The most interesting tour for years

[Thee_chisa]

i reckon, anyhow. consider:

a difficult opening which is sure to see some contenders lose time or crash out.

following the landis affair i think a lot of riders will be afraid to juice up so much, fairer and more open. interesting to see how lance and contador do in the light of this.

the prologue - if cancellara fails to take this he is gonna be under sooooooo much scrutiny regarding mechanical bikes, and i presume all the bikes will be checked thoroughly before any start.

new faces - basso looks like he is back in form, wiggins is now in the picture, riders like kreuzinger and van den broeck are sure to try to get top 10 places. these almost unknowns have to make the race a bit more interesting.

tough last week, like last year with the ventoux a lot of riders will be looking fearfully to the pyrenees and the tourmalet and then the big TT. the bad TTers will have to attack a lot on the last mountain stages to give themselves a chance with a long flat TT 2 stages before the end. should be interesting.

 

[Anonymous]

Ok.. youve gee'd me up a bit. I feel slightly more enthusiastic about it. After the last few years though I have put in a prescription request for some wake up pills.

I really am struggling to get up any enthusiasm for this tour, the fact that we have just had one of the most exciting and incredible giro's in the last 30 years does not help. I hope im wrong, I just have a feeling in a months time we will be sat here saying "was that it"

 

[shawnrohrbach]

Interesting concept and some good points, but actually I am not planning on watching much. With the Landis accusations and the number of people penalized for doping it reminds me of a bar I went to and thought I would like until I discovered the used syringes strewn in the hallway leading to the back alley entrance. hush hush, it's a druggie bar. Bye bye. I will be more interested in the validation or debunking of the Landis accusations this summer. Like I have said here many times, if someone wants to take drugs, ok, fine, just don't spend my tax dollars for recovery of the body and don't lie to the kids about it when they idolize you just so they will continue to buy the bikes from the companies who endorse you...

 

[Anonymous]

I do not believe it will be that great of a race. The story line may make it more interesting than last year, but there is nothing race wise (in terms of profile or difficulty) that stands out that much. As has been said many times, the Giro is far superior in terms of course.

 

[spanky wanderlust]

i'm already in waiting mode for the late season classics, the vuelta and wc. tour will be a snoozefest as conta outclasses the field.

 

[Kender]

the thread title should have the following words added to the beginning...

"The Giro has been "

 

[Francois the Postman]

It certainly has the potential to be a more entertaining Tour than usual (although that is not saying much). I'm kinda hoping that for once it will deliver, but I can see as many routes to a fascinating story as short-cuts to the mother of all snooze fests.

The year where the waning old guard and the rising new guard share the same flagship tarmac ought to create a spectacle. As a lowlander, seeing how Gesink holds up under real scrutiny will keep me entertained for a bit. And I am still hoping that Contador isn't quite in the form that you would almost take for granted.

The Tour has a nasty habit of having stages that don't deliver what they were designed to do. One thing it is guaranteed to deliver: the Lance Armstrong show. The race I fear most is one with the Pyrenees neutered before we get there, or with a fascinating battle for first (or the remaining podium places) that doesn't involve Lance, but is overshadowed by an irrelevant Lance.

It takes very little to put a Tour story upside down though. Events baby, events. Until the show has been on the road for a while, pretty much anything is still possible.

So I live in hope, and will try not to compare it to the Italian show that recently has trumped the Tour for entertainment value with ease. I will also try to remember how boring the first week usually is, and judge it against how it "should" be, not how the Giro shows it can be. Some of which was not exactly staged either, so it is credit that wasn't wholly earned. After all, boy were they lucky it rained on that day.

 

[Moose McKnuckles]

I have to agree with TFF here. I'm sorry, but the Tour doesn't hold a candle to the Giro in terms of pure excitement. The Giro is absolutely epic. The Tour is far too commercialized, far too neutered. Mountaintop finishes are eschewed in favor of finishes in towns that offer the most money.

