GC every year. Come the Vuelta they'll just be another team again.

 

[SergeDeM]

4.

I miss the epic MTs to decide the GC. Something is seriously wrong when the MTFs are afterthoughts and nobody gains any real time there. The final time gaps between the top guys look like any other tour at the halfway point and that should be a good thing, but instead it feels like nothing ever really happened.

Also, some weekend stages were crap.

 

[ihosama]

Re:

Went for a 2, which I thought was a touch generous.

Just an awful race all round. Way too many crashes and DQs of top riders, a rubbish route with too many predictable sprints and pointless descent/flat finishes. Other attacking riders like Quintana and Contador not showing up with any kind of form. Boring GC battle (being close time wise =/= interesting). Too easy mountain stages, and the ones that had potential were either marred by crashes or lacked attacks. Lack of an interesting break most days.

Plus points were Barguil and Matthews livening things up, ...

Agreed. The only good thing were few riders who actually raced the race. Almost despite the apparent wish of the organizers.

... the UCI having the balls to stand up to Sagan and his influential backers.

Sagan is popular but does not have any real political cover. Slovak cycling is a dwarf and Bora is a newcomer. Had he influential backers, we would not see the farce we saw but just another Stage 12 scenario.

A jury blatantly favoring a UCI-connected team and home rider is anything but having balls. It is sheer arrogance at best and "conspiracy" at worst.

 

[Brullnux]

Re: Re:

I honestly don't understand all of the 'glass shattered' stuff. I makes me wonder if most of you prefer top fuel racing.
8
Those rating below 7 should have to ride their bicycle without the seat for 101 Miles! :lol:

That has absolutely nothing to do with how good the tdf was. It's like saying a football game without any chances, because one team is only defending, has to be good because defending so well is something very difficult.

I find teams defending well beautiful to watch, truly artistic. I mean, I don't like Stoke playing football but a well drilled and focused defence is a thing of beauty. If I had to pick between seeing a game with Maldini again or seeing a game with Ronaldo for example, I'd pick Maldini every time. And not just because I'm a Milan fan. So that argument works less well with me.

 

[Durden93]

7 for me. Aru was a threat to Froome for a while. Enjoyed Chat, Peyragaudes, and Croix de Fer stages thoroughly. Sprint stages were boing but that's typical. Kittel being a boss made up for that, though. Cross winds in the third week were cool. Not great but decent bike racing.

 

[Brullnux]

I gave it a four

+ Barguil
+ Mont Du Chat was good
+ The Foix stage
+ Kwiatkowski burying himself so hard he had to stop
+ I've heard Stage 15 was fun. I didn't watch it so I don't know.
+ Stage 16 actually was good
+ The GC was close I guess, idk

- Kwiatkowski burying himself so hard he had to stop
- Sky's dominance
- The number of mind numbingly dull flat stages
- The number of mind numbingly dull mountain stages
- The number of mind numbingly dull stages which made me rethink my priorities in life
- Nobody inside the top three having cojones enough to go far out. And I mean far out. Schleck style
- The route
- No actual GC battle
- The fact that despite everything being so close, it had no tension whatsoever.
- Just the race as a whole

 

[movingtarget]

No doubt the stars aligned for Froome. Valverde, Fuglsang and Porte crash out, Martin riding injured, Aru and Chaves coming off injuries and lack of prep, Contador past his best, Quintana did the Giro, the best climber in the race was on Froome's team, the best domestique the same, Froome survived and he himself said it would be close before the start. He will probably never win another GT where so many things go his way. That said, he didn't look in trouble on the last mountain stage but did look vulnerable earlier in the race. Even going into the TT with Bardet as his closest opposition was a blessing. Run the race again and Bardet and Uran don't make the podium and Froome is probably beaten. Froome dodged a bullet this year but if he returns to the Tour next year at the same level or close he will be beaten I think. Overall i give the race a 5, no memorable MTF stage, the final TT was an anti climax. Froome just never had the opposition to exploit his weakness. But the race has to give his opposition more hope now because it seems the 2013-2015 Froome is gone. 2016 was a drop off for Froome but 2017 even more so. He improved after the Dauphine but not as much as I thought he would. Froome recovered well to take the win but on any other team he probably would have lost. Be interesting to see what level Froome appears in at the 2018 Tour.

 

[The Hegelian]

I gave it a 5.

This generosity has to be understood in the context of the last 5 editions. This is the first time since 2012 I haven't abandoned/DNF somewhere in the 2nd week. So it passes.

Let's be honest though, that's a pretty sh#tty reason to scrape above a 3 or 4: it's a shadow of the race it once was.

 

[sienna]

I enjoyed it but I always do. The only things that spoilt it for me was Porte's crash and Sagan's outing. I'm also over Sky's "control" of the race and the commentators' obsession with this, although I don't begrudge Froome his win.
I think the people who use the word "boring" to describe the TdF should stick to the NFL and tennis.

 

[The Hegelian]

I think the people who use the word "boring" to describe the TdF should stick to the NFL and tennis.

2011 not boring. 2012 boring. The tdf isn't some static immutable thing - there are degrees of boredom and interest.

 

[sienna]

I think the people who use the word "boring" to describe the TdF should stick to the NFL and tennis.

2011 not boring. 2012 boring. The tdf isn't some static immutable thing - there are degrees of boredom and interest.

Boring is a kid word.

 

[hfer07]

6 - Which is the highest rate I'' have given to Le Tour since SKY took over it.

 

[The Hegelian]

I think the people who use the word "boring" to describe the TdF should stick to the NFL and tennis.

2011 not boring. 2012 boring. The tdf isn't some static immutable thing - there are degrees of boredom and interest.

Boring is a kid word.

Does it follow that you think all tdf's are equally interesting?