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Rate the 2019 Tour de France

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

Rank the Tour

  • 10

    Votes: 3 2.3%
  • 9

    Votes: 14 10.9%
  • 8

    Votes: 45 35.2%
  • 7

    Votes: 29 22.7%
  • 6

    Votes: 18 14.1%
  • 5

    Votes: 8 6.3%
  • 4

    Votes: 5 3.9%
  • 3

    Votes: 3 2.3%
  • 2

    Votes: 1 0.8%
  • 1

    Votes: 2 1.6%

  • Total voters
    128
  • Poll closed .
Re:

Pantani_lives said:
4/10 - Easily the best Tour since 2014!

Good:
The race wasn't decided yet after two weeks! Alaphilippe brought an unexpected level of excitement, making the impossible almost seem possible. Ineos allowed Bernal to win rather than dull Thomas.

Bad:
The third week was ruined by the extreme weather and by Pinot's abandonment. Other GC teams did nothing to make it hard for Ineos and once again rode conservatively for the secondary prizes.

Best stage wins:
1. De Gendt
2. Alaphilippe
3. Quintana
4. Van Aert
5. Pinot

Funniest moments:
1. Viviani's face after being beaten by a crosser.
2. Alaphilippe's impressions of Voeckler.
3. Uran attacking in the descent, refusing to believe that the stage was neutralized.

Well, he does have some painful memories from believing the neutralisation :D .
 
i would have given it an 8 before the shortened stages but can only give it a 5. Two critical stages were effected and even though the winner of the overall would have probably been the same, I think there were some doubts about the podium still. Pinot's demise also sucked the oxygen out of the race to a certain extent. Ewen came of age in the sprints and De Gendt had a classic stage win. Alaphilippe had a miraculous TT win. Nibali had a nice stage win as did Quintana. Once the cracks started to show for Alaphilipe it was just a matter of time and if both stages were fully raced, I don't think he would have finished in the top 10. Roglic's ride in the Giro wasn't as dramatic as Alaphilippe's but both were predictable a fair way from the finish for different reasons. Everything Movistar did right in the Giro they did wrong in the Tour. To have three riders in the top 10 and not one on the podium is a bit bizarre. Bardet was very disappointing, Porte's performance was more predictable as was Quintana's. Lotto and Michelton had good races but Adam Yates showed once again that he is nowhere near his brother's level as a GC rider. Good race also for Jumbo with stage wins plus a podium.
 
Re:

ClassicomanoLuigi said:
Gave new meaning to the phrase "landslide victory"

6 / 10

TdF cycling still languishing at a crossroads of dull racing, waiting at the railroad crossing for the Skybot Train to pass... Thought it was finished ? Haha, the joke's on us again

Would rate this episode higher, had it not been for the disastrous ending to the storyline

Seriously, what SkyTrain did you see in this race? I might be blind and senile but I only recall Castroviejo doing work on one Pyrenean stage (I think) and then him and Poels setting the tempo on a small part of the Val Thorens climb with Kwiatkowski leading on the flat part before. Oh, and Van Baarle on the Galibier to set up the Thomas attack.

And then they lead the peloton into Paris. And that was it.
 
Stage 1: lead-out Teunissen's won: that was the first a many great days. Even the TTT was watchable. Stage 3 propelled Alaf' to new heights, Super Planche was not nearly as good as expected, St Etienne was great, drama and the crosswinds, shock stage 13, Thinard Pinault in the Pyrenees...the first two weeks were a 10.

After that, nature did its thing and above all, the stage was set but we didn't get to watch Pinot vs. Ineos. No bias here: I know what I hoped, I know what I know, and I don't know who would have prevailed. It wouldn't have mattered. A legendary fight would have granted this Tour a 10 in my view. Regardless of the winner.

8.
 
Tonton said:
Stage 1: lead-out Teunissen's won: that was the first a many great days. Even the TTT was watchable. Stage 3 propelled Alaf' to new heights, Super Planche was not nearly as good as expected, St Etienne was great, drama and the crosswinds, shock stage 13, Thinard Pinault in the Pyrenees...the first two weeks were a 10.

After that, nature did its thing and above all, the stage was set but we didn't get to watch Pinot vs. Ineos. No bias here: I know what I hoped, I know what I know, and I don't know who would have prevailed. It wouldn't have mattered. A legendary fight would have granted this Tour a 10 in my view. Regardless of the winner.

8.

I agree completely. I also went from 10 to 8 because of the cancellation and the fact that Pinot (who has really won me over now) had to abandon just as he looked like he could win this whole damn thing.

I also liked the fact that we never ever had two bunch sprints in a row (you could say that we did on stage 4 and 5, but on stage 5 there were mountains to change the sprinting field in an albeit very disappointing stage, and that we did on stage 10 and 11 but stage 10 had the crosswinds which always elevates a race a point - at least in my book), and even the sprints we did have were quite exciting and photo finishes were necessary on most stages.

The ITT was probably the most entertaining of the sort I have ever seen, and even though stage 12 became the predictable borefest it was destined to be, I liked the Pyrenees a lot (even the Tourmalet stage which others seem to hate) and with the Alaphilippe story unfolding and a very even field behind him, it was just so exciting going into the Alps.

