lol it's not that obvious
1st place in GC gets you a yellow jersey and lion
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1st place in GC gets you a yellow jersey and lion
What I said in 2022 https://forum.cyclingnews.com/threads/rate-the-2022-tour-de-france.38068/
What I said in 2023: (I gave it another 11/10) https://forum.cyclingnews.com/threads/rate-tour-de-france-2023.39111/
& this years Tour was even better.
What I said in 2023: (I gave it another 11/10) https://forum.cyclingnews.com/threads/rate-tour-de-france-2023.39111/
& this years Tour was even better.
6 if i'm being generous. Too backloaded. Too many sprint stages. Ridiculous final TT (I would have liked to see it rain on that descent then have about a dozen riders crash who needed to go all out because they still needed to defend their GC spot.... and then watch ASO's ludicrous explanation for it, what a sh1tshow it could have been). And of course, Roglic crashing out, which basically meant Pogacar could pick up yellow for free.
So 1 is better than 10??? Buitrago in shambles. All that work, months of preparation, then managing his performance to get that slot right between Gee and Ciccone, all for nought!
10/10
+1 point for Pogacar pulling off the double and winning 6 stages,
+1 point Pogacar gets his revenge on Visma for the last two years,
+1 Girmay winning 3 stages and green,
+1 Philipsen continuing his domination,
+1 Cavendish winning #35 and getting through the race,
+1 Carapaz overcomes GC disappointment with yellow, stage win, and KoM,
+1 Evenepoel performing really well with a stage one and showing he is a GC contender,
+1 Vingegaard showing up in a competitive level
+1 Bardet’s stage win and day in yellow
+1 Almeida showing he can be a great domestique and stage racer to those that didn’t have faith before the Tour,
+1 Landa having a really good shape
-1 Roglic crashing out and leaving unanswered questions
+1 point for Pogacar pulling off the double and winning 6 stages,
+1 point Pogacar gets his revenge on Visma for the last two years,
+1 Girmay winning 3 stages and green,
+1 Philipsen continuing his domination,
+1 Cavendish winning #35 and getting through the race,
+1 Carapaz overcomes GC disappointment with yellow, stage win, and KoM,
+1 Evenepoel performing really well with a stage one and showing he is a GC contender,
+1 Vingegaard showing up in a competitive level
+1 Bardet’s stage win and day in yellow
+1 Almeida showing he can be a great domestique and stage racer to those that didn’t have faith before the Tour,
+1 Landa having a really good shape
-1 Roglic crashing out and leaving unanswered questions
7. Very fun first half, and very deranged second half of inane press narratives, crazy posting, and all the stuff that makes talking about the tour funny.
It's an 8.
Sometimes excellent, but with a few big "no"
- Roglic crash
- VDP just training
- Vingo still not 100%
- Silly sprint stages
- Lack of real battles. I mean 3 UAEs, 2 Visma, 2 Soudal in top 10. WTF. It's like you have the top 3 and then THE TOTAL EMPTINESS OF SPACE.
In all truth, if you remove Pogacar (worth 10+/10) from the equation you get a Tour that would've been quite miserable.
Sometimes excellent, but with a few big "no"
- Roglic crash
- VDP just training
- Vingo still not 100%
- Silly sprint stages
- Lack of real battles. I mean 3 UAEs, 2 Visma, 2 Soudal in top 10. WTF. It's like you have the top 3 and then THE TOTAL EMPTINESS OF SPACE.
In all truth, if you remove Pogacar (worth 10+/10) from the equation you get a Tour that would've been quite miserable.
