Rate the Tour de France 2014.

[murali]

I am giving a 5, despite having a really pathetic tour.

Disappointments: with half the real contenders out, i dont think i shud even talk abt this.

Surprise:
Nibali in the cobble stage.
Tony Martin (the road stage win, 2 days in red number, and a freaking polka dot jersey for him)
Sagan(falling short of a win)
Pinot descents.

Best stage win: Kittel showing tht he is cav's successor.
Majka's 2 wins
Rogers
Tony Martin
Boom
Tony Martin (1:39 at the *** end of a long pathetic tour!)


To put this in perspective:
When cav crashed, green became a no-race.
When AC too DNFed, yellow became a no-race.
with Majka peaking at the right moment and targeting polka, another no-contest. (it was known tht stage 16-17-18 will decide the polka jersey.)
White jersey was the only one left. with 2 french guys, it was dull.
But after so watching so many tours with practically no contest in the recent past, i dont know whether anyone can really complain about this. Tours like this make one wish tht all the riders were doped so tht we get an excuse to blame this tour.

there was no one quitting the tour due to some doping violation. in fact, doping never even surfaced in most of the tour interviews. thts the only good thing abt this race, and the only reason why it gets a higher rating of 5.

The worst part was ASO searching for a french rider to give the combativity price. Unless ASO mends its ways, i dont think i will be looking forward to the next tour.
Cobbles shudnt be raced on wet conditions. they are persisting with 90 degree bends in front of sprints. (tight corners dont make sprints interesting. they just make it more dangerous)
No stage to do an initial sorting. i hope ASO brings back the short prologues or bringing in a mountain within the first 3 stages. a flat stage to begin tour is ok. but they need to follow it up with a stage to sort the GC teams.
(ok i confess. i will be watching the next tour despite knowing tht it is also going to end up pathetic.)

I frankly dont remember how many times i hoped for a Giro, Veulta, the stage races, even one-day 1.1 cat races during the tour. this tour misses a 1 only because of a few individual performances.

(****... i am already thinking why i voted 5)

 

[Cance > TheRest]

Biggest Disappointment? AC and CF abandoning, Cancellara's (lack of) performance
Biggest Surprise? Majka getting a pro win, AC and CF abandoning
Best Stage win? Navardauskas solo ride or Rogers TT to Bagneres de Luchon - Best overall stage was the Pla d'adet one
Positives? SKY falling apart
Negatives? 2nd tier competition, Valverde failing to rach podium
Funniest moment? Mollema failing in the ITT and blaming the bike , Zubeldia's ninja ride
Looking forward to the next tour? Very much indeed
During the tour were you counting down the days until the vuelta starts? YES

Overall it's a 7 for me, thanks to several good stages with great action and Nibali's confident riding

 

[woodenswan]

one level above Scheldeprijs
but only because of stage 5

Biggest Surprise? Carlton not nearly as annoying as i expected him to be!

Positives? Cancellara giving it a go on day 1 and Tony Martin, stages 9-10
+ i liked this tweet from Millar: "Tony Martin said 'Sorry David' when he caught and passed me in a TT. He's that nice."

During the tour were you counting down the days until the vuelta starts? obviously

 

[Fight.The.Power]

Voted 8

Of course dissapointment with retirements of MC, AC and CF (in that order ) But thought the podium battle was the best in years and thought the sprints were wide open at times.

Felt sorry for Sagan, as if he found a penny and lost a shilling.

Tony Martin was fantastic, but my highlight was the French Renaissance and the Podium battle.

After much personal debate on whether Nibali was a duly deserving winner, I was initially sceptical, but I think he didn't sit back, he did everything he could to prove he was a deserving winner and I agree. Chapeau Vincenzo and would be happy for you to whip Alberto and Froome next year.

Out of himself and AC / CF I think he was more humbled by the victory than the other two would have been and that was good to see.

Sure I have forgotton loads and probably gonna do a pain-in-the-**** poll in a minute.

Great threads by everyone this years TDF and thanks to everyone on this forum involved !

See you in Jerez de la Frontera

Hasta Luego !

 

[JRTK73]

If you compare it to other tours, it was a 2. We did have some interesting fights for the white jersey, podiums and the KoM but all in all the racing wasn't very exciting. It's not the first disappointing tour we have had and Nibali deserves his win completely. I only hope next year we can see all four of the top guys fit and in top form throughout the race.