Look, I'm not criticizing anyone for making money, but speaking as a fan, I find the Tour lacking in the "je ne sais quoi" that the Giro has. Does anyone think we'd see a stage like the Monte Paschi stage in the Tour? I seriously doubt it.

 

[manolo]

The thread title should have [been] the following words added to the beginning... "The Giro has been..."

Nice! It truly has been! In my mind the Giro has outdone the Tour for several years now...

 

[richwagmn]

I have to agree with TFF here. I'm sorry, but the Tour doesn't hold a candle to the Giro in terms of pure excitement. The Giro is absolutely epic. The Tour is far too commercialized, far too neutered. Mountaintop finishes are eschewed in favor of finishes in towns that offer the most money.

Look, I'm not criticizing anyone for making money, but speaking as a fan, I find the Tour lacking in the "je ne sais quoi" that the Giro has. Does anyone think we'd see a stage like the Monte Paschi stage in the Tour? I seriously doubt it.

Well said, Moose. The committee picking the tour route should be fired. What a snoozer this year. No real action until the 3rd week and some beginning stages that make little sense to me in a GT event.

Last year we get a TTT that put many contendors out of the race early on and some of the stupidest Alp stages ever.

I have no idea what ASO is after when they design a route. It certainly isn't to make the race interesting.

 

[ericthesportsman6]

This race could be great, if it didn't have Alberto Contador. Hopefully he'll lose time on the cobbled stage and make the GC battle interesting.

 

[Berzin]

I have to agree with TFF here. I'm sorry, but the Tour doesn't hold a candle to the Giro in terms of pure excitement. The Giro is absolutely epic. The Tour is far too commercialized, far too neutered. Mountaintop finishes are eschewed in favor of finishes in towns that offer the most money.

Look, I'm not criticizing anyone for making money, but speaking as a fan, I find the Tour lacking in the "je ne sais quoi" that the Giro has. Does anyone think we'd see a stage like the Monte Paschi stage in the Tour? I seriously doubt it.

Great post. The Giro beats the Tour hands-down for overall course and racing excitement.

Case in point-there is no excuse for having a mountain stage end on a downhill.

I believe this year's Tour has as many of these type of stages as last year.

Does anyone remember any moment that stands out from last years' Tour besides the bickering in the Astana camp and that Bradley Wiggins managed to hold on for grim death and is now considered a Tour contender?

You will not see a stage in the Tour like the Alpe D'huez stage at this years' Dauphine. But everyone is getting excited because they believe Armstrong will win. Whatever.

 

[Nick777]

Great post. The Giro beats the Tour hands-down for overall course and racing excitement.

Case in point-there is no excuse for having a mountain stage end on a downhill.

I believe this year's Tour has as many of these type of stages as last year.

Does anyone remember any moment that stands out from last years' Tour besides the bickering in the Astana camp and that Bradley Wiggins managed to hold on for grim death and is now considered a Tour contender?

You will not see a stage in the Tour like the Alpe D'huez stage at this years' Dauphine. But everyone is getting excited because they believe Armstrong will win. Whatever.

Totally agree.

 

[Anonymous]

Great post. The Giro beats the Tour hands-down for overall course and racing excitement.

Case in point-there is no excuse for having a mountain stage end on a downhill.

I believe this year's Tour has as many of these type of stages as last year.

Does anyone remember any moment that stands out from last years' Tour besides the bickering in the Astana camp and that Bradley Wiggins managed to hold on for grim death and is now considered a Tour contender?

You will not see a stage in the Tour like the Alpe D'huez stage at this years' Dauphine. But everyone is getting excited because they believe Armstrong will win. Whatever.

Yea, I remember stage 9 being the most boring stage I have ever watched. Horrible.

 

[Alpe d'Huez]

Completely agree with everyone else.

Not too impressed with the course. The Giro has it topped, and has for several years now. The Vuelta too actually. Only some close times have made the Tour at all interesting.

The Flandis doping revelation and investigation won't stop doping. 1998's Festina didn't make that year, or the following clean. OP didn't make 2006 clean. As long as doping controls rarely catch dopers, and the omerta remains in full force with support from the UCI...