Positive:
Girmay
Turgis
Campanerts
Carapaz
Abrahamsen
Healy
Negative:
Cav
Unrealistic climbing times
No GC fight
Predictable GC
Philipsen
Don't understand people giving 8, 9 and 10 for this. Gave it a 4 and that feels generous
Girmay
Turgis
Campanerts
Carapaz
Abrahamsen
Healy
Negative:
Cav
Unrealistic climbing times
No GC fight
Predictable GC
Philipsen
Don't understand people giving 8, 9 and 10 for this. Gave it a 4 and that feels generous
Voted a 6. Highlights were the wins by the French riders as they have no one for the overall. Campanearts as well and Carapaz.. The GC battle was looking set in stone after the first 8 or 9 stages but still more interesting than the Giro. With Vingegaard's' issues it was obvious that Pogacar would never have a better chance to do the double. Evenepoel was a good ride but knows what he is up against to win a Tour in the next few years, The route was okay, not great not terrible but next year expect less sprint stages. Disappointments were Bora and Roglic and Ineos had little effect on the race. The Pogacar/Vingegaard rivalry looks set to continue unless someone else comes out of the woodwork suddenly. Would like to see Roglic do the Giro/Vuelta next year.
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I called it an 8. It's the Tour, the biggest race of the year with all the riders peaking for it. How can it be a 5 or lower? That's how I think about it anyway.
Whatever you think about the how, there were all-time performances, and it was fun to watch. Good stories with Jonas and Remco coming back from injury. Tadej was all time, and is having a Merckx-level year, so you have to say some major stuff happened. 2 points docked for not being competitive through the last week.
Some beautiful mountain stages, and a great start in Tuscany. Race was full-bore, from start to finish. Podium and jersey winner of huge champions with a great palmares. TdF and Giro winners, Monument winners, Vuelta winners, a mutiple world champion...fantastic all around. Great new character in Girmay winning the green jersey, adding yet more history to the lineup. The best 3 guys went 1/2/3 in the TT. Nice for it to finish somewhere else. Was rooting for Remco to do well, and he did, so for me that was quite satisfying.
Riders attacked, on all kinds of terrain, and it worked. Pundits cried and moaned, and the boring cycling of Postal and Sky is a distant memory. Oh, and of course Cav and his 35th win, certainly a big deal.
Lack of competition in the last week knocks it down from a 9 or a 10, as the lack of a classic Alpine climb or at least Ventoux. To me '89 is a 10, and the scale moves down from there.
Whatever you think about the how, there were all-time performances, and it was fun to watch. Good stories with Jonas and Remco coming back from injury. Tadej was all time, and is having a Merckx-level year, so you have to say some major stuff happened. 2 points docked for not being competitive through the last week.
Some beautiful mountain stages, and a great start in Tuscany. Race was full-bore, from start to finish. Podium and jersey winner of huge champions with a great palmares. TdF and Giro winners, Monument winners, Vuelta winners, a mutiple world champion...fantastic all around. Great new character in Girmay winning the green jersey, adding yet more history to the lineup. The best 3 guys went 1/2/3 in the TT. Nice for it to finish somewhere else. Was rooting for Remco to do well, and he did, so for me that was quite satisfying.
Riders attacked, on all kinds of terrain, and it worked. Pundits cried and moaned, and the boring cycling of Postal and Sky is a distant memory. Oh, and of course Cav and his 35th win, certainly a big deal.
Lack of competition in the last week knocks it down from a 9 or a 10, as the lack of a classic Alpine climb or at least Ventoux. To me '89 is a 10, and the scale moves down from there.
Im trying not to let the last week of over dominant GC racing color my opinion too much. When I think back, there were quite a few thrilling stages in the first 10 days.
6 or 7. I will decide soon.
Maybe more when I compare to the some of the boring times of older decades.
6 or 7. I will decide soon.
Maybe more when I compare to the some of the boring times of older decades.
I voted 6 but all 6 stars were awarded in the first ~half. Once Pog pulled the can of whoopass out of his musette it became a snoozefest, even though I've always preferred Pog over Vingegaard.
Cav getting his record was my favorite part as it was the most unexpected and heartwarming event.
Cav getting his record was my favorite part as it was the most unexpected and heartwarming event.
Voted a 7. On its racing merits probably 5. Minus 1 point because no top GC contender was forced to withdraw until the 2nd week. But 3 Bonus Points because the unwatchable final ITT was also meaningless. Viva La Tour!
6. One for each Pogi stage win.
To see yellow on the attack is something good. Historically somewhat rare. To see 3 of the big 4 all in good shape was good.
