Question Rate the 2020 Tour de France

[(F)lexer]

so yeah, let's do it I guess

 

[KZD]

I gave it an 8 because of the incredible final time-trial otherwise it would have been a pretty average Tour like others we had in recent years.

The end of the first week was also really good with the echelons on stage 7, Pogačar's attack on stage 8 and Hirschi's solo on stage 9 but the Alps were disappointing.

 

[Leinster]

Solid 7. Some great racing in the Pyrenees, a genuine green jersey competition for the first time in over a generation, and Sunweb animating any stage they liked the look of, and the drama of the TT.

Negative points for Jumbo being a bit over-strangley in the second half of the race, and for too few of the pre-race contenders making it all the way to Paris as contenders (or at all).

 

[Sandisfan]

I gave the Tour a 9 but considered and an 8, but chose 9 because the Green Jersey fight kept the Tour animated through what would have been dull or even duller stages. Also there was an echelon stage also.

 

[Forever The Best]

A boring race with a shocking ending. 4

 

[Red Rick]

• Interesting route with lots of new climbs.
• Barely any sprint stages
• Breakaway action was really good apart from stage 18
• Some really big rides by young riders
• Young superstar winning in historic fashion

8.

 

[(F)lexer]

Let's get the bad out of the way first. Colombier sucked, and stage 18 could've been so much more than what it was. Man, if Bernal was at his best, then him being 2 minutes down on Roglic and having that Ineos team would've made that final week so much more interesting. Unfortunately the supposed queen stage, even though the final 10-15 minutes were interesting, was still nothing to write home about too.

Now, the good stuff. The 1st week was amazing. The battle for the Green jersey was entertaining. Some few cool stories - Poga aside, Kwiatkowski and Hirschi winning were genuinely amazing feel-good moments. The route is a big thumbs up too. And of course, stage 20, which ultimately is what everyone will remember about in 10 years when this race is brought up. Just an incredible moment, what more can be said really, that hasn't been said for the past 30 hours already.

Till the ITT, It was a really good race, not the best TDF in the recent history, but a very very solid one that I personally enjoyed. And obviously the final stage is what it is, and it has to push my rating up, so I give it an 8.

 

[Libertine Seguros]

Hepatitis. There is some 2011-level whitewashing of how bad the first 2/3 of the race was going on in here.

 

[Anderis]

I gave it a 3 only because of Pogacar snatching the win unexpectedly in the last TT. Otherwise it was 2 at best. Probably the most boring GC fight on mountain stages in any GT I've watched. I can't believe 8 is the most popular vote.

 

[topcat]

3.
1 point for Pogacar's attack, 1 point for Mal's attack and 1 point for the green jersey comp.

 

[Koronin]

I gave it a 6 due to the ITT. Without the unbelievably of the ITT I would have given it an 8. Fun green jersey battle which made for some interesting and fun hilly/flat stages. Some of the mountain stages were bad and some were alright.

 

[perico]

I gave it an 8. It wasn’t a perfect race, but it gets a pass since they missed such a large part of the buildup and I’m just happy they got to Paris. Also, I was just happy to have a race again.

 

[Sandisfan]

With those voting it as 1, 2, 3, or 4 then virtually all the last 20 or more Tours must have been 1 to 3 by those ratings.

 

[hrotha]

4.

Good breakaway stages aren't unusual, or indeed special. The last ITT can't save the whole race no matter how memorable it was.

 

[Anderis]

With those voting it as 1, 2, 3, or 4 then virtually all the last 20 or more Tours must have been 1 to 3 by those ratings.

Not at all.

As I said in my previous post- I can't remember any other GT in which the mountain stages were so stale among GC contenders.

 

[hfer07]

I gave it an 8 solely because it happened, given the current global turmoil due to the Plan-demic. Race wise it was a 6 - quiet passive during many stages, only to be rescued by the breakaway heroes.

 

[Eclipse]

Mountain stages weren't explosive but were selective. Meanwhile the absolutely relentless nature of the way the 'flat' and hilly stages were ridden meant that pretty much every day was worth watching.
on

A fairly well designed route that kept the racing interesting enough and the shock finale pushed it up from an average 6 to a solid 8 on the entertainment factor.

(I rate presuming all other sub forum matters are a given for every rider)

 

[Zinoviev Letter]

It had one obvious glaring weakness: controlled, grinding, supertrain mountain stages. It had many strengths: suspense, a dramatic twist, the best Green contest in a couple of decades, a big echelon stage, hilly and flat stages relentlessly raced in the full balls out style of important one day races. I hated some of the Jumbotrain stuff but by the standards of Tours rather than Giros I find it hard in retrospect to rate the whole show badly. If your interest is 90% plus in GC climbing fights, which is perfectly reasonable, I can certainly see why you would rate it lower.

 

[Sandisfan]

Not at all.

As I said in my previous post- I can't remember any other GT in which the mountain stages were so stale among GC contenders.

I am not saying that your rating is wrong, although we differ, I was just extrapolating from some of the boring first 10 plus days we have seen in the last several decades along with the bad designs in many of them, that it would seem that your expectations might be a bit harsh/lowered from being exposed to the ideal designs which Libertine and other have proposed and the best cadence as well and we are getting spoiled by unrealistic expectations without knowing what challenges the designers face. There was something going on in the race most days whether it was GC, Green, crosswinds or good breakaways. Even if the cadence and designs weren't as good as they could have been and with the very flawed designs in the last 20 plus years. Hoping you aren't getting disillusioned by impossible expectations. Hoping we don't lose you or other when you and Great contributors like Libetine, who I often agree with and often disaagree with, and this place would lose some awesome conversations.

