Summer Games Paris 2024

[Wyndbrook]

To bad for you that your not invited.
Also are people here talking about if OL holds more value than WC in cycling?

Arent you guys suppose to know some *** atleast? Even casual fans knows WC is bigger in cycling jesus christ.

Not sure about the JC bit, but your view on which holds most value often depends where you live.
Certainly to the broader public and the media in the UK an olympic Gold stuffs a world champs win.

 

[tobydawq]

It is an interesting point... how people would value the specific, quite extensive, list of potential victories in cycling.

Mine would probably be something like:

1. TdF
2. Paris-Roubaix
3. Giro, LBL, Flanders, Il Lombardia, Worlds
4. MSR, Olympics
5. Vuelta
6. Paris-Nice, Dauphine
7. Fleche, Gent-Wevelgem
8. A mix of the other big one weekers and remaining bigger classics

BUT it is hard to gauge the Olympics... and I think that between 2 and 4 especially a lot of room for disagreement that is fair.

And it depends too how you rate history vs present.

For example if I were a decent cyclist Paris-Tours, Milano-Torino and Paris-Brussels would matter more than some 1.UWT races because of the history.

Vuelta two tiers below Lombardia? Mhmmm

 

[Netserk]

It is an interesting point... how people would value the specific, quite extensive, list of potential victories in cycling.

Mine would probably be something like:

1. TdF
2. Paris-Roubaix
3. Giro, LBL, Flanders, Il Lombardia, Worlds
4. MSR, Olympics
5. Vuelta
6. Paris-Nice, Dauphine
7. Fleche, Gent-Wevelgem
8. A mix of the other big one weekers and remaining bigger classics

BUT it is hard to gauge the Olympics... and I think that between 2 and 4 especially a lot of room for disagreement that is fair.

And it depends too how you rate history vs present.

For example if I were a decent cyclist Paris-Tours, Milano-Torino and Paris-Brussels would matter more than some 1.UWT races because of the history.

I'd perhaps move some around if I had to give it a go again:

Leaving cardinality aside, what is the order of the prestige of victories currently? If we can agree on that, it should make a ranking easier.

A first attempt:

Tour de France
Giro d'Italia
Vuelta a España
Olympic Games Road Race
World Championships Road Race
Paris - Roubaix
Ronde van Vlaanderen
Liège - Bastogne - Liège
Giro di Lombardia
Milano - Sanremo
Dauphiné Libéré
Tour de Suisse
Paris - Nice
Itzulia
Tirreno - Adriatico
Volta a Cataluña
Amstel Gold Race
Gent - Wevelgem
Tour de Romandie
Olympic Games Time Trial
Flèche Wallone
World Championships Time Trial
Tour de France Green Jersey
E3 Harelbeke
Strade Bianche
San Sebastian
Tour de France Polka Dot Jersey
European Championships Road Race
Omloop
GP de Québec
GP de Montréal
UAE Tour
Tour de Pologne
Benelux Tour
Tour Down Under
Giro dell'Emilia
Milano - Torino
Dwars door Vlaanderen
Bretagne Classic
Kuurne - Brussel - Kuurne
De Panne
Hamburg Cyclassics
Frankfurt
Tre Valli Varesine

I'll add more races and the secondary classifications of the Giro and Vuelta later.

 

[Penninepeddler]

Vuelta two tiers below Lombardia? Mhmmm

I think it is very individual to a degree... and those tiers are pretty close.

Vuelta usually has a weaker field relative to its discipline than Lombardia, Lombardia is also older with more history too...

plus I am probably a bigger one-day race fan vs stage races than most.

 

[tobydawq]

I think it is very individual to a degree... and those tiers are pretty close.

Vuelta usually has a weaker field relative to its discipline than Lombardia, Lombardia is also older with more history too...

plus I am probably a bigger one-day race fan vs stage races than most.

The Vuelta usually has a very strong field. Probably not this year, though.

 

[Armchair Cyclist]

Note that in road cycling such medals hold little to no value.

Please explain. Have you changed your mind since you made these (and many similar) comments? If so, why? Would you now like to withdraw these comments?