Stage 18 was not remarkable but we did see significant action and maybe the race-winning move by Bernal who set out to make the following stage the best mountain stage of the Tour since 2011, and then everything was ruined. It just felt so unfair that that needed to happen that exact day. Then the Val Thorens stage turned out to be a bummer as well in more sense than one - of course it was not a very entertaining win, but the worst part for me was that Valverde did not get his stage win. Initially, I was quite hyped that he had been able to beat the other favourites but then the disappointment hit that he had come so, so close to winning a stage for the first time since 2012. At least it was not a nobody who beat him.

Maybe the score gets higher because it's easy to compare with previous recent Tours, but after stage 15 I really felt that this was as perfect as a Grand Tour could be.
 
Had the potential to be a 10/10 by usual Tour standards, but I gave it an 8.

We were sadly robbed of a Pinot v Bernal showdown in the Alps, with the latter really nailing that 3rd week peak. We were also robbed of the final 2 mountain stages due to the weather, with Bernal in the middle of a do or die attack with his rivals praying he came back to them on the final climb.

Plenty of fun stages though, Alaphilippe rode incredibly well, and a deserving winner come Paris.
 
Exciting until the alps.

Then completely fell apart.

Course design was good: several medium mountain/hilly stages. More needed.

Course design was horrible and unbalanced: nowhere near enough TT. TTing is in fact riding as well. As is being explosive on hills. GT riding should go to the best all-rounder. Not the best pure climber.

ITT is the true test. And has always been. Anquetil, Merckx, Hinault, Fignon, LeMond, Indurain, Froome, literally EVERY multiple Tour winner won or placed highly in the RACE OF TRUTH at the TDF. This years TDF celebrated the best climber and perhaps not even that (Pinot was the best climber until his injury).

Ever wondered why the polka dot jersey does not mean anything anymore? Because the pure climbers are now GC favorites, which was NEVER the case.
 
Gave it a 6 due to the anti climatic stages 19 and 20. Stage 20 even more than 19 due to the fact they had no plan B for the stage in case of weather.

If Pinot had not had to abandon even with with issues of weather in stages 19 and 20 it likely would have gotten a 7.
 
Re:

Forever The Best said:
If the final 2 mountain stages could have been done properly I could have voted this high. But this way I think 5 or 6 is the most I could vote for. (Voted 5 but realizing now that it can be 6 as well)
Planche des Belles Filles was awful, so were Tourmalet and Val Thorens. Prat d'Albis was good, so was Valloire. Iseran stage while being good could have been a classic but the nature didn't allow it. I liked the stage to Saint Etienne and the echelon stage but we also had our share of awful stages.

I feel similar, though went a 6 as I thought that Tourmalet was pretty good actually, and I liked Thomas' sportsmanship when finishing second overall.
 
I gave 5 because I'm torn. Was it a 10 or a 1?

All reasons noted speak well. Loved the crosswind but once in 3 weeks and just that I am meant to get excited?

Ineos and the boring non attacks. The fizzle at the end.

I think seeing alaphilippe ITT and not even puff getting off the bike. Well, IMO there was something very very strange about this race commencing from the moment Chris Froome mysteriously fell over.

As an Australian of course I'm very happy seeing the orica Green Edge team take 4 stage victories and Caleb Ewan three victories

Over all I don't know whether is the best one I ever saw or the biggest *** tease that never delivered and fizzled at the end with no attacks no, nation and dark clouds over the strength of the cyclists at this tour
 
8.

Been a long while since I haven't abandoned in the second week.

A lot of the intermediate stages where good, and the sprint stages were open and interesting. The GC battle never really took off though - it was all about the Alpes, all about who's prepared for the hard 3rd week, all about the altitude......and then because of the storm it was a bit of an epic fail.
 
I gave it 8. Best since 2011 for me. Basically agree with Hegelian's comments above. Only genuine disappointment was the last two days of weather and shortened mountain stages.

I was also touched by Bernal's family, his reaction upon taking yellow, his mum and little brother. Nice moments. Still just a kid and I am looking forward to the celebrations in Bogotá, hope he handles it.

By comparison, last year I switched off mid race - worst since 2012. This time I was riveted for three weeks. I tipped Bernal before the race but other highlights were JA, Ewan's three wins. But I was sad that Pinot had to pull out in the manner he did.
 
Thing is, this was a very good but still not brilliant race before the alps. I once again want to remind everyone how horrible the racing was on the first two mountain stages. Probably was on route to an 8. But boy that finale hurt the race. I cannot believe how a race with such a brilliant set up became so horribly dull basically in a matter of minutes. I kinda feel sorry for the tdf as weather destroyed what could have been the first great tour in ages. Now I'd still rate it below 2015 as the 2nd best tour of the "sky era" although crucially this didn't really feel like a tour of that era despite a 1-2 finish from them. And maybe that's the most positive thing to take away from this
 
Here are my Tours since 2010:

2010
2013
2015
2019
2011
2018
2014
2012
2016
2017

Needs to be said that 2019 definitely had the potential to top that list if a) Pinot not DNF'ed, and more crucially, b) had these 2 last stages ridden the way they were supposed to. So in the end, at least for me, at pretty meh Tour.
 
Re: Re:

Red Rick said:
King Boonen said:
I was sure I posted in this thread...

The first half had pretty boring racing but interesting results. The second half had interesting racing but boring results.
The final mountain had the boringest racing and the interestingest winner tho

But yeah really nicely put

I took slight liberties with halves and avoided all the nuance :) The general trend works.
 

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