Other than that, it was pretty meh. Too many sprints, and I'm not sure the quality was as good as last year. Not enough GC uncertainty. Breakaways were like charity - "okay, we'll give you this".
Liked the green and polka dot jersey winners. Remco was good. Podium itself was class.
We'll all remember it for one thing alone: the imperious domination of one rider. He did it with panache and flair, rather than Skyborg/Banesto strangulation/control. So it is above a pass.
To see yellow on the attack is something good. Historically somewhat rare. To see 3 of the big 4 all in good shape was good.
Other than that, it was pretty meh. Too many sprints, and I'm not sure the quality was as good as last year. Not enough GC uncertainty. Breakaways were like charity - "okay, we'll give you this".
Liked the green and polka dot jersey winners. Remco was good. Podium itself was class.
We'll all remember it for one thing alone: the imperious domination of one rider. He did it with panache and flair, rather than Skyborg/Banesto strangulation/control. So it is above a pass.
In what way was this significantly worse than 2022/2023, which were praised to high heavens on here? Unrealistic climbing times - have been happening for a while now and it shouldn't have taken Beille to wake up to that. Certain riders and teams being too dominant - been that way for years. Same riders winning over and over - ditto. Not enough tension towards the end - rinse and repeat. And then on the positive side - another strong start to the race, two legitimately great stages, just like in the past two years, aggressive racing outside of the sprints. I genuinely don't see much difference. Or has everyone simply finally caught up with me in going through the disillusionment of one-sided dominance?
+
Stage 9 and 11 were both pretty great
First two weeks were very good in general whenever it wasn't a sprint stage
Every non-sprint stage was at least watchable
Evenepoel offered more than any third rider in 2022/23
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Pogacar too strong
UAE too strong
Happy few teams too strong in general
Zero tension for anything in what should have been the decisive block
Too many waste-of-time variety sprint stages
Pretty sure I contracted radioactive poisoning just from watching the TV on certain stages
So it's a 7/10 for me.
+
Stage 9 and 11 were both pretty great
First two weeks were very good in general whenever it wasn't a sprint stage
Every non-sprint stage was at least watchable
Evenepoel offered more than any third rider in 2022/23
-
Pogacar too strong
UAE too strong
Happy few teams too strong in general
Zero tension for anything in what should have been the decisive block
Too many waste-of-time variety sprint stages
Pretty sure I contracted radioactive poisoning just from watching the TV on certain stages
So it's a 7/10 for me.
6/10.
+ Historical win from Cav
+ Very good first weekend, gravel stage and mountain stages (except for Bonette)
+ Very good hilly stages like stage 11 and stage 18
Girmay winning green jersey
+ Pogacar beats Vingegaard and increase the level of this rivalry
- Too many sprint stages (8 is a lot)
- No breakaways in sprint stages
- Roglic crashed out
- No close fight for the podium (Very soon we realized Pogacar would be first, Vingo would be second and Remco would be third)
- Polka dot jersey won by a rider who made his points in the last 3 stages...
+ Historical win from Cav
+ Very good first weekend, gravel stage and mountain stages (except for Bonette)
+ Very good hilly stages like stage 11 and stage 18
Girmay winning green jersey
+ Pogacar beats Vingegaard and increase the level of this rivalry
- Too many sprint stages (8 is a lot)
- No breakaways in sprint stages
- Roglic crashed out
- No close fight for the podium (Very soon we realized Pogacar would be first, Vingo would be second and Remco would be third)
- Polka dot jersey won by a rider who made his points in the last 3 stages...
3/10 For the route.
The route was really bad. Too back loaded and to many sprint stages in the first 12 days.
Only postive was the gravel stage!
But overall
10/10 for Pogacar show and 10/10 for green jersey to an African rider!
The route was really bad. Too back loaded and to many sprint stages in the first 12 days.
Only postive was the gravel stage!
But overall
10/10 for Pogacar show and 10/10 for green jersey to an African rider!
Well, Tour routes are almost always backloaded. And this was perhaps one of the routes in recent history with most hilly terrain and action packed racing the first weekend. Usually it is mostly sprinter stages in the start. At best a Mur de Bretagne-esque finish.