Olympic ITT and WC ITT wins are as important as any.

If you would be a ski jumper fan, then you would totally understand this one. As for Rogličes chances, if he ends up participating, totally up to him, his decision, best to wait and see. Last time he participated there where big question marks involved too, and we all know on how that one ended. Roglič becoming an Olympic gold medallist.

I feel that Pogi is underestimating the importance of becoming an Olympic gold medallist. If you have a shot at that you always should take it. You instantly become an immortal regardless of all the talk on how it supposedly doesn't mean all that much in cycling world.

Olympics don't need any real defending, it's rather clear. Either you are an Olympic gold medallist, or you are not. Who cares if sports like Boxing did everything in their power, to undermine Olympics. Or if cycling is trying to portray a different narrative, on how important cycling, outside Olympics, really is.

In my opinion Pogi will regret it, not participating, through the following decades. I guess still time to change his mind. IMHO he should go and do his best.

He would likely be prepared to trade his 2 PR titles for Olympic gold, future Pogi. Olympics transcend pro sport.

 

[Peyroteo94]

Please explain. Have you changed your mind since you made these (and many similar) comments? If so, why? Would you now like to withdraw these comments?

Busted!

 

[Penninepeddler]

The Vuelta usually has a very strong field. Probably not this year, though.

There are probably, what, on average ~2 of the top 5 GC guys?

I dunno... Lombardia usually has 6-8 of the best 10 climbers in the world there.

 

[Valv.Piti]

@Netserk Thats a great list tbf. I'd move Dwaars and KBK a bit up, honestly I think they are more prestigious than the Canadian classics. But maybe thats my bias speaking.

 

[Netserk]

@Netserk Thats a great list tbf. I'd move Dwaars and KBK a bit up, honestly I think they are more prestigious than the Canadian classics. But maybe thats my bias speaking.

I'd probably also move Kuurne above Dwars if I had to redo it.

 

[zlev11]

imo it goes Tour-Roubaix-Ronde-Giro-Worlds-Vuelta-MSR-Liege-Lombardia-OlympicRR

 

[stekelegel]

Road racing enthousiasts do not value the Olympics enough. True, the best riders are not all here. True, the Olympics has zero history with amateurs mostly competing. But ask GvA or carapaz which victory had the most impact, guaranteed the Olympics. Uci should do more for promoting the road race, this is your platform to the world.

 

[Eagle_Alps]

The world champ gets to wear rainbows for a year, and stripes on the sleeves forever.
The Olympic champ gets a golden bike or helmet for some years which nobody notices.
Now what has more visibility, tradition and therefore prestige?
For RR that is, TT is different

 

[BullsFan22]

Why such a short TT??

 

[Penninepeddler]

Road racing enthousiasts do not value the Olympics enough. True, the best riders are not all here. True, the Olympics has zero history with amateurs mostly competing. But ask GvA or carapaz which victory had the most impact, guaranteed the Olympics. Uci should do more for promoting the road race, this is your platform to the world.

It is tough though...

look at Football and even Tennis... Olympics are generally just less important in old, well established sports, Tennis has pushed Olympics a lot but most still value Wimbledon and probably Roland Garros over it too.

Also the format... heck... for things like Skateboarding and Surfing even, Olympic Gold is probably a worse measure of who is best than the big world tours they have. As half of the top guys and girls in the world are not there and Olympic Committees and Olympic "approved" qualifier events mean some dodgy selections and people going who should not be there (not talking continental representation either, just some who should not be there over countrymen or others from region).

 

[SHAD0W93]

CA is butthurt, because people on here haven't given Roglič the credit, CA thinks he deserves. CA actually believes the Olympic ITT is a bigger competition that it is. The same goes for winning the Vuelta, which on here has been described as being like kissing your sister.

Wait for the 61 > 15 so that means Roglic is the better TT post.

 

[Sciatic]

Little to no value? Wow. In my view an Olympic champion is four times more prestigious than a world champ - even in cycling. For the next four years Remco will be the Olympic time trial champion.

