Rate this year's three Grand Tours

[Descender]

Out of ten. I'll commence:



Giro: 9

It would be a ten if it wasn't for the blatant lack of flat ITT kms. Many things could be said about this Giro, but I'll just mention one of them that to me sums up that race: Garzelli, Vino and others attack on a miserable 3rd cat climb 15km from the finish. Cadel Evans starts playing Mohammed Ali with a Lampre guy. Meanwhile up front, Pippo Pozzato crosses himself.



Tour: 4

Sorry, not gonna cut it. It had its moments, the Madelaine stage was good and the pave was a brilliant inclusion, but overall it was just way too predictable and conservative and way too Brokeback Mountain by A&A. Meh is my impression.



Vuelta: 8

The parcours was lacking some toughness before the final climb and a proper downhill finish, and the TV producers seemed to want to get fired. But, amazingly, it was the GT with the least number of days where nothing happens, riders were aggressive and daring, and the final showdown (with the dream unveiling of a new climb) was as epic as they come.

 

[Dekker_Tifosi]

Giro: 10

I have seldomly seen such an awesome GT. This was far and away the coolest thing I saw in years. Constant changing leader positions. The freak breakaway. The epic racing conditions. The epic mountains. Nibali's Savoldelli like downhill skills. Basso's extreme grinta uphill. Evans, you can say what you want, but he kept fighting like a dog.
And ofcourse TGBM with his first GT showing
Can not be topped.

Tour: 4

Meh, it had the ingredients, the course was pretty though, there were plenty of chances to do something but... it just didn't happen. Tourmalet stage was really dissapointing. Schleck and Contador seem to be to good friends to really hurt eachother.
Also, the non convincing and boring style of Contador didn't help much. Battle for 3rd a small highlight.

Vuelta: 7

Lot's of short steep hills in the first week. Good first few MTF's. But unfortunately the falling out of Anton really took some interest away here. Liked to see him win. Nibali best of the rest. Mosquera put up a great fight, other than that, it wasn't particularly great, but if so many top riders chose to ignore this race, then that's what you get.

 

[Willy_Voet]

Giro > Tour = Vuelta

Giro at a 10, Tour and Vuelta at 6 or so.

I thought the Tour had some great ideas (Roubaix- and Liege-like stages), drama (Lance crashing and riding into oblivion), and for once, the riders looked tired (cleaner?)

Vuelta is interesting, but I think suffers from fans' GT fatigue. If it was earlier, it would be a bit fresher and more exciting. As it sits now, it's a race for the leftovers, missing contenders due to fatigue and injury.

As a lead up to the Worlds, it excels, but that should be the sub-plot.

 

[Mambo95]

Giro - 9 - top stuff. But let's not pretend that they didn't get lucky with weather on the Strade Bianche and the big breakaway.

Tour- 8 - it was a really good edition. Of course you have to slag off the Tour to prove that you're a proper fan.

Vuelta - 6 - I don't know what it is, but there's always been something lacking in the Vuelta. Anton's crash didn't help this year.

 

[craig1985]

Well the Giro >>>>>>>> Vuelta >>>>>>>> Tour.

The Giro was simply epic, and I'll never forget the strade bianche stage, it would of been a great stage had it been dry, but that it was pouring down rain made it even more better. And DT, you can't ignore Arroyo's descending skills off the Mortirolo to try and stay in the lead.

The Vuelta, for a race that is constantly criticised for not being interesting, at least the Vuelta organisers are trying to do something about it and throw in some killer hills before a sprint finish, or some Fleche Wallonne type finishes. I think Nibali's win will be overshadowed by Anton's unfortunate crash.

The Tour, well let's just say, it could do a lot better. As DT said, they had the ingredients there, like the profiles for stages 2 and 3, the finish on Mende. They could of used the Alps a little bit better IMO, and the stage into Pau was just an epic fail of all proportions. They got it right IMO in 2008, wishfully hoping it will be a lot better in 2011.

 

[Libertine Seguros]

As usual, Giro > Vuelta > Tour.

The Giro was a freak GT. I was about ready to throw in the towel after stage 7, with it being likely to come down to Vino vs. Cuddles after a day of 'cross. It had been an exciting first week, but I felt like the climbers were out of contention before we even got to the mountains. How wrong was I - that freak breakaway led to a truly absorbing battle and it's telling that the vast majority of the memories I will take from the 2010 cycling season come from the Giro, both good and bad - Sky's multiple pileup, Evans' epic win in Montalcino, the punchup with Righi, Nibali's Savoldelli-like descent of Monte Grappa, Arroyo's even better descent of the Mortirolo, Zoncolán, Evans and Vino getting involved in a bunch sprint to fight for the points jersey, and most of all staring at the screen over two hours before the race came on air blinking at what I was being told was happening and saying "what the f**k?!" out loud.