 

[Fight.The.Power]

Jeez just looked at the votes and over 12% voted 3 or less.

Wish these people would just pizz off and go and turn the football on instead FFS.

FKING IDOITS !

 

[Sciocco]

Jeez just looked at the votes and over 12% voted 3 or less.

Wish these people would just pizz off and go and turn the football on instead FFS.

FKING IDOITS !

People interpret 1-10 scales in different ways. Some people use 7 or even 8 as normal/average for rating. I use 5, so 5 is my vote for an average tour. This tour was at best average. My interest in cycling is GTs and stage races with climbing involved, some one days too. This TdF might have been the worst of what I enjoy so far this year.

Not going to watch a boring sport.

Some of us would actually like to see an exciting tour, it's been a few years.

Lol, post I quoted got deleted. Please delete mine too, I guess.

 

[Fight.The.Power]

People interpret 1-10 scales in different ways. Some people use 7 or even 8 as normal/average for rating. I use 5, so 5 is my vote for an average tour. This tour was at best average. My interest in cycling is GTs and stage races with climbing involved, some one days too. This TdF might have been the worst of what I enjoy so far this year.

Not going to watch a boring sport.

Some of us would actually like to see an exciting tour, it's been a few years.

Lol, post I quoted got deleted. Please delete mine too, I guess.

The voice of reason eh?

You're probably right, but in my book the Tour starts at 10 and is then discounted.

I think you probably start at 5

Fair enough

 

[Fight.The.Power]

FAO SCIOCCO

Yeh I wondered where it went

FAO REST OF FORUM

I was complaining at all those voting 3 or less.

Perhaps used too many FFS and other FCKING words

 

[RobbieCanuck]

Only 28.42% thought the TDF was a 5 or less. 71.58% thought it was a 6 or better, and more than 1/2 (51.04%) thought it was a 7-9. The mean was 6. The median was 6.5. The mode was 8. I didn't calculate the SD.

 

[Fight.The.Power]

Only 28.42% thought the TDF was a 5 or less. 71.58% thought it was a 6 or better, and more than 1/2 (51.04%) thought it was a 7-9. The mean was 6. The median was 6.5. The mode was 8. I didn't calculate the SD.

Do you have access to the last few years identical poll? Was there such a poll for the last few years anyway?

Not sure you can calculate the SD then can you sunshine

 

[RobbieCanuck]

Do you have access to the last few years identical poll? Was there such a poll for the last few years anyway?

Not sure you can calculate the SD then can you sunshine

I didn't have a calculator handy to do the SD. And I don't know about past polls.

 

[Fight.The.Power]

I didn't have a calculator handy to do the SD. And I don't know about past polls.

How can you calculate SD on n=1 ??? FFS

 

[kingjr]

Biggest Disappointment?
Froome and Contador having to abandon.

Biggest Surprise?
None really this year. Well maybe Peraud ending up on the podium.

Best Stage win?
There were a couple nice ones but Tony Martin stands out for me Honorable mentions to Boom, Niabli in Hautacam and Kittel in Paris.

Positives?
7 German wins out of 21 possible.

Negatives?
See "biggest disappointment". And Valverde missing out on the Podium.

Funniest moment?
Voigt riding away from his companions at the Intermediate Sprint on Stage 1.

Looking forward to the next tour?
Always.

During the tour were you counting down the days until the vuelta starts?
No, but I'll do now.

Overall, I gave it a 6. I really enjoyed the flat stages but yeah this Tour I'll always remember for what might've been, regarding the fight for the yellow jersey.

 

[Escarabajo]

5.

The lowest rating that I have given ever to a Tour de France.

Tried to put my interest on the fight for the podium, but the contenders were simply too weak. Simple as that. They made Nibali look too good.

Since they said that the Pave is part of cycling and it should be there then there should be a day for Mountain Bike and a day for Downhill.

Seriously, what a stupid response. The pave should not be there. I was doubtful at the beginning about the inclusion of the pave due to the excitement of the stage but now I realize that it should not be there. Climbers nowadays are too fragile. Even more than before. Cycling has become more specialized than before. Even for the pave specialists. Everything has its place. I love Paris Roubaix in the spring not in the summer. IMHO.

