TDF hype

[yenrod]

As much as I love cycling etc..watching races - the hype surrounding the tour isnt great i feel. Even during the Dauphine & others even the giro and thats near prosecutable - lots of talk for the 'build up to the tour'...in fact, its 'poor show' to use races for training imo.

Each race should be raced on its merit and not with the future in mind...

Anyone else ??

 

[Kwibus]

As much as I love cycling etc..watching races - the hype surrounding the tour isnt great i feel. Even during the Dauphine & others even the giro and thats near prosecutable - lots of talk for the 'build up to the tour'...in fact, its 'poor show' to use races for training imo.

Each race should be raced on its merit and not with the future in mind...

Anyone else ??

I guess most will agree, but the stakes are so high at the Tour that it will be this way unfortunately.
Regarding the Giro I don't really agree, allthough this time Contador gave the impression that he wasn't at his best just so he wouldn't be too tired or not at his best at the TdF. This is a guess though, maybe he simply couldn't do better.

The Giro is never raced in preparation of the Tour.
All the races in the 3 weeks before the Tour got a lot of riders now showing everything they got, unfortunately.
Those races still produce great racing though imo and still are prestigious.

 

[Fernandez]

TdF is the real World Championships of cycling.

 

[Akuryo]

Re:

TdF is the real World Championships of cycling.

It is the most prestigous race for sure but since not everybody can be a great climber I like the idea of the WC being a single day race with different courses so everybody can have a chance over the years. Sometimes climbers, sometimes sprinters. Allthough most of the time it is a very versatile rider like Kwiatkowski, Bettini, Freire, ...

 

[argyllflyer]

It's the 'marquee' event of road cycling, the event that even non-fans tune into. It's equivalent in other sports being the tennis grand slams (especially ones in your own country *cough* wimbledon), the golf majors (and see previous point), the World Cup Final etc...

 

[Electress]

I don't mind the hype around the TdF. It's the Blue Riband event and, frankly, I'm glad that there is one for the sport I love. It ensures that there's some money coming in and some coverage. Besides, the TdF has lots of the slightly odd stuff around it which makes it a different kind of enjoyment for me. The Giro and one week races are more for the racing, whereas the Tour I genuinely enjoy as much for the pageant and the 'social' aspects and nonsense around it.

I do find myself getting mildly annoyed that ITV don't even have Contador on the TdF adverts though…although I am well aware this is the mild dudgeon of a fangirl.

 

[movingtarget]

It's a make or break race for many. Just to be selected for the team, to get contracts for post Tour races and it finishes just before the transfer window for new contracts. A stage win can set up a career. It's very important to the sport on a world level. The Giro is a huge race within Italy and for the dedicated fan but on a world level it is the little brother and the Vuelta is the same within Spain.

 

[hfer07]

The Tour is simply overhyped for the wrong reasons - not because it retains it's past
Prestige, but rather became the default race to watch whether the parcours, the riders, the teams and the spectacle is of your liking or worth watching.

But .... I must confess this one is "promising" because of Contador, Froome, Quintana & Nibali - all of them on a mission to win against the odds

 

[46&twoWheels]

concerning the "race difficulty coefficient" (based on how tough are the stages) TDF,the Giro and the Vuelta are all pretty much at the same level..
As you all know,The TDF awards more money,attracts more sponsors,that's why Froomey,Armstrong and many others value the TDF more than anything and if those with a worldwide fanbase (e.i Froome) race the TDF then the TDF becomes overhyped

 

[Echoes]

Bore de France (like Bore d'Italia & Bore a España) is something for ignorant arrogant little bourgeois with sunglasses and big cars who know sh*t about the richness of Flandrian cycling.

They only care for money (for sponsor) and glamour, they don't give a crap for real achievements, honour, hardness & adventure ...

 

[Kwibus]

Bore de France (like Bore d'Italia & Bore a España) is something for ignorant arrogant little bourgeois with sunglasses and big cars who know sh*t about the richness of Flandrian cycling.

They only care for money (for sponsor) and glamour, they don't give a crap for real achievements, honour, hardness & adventure ...