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A solid 7. Some memorable stages, great stories.. shame it ended up in total domination but it was still pretty good. Not as good as last year, but good.
Too backloaded and still totally decided overall after the second week. Would it have been more boring with a less backloaded parcour?
10/10
The interesting fight for the Green, Polka Dot jerseys until the end of the race. GC win was also somehow competitive until stage 19 thanks to Jonas.
Pogacar in his own league, first success double Giro+Tour since Pantani with 12 stages in total.
I had my fun, although lost some $ betting on Jonas for the overall.
The interesting fight for the Green, Polka Dot jerseys until the end of the race. GC win was also somehow competitive until stage 19 thanks to Jonas.
Pogacar in his own league, first success double Giro+Tour since Pantani with 12 stages in total.
I had my fun, although lost some $ betting on Jonas for the overall.
Doubted between a 6 and a 7.
Pros:
- Start in Italy with suprising breakaway winners
- Bini winning green plus three stages
- GC contenders who were all willing to attack (
- Gravel stage and Le Lioran stage were just all out epic: agression from 50k to the finish, different scenarios, attacking riders everywhere
Cons:
- Horribly designed sprint stages
- Not a lot of opportunities for the breakaway (due to the prior reason of badly designed stages)
- Mountain stages all fairly predictable in terms of racing scenario (team pulling untill last climb, Pogi wins), no one came near to the Granon stage of 2022 for instance
- Pogi and UAE just too dominant
Not a bad Tour, enjoyed a fair bit of it, but far from the epic ones of 2022 and 2023.
Pros:
- Start in Italy with suprising breakaway winners
- Bini winning green plus three stages
- GC contenders who were all willing to attack (
- Gravel stage and Le Lioran stage were just all out epic: agression from 50k to the finish, different scenarios, attacking riders everywhere
Cons:
- Horribly designed sprint stages
- Not a lot of opportunities for the breakaway (due to the prior reason of badly designed stages)
- Mountain stages all fairly predictable in terms of racing scenario (team pulling untill last climb, Pogi wins), no one came near to the Granon stage of 2022 for instance
- Pogi and UAE just too dominant
Not a bad Tour, enjoyed a fair bit of it, but far from the epic ones of 2022 and 2023.
A solid 8. I was entertained the whole way.
Pluses
--We finally got to see Remco go up against Pog/Ving/Rog in a GT. And he delivered, no matter the final time gap
--Vingegaard was in good enough shape to make the race mostly competitive
--Bardet winning a stage and in yellow in his final Tour. Plus Turgis and Vauquelin winning stages for France.
--Ghirmay rising from the nearly dead to win 3 stages and green over the evil Jasper. And on a small team, too!
--Great breakaway action from EF; Carapaz/Mas duel was awesome to watch
--Even some of the boring sprint stages were pretty exciting
--No horrible crashes outside of -- no surprise, sadly -- Roglic
Minuses
--The haves vs the have nots in the GC was particularly lopsided
--The best B level climbers were forced into domestique duty on superteams so there wasn't any compelling action outside of the Top 2/3.
--Pog's dominance and the very high level of Jonas/Remco meant that there were no attacks on the GC from outsiders
--Covid, again.
Pluses
--We finally got to see Remco go up against Pog/Ving/Rog in a GT. And he delivered, no matter the final time gap
--Vingegaard was in good enough shape to make the race mostly competitive
--Bardet winning a stage and in yellow in his final Tour. Plus Turgis and Vauquelin winning stages for France.
--Ghirmay rising from the nearly dead to win 3 stages and green over the evil Jasper. And on a small team, too!
--Great breakaway action from EF; Carapaz/Mas duel was awesome to watch
--Even some of the boring sprint stages were pretty exciting
--No horrible crashes outside of -- no surprise, sadly -- Roglic
Minuses
--The haves vs the have nots in the GC was particularly lopsided
--The best B level climbers were forced into domestique duty on superteams so there wasn't any compelling action outside of the Top 2/3.
--Pog's dominance and the very high level of Jonas/Remco meant that there were no attacks on the GC from outsiders
--Covid, again.
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