The Vuelta was a very good race. The field was not the greatest, but you never knew who would win until only about 1-2km from the summit of Bola del Mundo. There was no flat stage parade for the first week like the Tour, instead Unipublic decided to bring the Ardennes to Spain with a Cauberg-alike and a Huy-alike. The choice of wildcard teams brought excitement to otherwise dull mountains like Pal (at least it wasn't Arcalis, which held the title for most awful MTF of all time until Big Bear Lake came along). However, there were a number of stages where it felt like everything had been engineered so the important stuff would have to happen in the final hour, like it was TV-planned. And then the directing was poor and failed to capitalise on some of this.

The Tour started off very well. Actually I lie, no it didn't. It started off with a dull sprint marred by crashes, then a potentially exciting stage being neutralised. The cobbles were fun, then we had three successive stages where HTC were at their most race-strangling. And once Cavendish took a win, you knew it meant every sprint stage for the rest of the race was a pushover. Stages 7-9 were interesting, it was good to see Chavanel in yellow, and the Madeleine stage was easily the best Tour stage since Alpe d'Huez '08. But after that it really went downhill fast. Just like every year the controversies (Renshaw expulsion, Chaingate fiasco, race neutralisation) garnered more attention than the actual racing, and the lack of time bonuses meant that breakaways took all the victories in the mountains unopposed. Plus Caisse d'Epargne, the most active team in the Alps for breakaways and inserting themselves in the GC mix when they had no right to be part of it, were man-marked into oblivion and chased back by Radioshack for the Team Classification. Andy and Alberto were so clearly the class of the field that it made more or less every other move seem almost meaningless, and if that was a celebration of the Pyrenées, then the music was awful, the food bland and the atmosphere mediocre. The stage to Pau was downright terrible.

So, in summary, just like most years, Giro > Vuelta > Tour. But at least the Tour tried to put up a fight this year.

 

[Moondance]

Giro: 9.5. Very, very good. Almost perfect course, with interesting and novel stages (i.e. the strade bianchi) and some epic mountains. The sprinting stages always managed to throw up something interesting, mainly because there was noone clearly better than the rest. Racing was very open, and the lead shifted throughout the race, with every day's seemingly completely altering the make-up of the race. We saw some epic performances by established names, and remarkable performances by some un-established one, and saw some bright new faces impressing in a big way. All-in-all... As close to perfect as you can get.

Tour: 7. I quite liked the Tour this year, and I'm surprised to see a few people ragging on it quite heavily. It had some very un-Tour like stages, and generally provided good racing and entertainment. It lackes the spectacle of the Giro, but it shows some serious progression in improving the Tour for future years. Would be 8 if the (slighly too many) flat-ish stages didn't become so dull and routine because of Cav and HTC (and only so much of the blame can be placed on the organisers for this).

Vuelta: 6.5. Quite weak this year. A decent start, and some very interesting early stages eventually led into a largely soporific second half. Very few mountain stages were interesting, since rarely was there more than one, big climb. Also the very un-Spanish ITT kinda spoiled it for me, not that I'm slighting Nibali by this. Also a shame that the man who should've won, Anton, had to abandon... That really killed the Vuelta for me.

 

[hrotha]

Giro: 0. I couldn't watch it because I was away and/or working and I hadn't yet rediscovered my love for cycling, and yet they decided to hold the race instead of waiting for me.

Tour: 6. It had some interesting moments. I think the organizers had designed a good course but the race became weird and awkward with the whole fair-play-gone-stupid thing, and everyone was too conservative. When Andy put 10 seconds on Contador it looked like it was going to be an awesome Tour, then it didn't deliver. Merely OK.

Vuelta: 8. It was a very entertaining race with hardly any boring stages, but I think the course would have been better with one or two real mountain stages and not just mountain-top finishes. Still, we saw all sorts of climbs that suited all kinds of riders (although perhaps there were too many super-steep short climbs in the first week; they should have spread them more), and while there weren't many big names going for the GC the ones that were there were moderately exciting. And it helps that Gilbert shows up for your races.

 

[the_kman]

Tour: 4

Sorry, not gonna cut it. It had its moments, the Madelaine stage was good and the pave was a brilliant inclusion, but overall it was just way too predictable and conservative and way too Brokeback Mountain by A&A. Meh is my impression.

hah i couldnt have said it better. Very boring tour.

 

[Ferminal]

Giro - 10

If it wasn't a 10 this year then that's an enormously high bar for any future GTs to get the "perfect score". I can only remember 2-3 dull days.