Wow what an intelligent and smart post.

Echoes stop being so bitter. It will make your life a lot better.

 

[cineteq]

The best race there is, in the best country for road race cycling. No other race can put so much pressure on your shoulders. A well deserved hype.

 

[Lance Armstrong]

Hype? No. But we really need a Stage 1 thread already.

 

[pastronef]

The best race there is, in the best country for road race cycling. No other race can put so much pressure on your shoulders. A well deserved hype.

oh yes

I always see the cycling year as 365 days
it starts and ends on the last Sunday of the Tour every year
on July 26 at 6 pm. we are already in 2016
and by that I mean I wait for the Tour every year, I wait with a nice smile on my face for these next 3 weeks.
maybe it dates back from when I was a kid 20 years ago, watching the Tour, the scenery, the riders I did not know, the summer heat, the melting asphalt...
no Giro or Vuelta routes I know as the Tour routes, I remember towns, crossroads, bridges, places on the road, rivers and lakes.
still nowadays friends and relatives know that in July from 2 until 5 pm I am not up for anything. don't call me, ask for help, go for a coffee, go see grandma, go cut the hay sun bath, ride a bike etc
no time for that, there's the Tour on TV.
girlfriend sometimes not happy!


another hype factor is commercial
when are new jerseys, helmet, frames, and other stuff presented? end of June-beginning of July

just this year: Scott Foil, Cannondale Supersix, Specialized Venge, Look TT Frame. new Canyon Slx frame, new Specialized s-works shoes, Focus new paint for Ag2r, Sram electric Tour debut, Shimano shoes in blue-yellow, new Merida frame, new Cannondale jersey, maybe a new Scott road helmet? etc

 

[ninjadriver]

Re:

concerning the "race difficulty coefficient" (based on how tough are the stages) TDF,the Giro and the Vuelta are all pretty much at the same level..
As you all know,The TDF awards more money,attracts more sponsors,that's why Froomey,Armstrong and many others value the TDF more than anything and if those with a worldwide fanbase (e.i Froome) race the TDF then the TDF becomes overhyped

Wouldn't you say that the race routes for the Giro and the Vuelta have become harder than that for the TDF??

L'Angliru, plus a bunch more Spanish climbs, Zoncolan, Mortirolo, plus a bunch more Dolomites climbs??? I'd love to see the Giro add the Malga Palazzo, but that climb almost definitely is too ridiculous, perhaps the world's hardest???

The TDF has the best field and therefore is raced at the fastest pace, but I believe the Giro and Vuelta feature the harder stages. Make sense???

 

[Son of Amsterhammer]

The hype is fair. It's the premier event in the sport.

 

[46&twoWheels]

Re: Re:

concerning the "race difficulty coefficient" (based on how tough are the stages) TDF,the Giro and the Vuelta are all pretty much at the same level..
As you all know,The TDF awards more money,attracts more sponsors,that's why Froomey,Armstrong and many others value the TDF more than anything and if those with a worldwide fanbase (e.i Froome) race the TDF then the TDF becomes overhyped

Wouldn't you say that the race routes for the Giro and the Vuelta have become harder than that for the TDF??

L'Angliru, plus a bunch more Spanish climbs, Zoncolan, Mortirolo, plus a bunch more Dolomites climbs??? I'd love to see the Giro add the Malga Palazzo, but that climb almost definitely is too ridiculous, perhaps the world's hardest???

The TDF has the best field and therefore is raced at the fastest pace, but I believe the Giro and Vuelta feature the harder stages. Make sense???

yeah,I don't remember Vuelta but the Giro was definitely harder than the Tour those last two year at least as far as mountain stages are concerned. I like the geography of the Tour this year,not very steep mountains,but lots of them with few TT km and flat stages
Malga Palazzo I think has never hosted an official race,it would require real "rock climbing" ability

a bit off topic:
Maybe the organizers of the Giro should steal a climb from the Tirreno-Adriatico race,The "Muro di Guardiagrele" 22% average..30% max.