 

[Fight.The.Power]

5.

The lowest rating that I have given ever to a Tour de France.

Tried to put my interest on the fight for the podium, but the contenders were simply too weak. Simple as that. They made Nibali look too good.

Since they said that the Pave is part of cycling and it should be there then there should be a day for Mountain Bike and a day for Downhill.

Seriously, what a stupid response. The pave should not be there. I was doubtful at the beginning about the inclusion of the pave due to the excitement of the stage but now I realize that it should not be there. Climbers nowadays are too fragile. Even more than before. Cycling has become more specialized than before. Even for the pave specialists. Everything has its place. I love Paris Roubaix in the spring not in the summer. IMHO.

You complain about fragile climbers and tour being too specializef but complain about broading the spectacle to involve cobbles.

Bit confused TBH

And stating that if Cobbles should be there then so should 'downhill' whatever that means, misses the fact that spring classics are all conducted on the same machines as the tour (within the guidelines of the UCI)

If I'm wrong tell me.

 

[Jspear]

5.

The lowest rating that I have given ever to a Tour de France.

Tried to put my interest on the fight for the podium, but the contenders were simply too weak. Simple as that. They made Nibali look too good.

Since they said that the Pave is part of cycling and it should be there then there should be a day for Mountain Bike and a day for Downhill.

Seriously, what a stupid response. The pave should not be there. I was doubtful at the beginning about the inclusion of the pave due to the excitement of the stage but now I realize that it should not be there. Climbers nowadays are too fragile. Even more than before. Cycling has become more specialized than before. Even for the pave specialists. Everything has its place. I love Paris Roubaix in the spring not in the summer. IMHO.

I think its fine to add pave once in awhile. A gt should have a little of all road racing (pave is considered road racing) - Climbing, descending (u go up, u got to come down ), sprinting, roulers stages, tting, team tting, cobbles. I think that's the point of a GT. It brings together everything we love about road racing and packs it into a grueling 3 weeks.

The Tour is not just about climbing. Not everything has to be perfectly suited to them. It's perfectly fine if a more complete rider wins the Tour over a more "pure" climber. IMHO.

 

[Sciocco]

5.

The lowest rating that I have given ever to a Tour de France.

Tried to put my interest on the fight for the podium, but the contenders were simply too weak. Simple as that. They made Nibali look too good.

Since they said that the Pave is part of cycling and it should be there then there should be a day for Mountain Bike and a day for Downhill.

Seriously, what a stupid response. The pave should not be there. I was doubtful at the beginning about the inclusion of the pave due to the excitement of the stage but now I realize that it should not be there. Climbers nowadays are too fragile. Even more than before. Cycling has become more specialized than before. Even for the pave specialists. Everything has its place. I love Paris Roubaix in the spring not in the summer. IMHO.

Yep, the podium fight felt like a fight for 6-7-8th place or so in terms of quality.

Hey if they want to include some Valparaiso Downhill I'm all for it! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GxwVXp0uEIg

I 1000% disagree with you on cobbles in the TdF though, I want it there annually, or close to it. This year it was completely irrelevant to the yellow jersey.

 

[hfer07]

5.

The lowest rating that I have given ever to a Tour de France.

Tried to put my interest on the fight for the podium, but the contenders were simply too weak. Simple as that. They made Nibali look too good.

Since they said that the Pave is part of cycling and it should be there then there should be a day for Mountain Bike and a day for Downhill.

Seriously, what a stupid response. The pave should not be there. I was doubtful at the beginning about the inclusion of the pave due to the excitement of the stage but now I realize that it should not be there. Climbers nowadays are too fragile. Even more than before. Cycling has become more specialized than before. Even for the pave specialists. Everything has its place. I love Paris Roubaix in the spring not in the summer. IMHO.

dude- do you realize that neither Froome nor Contador were exactly "eliminated" by the Cobbles?

I understand your point, but I think if the sport wants to survive, it should provide much more variety in challenges, as far as terrain & conditions go, so the Tour winner will be undoubted crown as the best of them all.

 

[Fight.The.Power]

I think its fine to add pave once in awhile. A gt should have a little of all road racing (pave is considered road racing) - Climbing, descending (u go up, u got to come down ), sprinting, roulers stages, tting, team tting, cobbles. I think that's the point of a GT. It brings together everything we love about road racing and packs it into a grueling 3 weeks.