Tour - 5

For me the start was great, but it was over after the exciting Madeleine stage, so far half a GT, it gets half marks.

Vuelta - 7

The early stages were great, exactly what I want more of in GTs. The sprints were good until HTC won one. Inevitably the majority of MTFs were a bit of a let down, I think the reason is that the field just wasn't strong enough, there were only really 3 climbers after Anton, the rest were just riding for their position inside the top10. If Menchov was on form or there were a couple more A-grade GT climbers in the race then it might have been less controlled. Anton, Mosquera and Rodriguez did their best to spark the climbs, we can't fault their efforts (as opposed to Schleck and Contador).

 

[Francois the Postman]

Giro 9, Tour 5.5, Vuelta 7

And all were better than they were last year. Hope that is a trend (not that I can see rain bringing epicness to a similar Giro stage on a -well- epic level any time soon, but I would be disappointed if this is as good as it would ever get. That's why I am reserving the 10-spot for the Giro, I'm the eternal optimist).

Prediction for next year: 8.5, 7, 8.

 

[hfer07]

Giro: 9.5 magnificent.
Vuelta: 7.5 is growing nicely in the right direction.
Tour: 5.0 I think the tour has grown too big to fulfill all expectations-and the attitude of the riders have made it so predictable, calculating & ultimately -a boring race...

 

[ansimi]

Giro - 9.5 - best race I've ever seen but I haven't been following the sport for long so I'll leave a little room. The only downside I remember was too many dangerous crashes early on. Crashes with traffic furniture add drama but I'd rather have the riders in the race.

Tour - 5 - It wasn't very memorable but it was better than last year. The weather and the scenery were nice but nobody looked like they were having any fun.

Vuelta - 7 - A lot of boring riding and not much to look at on many stages but the finishes were good (even bunch sprints) and the GC battle was great.

 

[The Hitch]

Giro

10 out of 10.


Sure it wasnt perfect. But its as close as a gt can get to perfection. If this doesnt get 10 nothing ever will.

The fun starts straight away. A few riders including pre giro favourite Cadel Evans get within Wiggins time of 10.17 in the prologue. A very good prologue at that. Then we have crashes and mayhem through Holland and millions of fans. The fun doesnnt stop upon enttering Italy. Oh no. first a ttt, always fun. Then a magical stage where the breakaway, doomed for so long, somehow stays away. Epic. Next Strade Bianchi. 2 all time great stages in 3 days. Wow.

Throw in a sprint here and ther and a disapointing Terminillo but mostly fun.

And the twist. so good you couldnt write it. laquilla sets the stage for the second half. Playing it safe is not possible. The hunters have become the hunted. The favouritess are forced to attack to get the gap on Arroyo and co. And attack they do. First Monte Grappa. Nibali descent. this was only the 6th most exciting stage of this Giro. And yet it trumped anything the Tour or Vuelta offered in years. Then the Zoncolan. The Zoncolan is boredom proof. Theres no slipstream up those slopes. Its like 180 itts at once. 1 million people add to the spectacle. Then a Kronplatz itt for fun. Who said itts were boring.Another great mountain. And then.

The main event. It comes down to the Mortirolo, 30 k from the finish. Direct from a screenplay. The favourites drop Arroyo. Hes gone. Time to contest the Giro for themselve. Basso and liqui drop their contenders. Its over Basso has won it. the mountain is concured. You think the credits will roll. And then.
A faint sound in the distance can be heard. The background music rises.

There is hope yet.

Arroyo. Hes catching up. Flies past everyone who was ahead of him. Gets within 30 seconds. Finaly evil truimphs up the final climb but what a stage. The Gavia Pass is disapointing. The Gods deciding that if the Giro had 1 shred of excitement more the world would come to an end.


Tour

3 out of 10. Major disapointment. If it wasnt for the col Jallabert, cobbles or Morzine this would get 2 out of 10. If it wasnt for the Madeline this would get 1 out of 10. Those 3 were good, Madeline was great. vino attack was fun too. but its supposed to be 21 days, not 4 or 5. Not just that there are too many sprints. Of the 7 mountain stages 2 were won by Schleck and 5 by a breakaway.

Vuelta

6 out of 10. A few good stages. Nice to have good finishes in the first week. Andora was the best. Belo would be had the right guy got the right time Shame Anton crashed. But rasing the Vuelta profile is not all about how good the race was. It was success in other ways, namely getting a showdown final stage for people to watch, and having such huge crowds for so many stages.

Also one more point about the Giro. According to wiki, 17 of the 22 teams had either a stage win or a jersey. Never has one sporting event proved as beneficial to everyone fans and competitors.

 

[Timmy-loves-Rabo]

I echo the giro loving. What a race it was. Simply amazing.