We can also look at other sports - basketball. The US dream team were a very big deal. Obviously the Olympics mattered to those who got paid countless millions in the NBA.

I think it depends what country you’re from and how much a Gold medal is valued there. I’m sure Carapaz winning gold was a huge deal in Ecuador. You’d have to ask him if he would trade it for a WC title.

 

[kingjr]

It is tough though...

look at Football and even Tennis... Olympics are generally just less important in old, well established sports, Tennis has pushed Olympics a lot but most still value Wimbledon and probably Roland Garros over it too.

Also the format... heck... for things like Skateboarding and Surfing even, Olympic Gold is probably a worse measure of who is best than the big world tours they have. As half of the top guys and girls in the world are not there and Olympic Committees and Olympic "approved" qualifier events mean some dodgy selections and people going who should not be there (not talking continental representation either, just some who should not be there over countrymen or others from region).

Like athletics?

 

[Sciatic]

Note that in cycling a second place in lombardia is worth more than an Mickey mouse Olympics time trial.

If you quizzed all the active commenters on this forum to answer in 5 seconds or less who won The OG RR in 2016 vs. who finished 2nd at Lombardia that year, you’d see the difference in status.

 

[proffate]

So, double-disk is overrated.

It got him a medal though??

 

[Tim Cahill]

If you quizzed all the active commenters on this forum to answer in 5 seconds or less who won The OG RR in 2016 vs. who finished 2nd at Lombardia that year, you’d see the difference in status.

Who are we to doubt the prestige and status of err...

Lol wtf forgot Diego Rosa podiumed a monument. Completely forgot, god look at these names, the level was comparatively low obviously but the cast seemed so much more colourful;

Il Lombardia 2016 One day race results

Il Lombardia 2016 was won by Esteban Chaves before Diego Rosa and Rigoberto Urán.

www.procyclingstats.com

 

[proffate]

Did anyone actually manage to calculate the time tarling lost instead of just guesstimating?

 

[Sciatic]

Like athletics?

Exactly-/those original Greek games sports: Athletics, wrestling, equestrian—all sports where OG is highly prized.

 

[Penninepeddler]

Like athletics?

But Olympics proceeded everything else competition wise there. And the amateur rulings for these sports despite them always being paid meant the Olympics were the best of the best.

While Cycling, Tennis and Football had well established events with high prestige before any top player from those sports was ever allowed in the Olympics!

Tennis "really" started at Olympics in 1984 after aborted attempts and issues.
The first "proper" football was 1908. BUT so few of the best in the world could play... and once the World Cup started in 1930 the Olympics was relegated to a joke.
Cycling at the Olympics was ofc the same until 1996...

The sports that historically had money? Had "pro" athletes for 100 years+... and therefore until the late 80s and early 1990s... the Olympics for ANY sport that had pros in was basically a glorified University World Cup aha.

 

[Sciatic]

But Olympics proceeded everything else competition wise there. And the amateur rulings for these sports despite them always being paid meant the Olympics were the best of the best.

While Cycling, Tennis and Football had well established events with high prestige before any top player from those sports was ever allowed in the Olympics!

Tennis "really" started at Olympics in 1984 after aborted attempts and issues.
The first "proper" football was 1908. BUT so few of the best in the world could play... and once the World Cup started in 1930 the Olympics was relegated to a joke.
Cycling at the Olympics was ofc the same until 1996...

The sports that historically had money? Had "pro" athletes for 100 years+... and therefore until the late 80s and early 1990s... the Olympics for ANY sport that had pros in was basically a glorified University World Cup aha.

I think it depends on the sport: Obviously winning Ice Hockey gold in the 2nd half of the 20th century wasn’t some glorified university cup.

I think an interesting comparison sport to cycling re: status of Olympic achievement is alpine skiing. For some skiers, and in some countries (especially the US) winning Gold is the pinnacle achievement. But many of skiers would think winning the globe for overall points is a bigger achievement. And a downhiller might value winning at Kitzbuel more than Gold during years the Olympic Games race was on Mickey Mouse courses.