The Tour is not just about climbing. Not everything has to be perfectly suited to them. It's perfectly fine if a more complete rider wins the Tour over a more "pure" climber. IMHO.

Exactly. . .

 

[VeloGirl]

Biggest Disappointment? Tejay can Garderen. Debbie downer. Always sulking. He needs a fire lit under his ****.
Biggest Surprise? AG2R won the team classification. Let that sink in for a minute.
Best Stage win? None stand out.
Positives? Finally, a nearly perfect course (for my preference).
1. A proper stage to start - I loathe ITTs and prologues to start.
2. Climbs in the first week
3. Yorkshire was fantastic
4. No TTT and only 1 long ITT at the end - so that it actually mattered.
5. Limited key mountain passes in the middle of the stage so that they mean
nothing. I think maybe the Tourmalet was the only one.
6. Cobbles were okay. I don't mind them once and while.
Negatives? Major contenders crashing out so that we didn't get the climbing battles. I was really looking forward to the attacks in the mnts.
Funniest moment? Nibali elbowing the iPhone right out of that girl's hand - and the look on her face after he'd done it. I could watch the video all day long.
Looking forward to the next tour? I'm looking forward to the Clasica San Sebastian. I'm also looking forward the 2015 course reveal in Oct because I then start thinking about what days off work I'll take in July.
During the tour were you counting down the days until the vuelta starts? Nah. I always want the tour to last longer. Once the tour ends, I have to go back to work.

 

[movingtarget]

I give it a 6 purely for Nibali's performance. The battle for the podium places became less interesting when TJVG lost big time in the mountains. It was clear with Valverde losing time in the mountains also, I knew he would not out perform Peraud in the TT who is a solid TT rider. For me the disappointment of not seeing a battle between Froome, Contador and Nibali was probably stronger than my interest in the race. The Green jersey was also won a long way from the finish and the Mountains jersey does not have much interest for me ever. As for the cobbles. I say leave them in but only once every five years or so. If Nibali at 55 kgs can handle them maybe the other GC riders need some practice. The mountain stages were dull as Nibali was so dominant. I thought last year's Tour was much better and the 2014 Giro was also superior. I am hoping the Vuelta is more exciting.

 

[Escarabajo]

dude- do you realize that neither Froome nor Contador were exactly "eliminated" by the Cobbles?

I understand your point, but I think if the sport wants to survive, it should provide much more variety in challenges, as far as terrain & conditions go, so the Tour winner will be undoubted crown as the best of them all.

I would argue with you that the second and third crash by Froome could have been affected by the pressure of the pave and the fighting for position even if it was outside the pave.

Contador condition was horrible after the Pave. He could have been already weakened by a specialty that is not his. Pressure could have gotten the best of him.

I loved the pave stage. And I loved the excitement, but it just kills the natural climbers. Or most of them. They are too fragile.

Cycling is not the same anymore as the Hinault and the Merckx eras. We have to accept it. Now is a specialty sport. Whether we like it or not.

This is a discussion for a different thread anyway.

 

[Savant12]

Gave it a 4 but could be a 5. Other than the cobbles it wasn't that interesting. The Yellow Jersey was decided after Contador crashed out and even the Green Jersey/KOM competition lacked excitement.

Yes, the French battle was exciting at times but it was for spots on the podium. And as someone said "Other than the winner who really remembers the other guys."

First time for a few years, that I actually gave up watching the end of a few stages.

 

[Bye Bye Bicycle]

Biggest Disappointment? Bardet dropping down to 6th in the ITT due to a mechanical.
Biggest Surprise? Leo König. I expected him around 15th place. And all those great French riders in the GC top 10. And - surprisingly - I consider this now the race is done a really great course. One of the best in the last years.
Best Stage win? Navardauskas' classic late attack.
Positives? No Contador, Froome, Quintana - suddenly the race got interesting for me. Marcel Kittel's absolute domination in straight-out sprint finishes.
Negatives? We have two riders with four stage wins each - but the green jersey goes to someone who wasn't able to win a single stage. And Rafal Majka, very dislikeable from the moment he entered the race.
Funniest moment? the elephant
Looking forward to the next tour? sure
During the tour were you counting down the days until the vuelta starts? Hell no.