Giro - 10
Tour - 4
Vuelta - 6 (i've seen better editions in the past few years, the field was a little weak imo)

 

[luckyboy]

Giro - 10

Strade Bianchi, the mountains.. Basically what everyone else said. Best GT I've seen.


Tour - 6

Actually one of the best Tours I've seen. Chavanel's 2 stage wins (especially the epic Station des Rousses one. Voeckler, Fedrigo, Casar and Riblon's wins & Charteau in polka-dots were also pretty pleasing, plus the Arenberg stage was great. GC battle wasn't great, but it was at least interesting. Would probably be 4.5 without Chavanel's wins though.


Vuelta - 7.5

Gilbert's two wins, Mouncoutie's wins and the polka-dots. Hutarovich, Nieve and Barredo's wins were nice too. An extremely tense Bola del Mundo, some very good stages. Some great hilly finishes too (stages 3, 4, 19). Kinda overshadowed by Anton's fall and the fact that Nibali didn't crack today. Overall very good though.

 

[The Hitch]

For those who give the giro less than 10 bare in mind that to get the 10 the giro will need the following, + whatever you think it lacks

2 great flat itts.

A good early ttt

Mayhem on flat stages.

A flat stage where 3 no hopers, doomed for the entire stage put in the performance of their lives and cheat the sprinters by mere seconds.

A mud / cobbled classic stage where the fun lasts for an hour and riders come in one by one for 10 minutes

A Laquilla stage half way which flips the gc on its head and forces attacking racing.

A Monte Grappa descent victory stage with time gaps.

A Zoncolan 1 million people stage with huge time gaps.

An epic mountain itt.

And a Mortirolo style super finalle where the climb and descent and flat and final climb all toss up surprises and eventually provide a winner.


Once again. All that + more. IS it even possible to get a better gt?

 

[luckyboy]

I think the only thing you could add would've been if Arroyo was still about half a minute ahead of Basso before the Passo del Tonale stage. Would've added a bit more tension to the GC towards the end.

 

[Moose McKnuckles]

Giro = 10
Tour=7
Vuelta=6

The Vuelta was not better than the Tour. Please stop with this. Was the Tour rather tame? Yes. Was it better than a Vuelta where the top contenders didn't bother showing up? Yes. Today's stage was fantastic, yet every person watching it would never mistake it for the Tour.

 

[marioni]

Giro > Vuelta > Tour

I know it's popular to bash the Tour, but I loved Contador winning it and Andy Schleck being a hypocritical cry baby. Still was the least interesting of the three, tho.

 

[red_flanders]

Giro: 8

Great edition, thoroughly enjoyed it, but a little lacking in star power. Last year's was better.

Tour: 7

Good battle between Schleck and Contador, but it never really materialized the way it could have. The demise of Armstrong was interesting if nothing else.

Vuelta: 0

Who cares, it's football season.

 

[Sydney21]

Giro - 10 (just an awesome race with so many twists and turns. stages on Strade Bianchi, Zolocan and Plan d Corones were highlights. It seems to me that a GT is most exciting when GC is close ...Dahh. so how do we make the Tour harder for Contador?

Tour - 5 (i like it when GC is much more open but the race did have a good opening week -loved the cobbles)

Vuelta - 5 ( thought it was ok but mountains were so short and punchy that nothing happened for the vast majority of stages except for 5 mins at the finale

 

[blaxland]

Giro=9.5 Excellent racing and cobbled stage.....

Le Tour=5 Boring and Predictable

Vuelta=7 Good parcours,but not big enough mountain stages...

Congatulations to Liquigas two Grand Tours in the one season....Basso/Nibali..

 

[ericthesportsman6]

Giro-10 no explanation needed

Tour-1 no explanation needed

Vuelta-7 I didn't really watch much of this one, since school and football season have started, but I still watched the mountain stages. I thought it was plenty exciting, and I generally liked all the riders in contention, making it even more interesting. Probably could have been an 8 or 9 if Anton didn't crash out. He and Mosquera duking it out could have been epic.

 

[Timmy-loves-Rabo]

Giro = 10
Tour=7
Vuelta=6

The Vuelta was not better than the Tour. Please stop with this. Was the Tour rather tame? Yes. Was it better than a Vuelta where the top contenders didn't bother showing up? Yes. Today's stage was fantastic, yet every person watching it would never mistake it for the Tour.

The amazing field is the only thing the tour had going for it. I liked the cobble stage also, but the mountains were boring as usual. And the whole Spartacus killing off the stage antics really soured me, I haven't liked him since. Better than 09' but that wasn't hard. Vuelta is interesting because it isn't so controlled and predictable. But yeah, the field was a little weak this year.