 

[Libertine Seguros]

Well, from week 2 they were, at least. Stages 3 and 5 are two of the most boring stages of the Tour in years, particularly 5, which is only forgotten about because stage 6 was even worse. And to be two of the most boring stages of the Tour, with the number of completely featureless flat stages in the last decade where the break gets 2-3 minutes max and everybody rides in formation, just think of the ground that covers.

The GC battle was one of the worst in years, only unlike other miserably raced events like this, this one got the winner it needed rather than the winner it deserved (that would have been Louis Meintjes).

 

[skippo12]

4-5. Some pretty boring stages. Especially the easier mountain stages. Best thing about the Tour was Sagan not leading in the point classification. Bora really animated the race. Without them and Sunweb most stages would have been a snooze fest.

 

[Tonton]

Here we go again: all the bad votes from members who spent three weeks typing and posting like they were Bruce Almighty answering prayers: saying that it sucked. as always.

France under-delivered and this time the Colombian coffee was cold, wasn't it ? But all in all it was a good Tour, particularly considering the circumstances. The first GT in the Covid era, riders missing their peak, hurt, I still I give it an 8. Yes, that's just bait for Netserk. More like a 6 in reality.

Rain on stage 1 ruined my Tour. After all the crashes when the season resumed, with a grouped peloton, ASO had one choice to make: neutralize the stage. Business over safety, the circus, "The show must go on".

So many riders licking their wounds affected week 1 and the way it was raced. That made stage 4 irrelevant, big pace but no big attack. And it was nice to see the riders, if not take power, at least refuse the "panem et circenses" spectacle.

Note: Bugno has to go. That union is not a union, never was. Joke union needs to go, be replaced.

Stages 7-8-9 were really good, way beyond my expectations. Puy Mary was placed well, it didn't deliver. Great climb though. Stage 15 was a design fiasco, the Grand Colombier via Culoz...WTF!

By then all were sold on the idea that JV was the best team ever (Liggett even said it today), Ineos was humbled but Pog was lurking in the shadows. The Col de la Loze is a keeper, maybe not as a MTF.

It was all set for what I think was a great ITT, balanced, and it went nuclear. The last time I was so stunned was at work like this time and Landis did his thing: I'm uneasy here. I had to explain to novices what I saw and justify it. A bit too much, post-traumatic disorder, I don't know.

Meanwhile, Adam is no Simon, Mas, Uran, and others played the Meintjes game, Landa was willing but unable, yet he did well as a team leader. Porte got something and I'm happy for him.

No Bernal, no Pinot...bummer, they were the best last year. How good was this really?

As the #1 Tibopino fanboy, it sucked.

 

[Koronin]

Here we go again: all the bad votes from members who spent three weeks typing and posting like they were Bruce Almighty answering prayers: saying that it sucked. as always.

France under-delivered and this time the Colombian coffee was cold, wasn't it ? But all in all it was a good Tour, particularly considering the circumstances. The first GT in the Covid era, riders missing their peak, hurt, I still I give it an 8. Yes, that's just bait for Netserk. More like a 6 in reality.

Rain on stage 1 ruined my Tour. After all the crashes when the season resumed, with a grouped peloton, ASO had one choice to make: neutralize the stage. Business over safety, the circus, "The show must go on".

So many riders licking their wounds affected week 1 and the way it was raced. That made stage 4 irrelevant, big pace but no big attack. And it was nice to see the riders, if not take power, at least refuse the "panem et circenses" spectacle.

Note: Bugno has to go. That union is not a union, never was. Joke union needs to go, be replaced.

Stages 7-8-9 were really good, way beyond my expectations. Puy Mary was placed well, it didn't deliver. Great climb though. Stage 15 was a design fiasco, the Grand Colombier via Culoz...WTF!

By then all were sold on the idea that JV was the best team ever (Liggett even said it today), Ineos was humbled but Pog was lurking in the shadows. The Col de la Loze is a keeper, maybe not as a MTF.

It was all set for what I think was a great ITT, balanced, and it went nuclear. The last time I was so stunned was at work like this time and Landis did his thing: I'm uneasy here. I had to explain to novices what I saw and justify it. A bit too much, post-traumatic disorder, I don't know.

Meanwhile, Adam is no Simon, Mas, Uran, and others played the Meintjes game, Landa was willing but unable, yet he did well as a team leader. Porte got something and I'm happy for him.

No Bernal, no Pinot...bummer, they were the best last year. How good was this really?

As the #1 Tibopino fanboy, it sucked.

I have no idea how you managed to even attempt to explain let alone justify what we saw to novices.

 

[movingtarget]

The pluses : no TTT, an exciting TT on a hard course, some good breakaway wins, even the sprint stages were quite good, two miraculous sprint wins for Ewan, Porte's consistency throughout the race, as it turned out the lost time on the crosswind stage didn't effect his overall position, what might have been in 2017/18 , the Green jersey battle wasn't bad and these days is always more interesting that the KOM. Not many minuses : Bardet and Quintana's races ruined by crashes. Pinot having his usual final week, this year it came even earlier but injuries hurt him as well ! ineos not being a player for GC took some interest out of the race but Bernal was never going to make the podium. I wish they would do away with mountain stages that finish on long descents. All in all the best Tour probably since 2013, give it an 8.

 

[hrotha]

Here we go again: all the bad votes from members who spent three weeks typing and posting like they were Bruce Almighty answering prayers: saying that it sucked. as always.

Yeah having consistent opinions is the worst