I also fear the soap opera will be almost as bad as last year. The stories covered and spoken will surround Armstrong, and somewhat Contador, more than anything else. Armstrong will get massive coverage, and give frequent and long press conferences that will be covered world wide, regardless of what's happening in the race. He will command the center of attention, and will get it.

Last year's Tour was the 2nd most boring in my lifetime (1994 being the most boring, as Indurain crushed everyone, and his main rival, Rominger, crashed out after stage 3). This year may equal those.

Contador should win the race going away. The only thing preventing it will be the lack of tough mountain stages. Only a serious crash or illness would change that.

 

[BroDeal]

Jeebus. Every year there are the same expectations about how great the Tour will be and how many contenders look like possible winners. It never pans out. You would think people would learn after a few times.

Expect to be disappointed.

 

[Polish]

This is shaping up to be the MOST exciting Tour since 2003.
It may even top that one? Maybe, but 2003 was EPIC AWESOME.

For me THIS year there are multiple people to root for:

rooting for Lance - win another one for the LAF
rooting for Basso - we are way overdue for a Giro/Tour Double
rooting for Cadel/Wiggins - joyous win for Oz/UK
rooting for Vino - just to perturb TP.
rooting for Levi/VdV/DZ/Horner - homies
rooting for Gesink - liked his moxie at the AToC previously
rooting for Jani/Klöden - shack attack
rooting for BigGeorge - chasing Zoop
rooting for a hundred others - because they are not Alberto bang bang

Green Jersey Unibet odds:

Cavendish, M 2.20
Farrar, T 7.50
Hushovd, T 7.50
Freire, O 11.00
Boonen, T 17.00
Bennati, D 20.00
Boasson Hagen, E 20.00
Ciolek, G 22.00
Haussler, H 22.00
Petacchi, A 25.00
Rojas Gil, J J 28.00
Henderson, G 35.00
McEwen, R 35.00

Yellow Jersey UNIBET ODDS
Contador, A 1.50
Schleck, Andy 8.50
Armstrong, L 10.00
Wiggins, B 20.00
Evans, C 22.00
Basso, I 25.00
Gesink, R 25.00
Menchov, D 28.00
Schleck, Frank 35.00
Brajkovic, J 40.00
Kreuziger, R 42.00
Vinokourov, A 45.00
Leipheimer, L 55.00
Klöden, A 80.00
Rogers, M 80.00
Sanchez, S 80.00
Van den Broeck, J 80.00
VandeVelde, C 80.00
Martin, Tony 100.0

 

[Alpe d'Huez]

Those odds are inane. Aimed at the general public. If I were a betting man I'd still put big money on Contador. Other than that, Kreuziger at 42 and Leipheimer (who may be the best rider on RS if he had the support) at 55 are good long shots.

Yes, 2003 was an exciting year. Just hard to see Jan lose like that (crash in ITT) after giving so much, and being on maybe the weakest team in the Tour. Possibly the most doped up GT ever though if you look at who has been bounced since.

Is that you on the right Polish? I like the framing.

 

[CPAvelo]

Jeebus. Every year there is the same expectations about how great the Tour will be and how many contenders look like possible winners. It never pans out. You would think people would learn after a few times.

Expect to be disappointed.

And hence all the meaningless drivel expended predicting the podium each year.

"Expect to be disappointed." Great advice, and not only for the TdF. For all of life. Lower expectations = greater happiness.

 

[Kwibus]

I think i'm satisfied pretty fast. If Gesink stays alive and is ready for the mountains then I'm happy. It's ages ago that a dutch climber competed with the best in the mountains.
Sure Boogerd had a heroic mountain stage victory, but Boogerd wasn't a rider for the high mountains. He was medium mountain man.

Besides that the TdF isn't the Giro.... unfortunately. If the TdF had as awesome stages as the Giro with all the big guns competing. How awesome would that be?
I'm afraid Contador will be just too strong which will spoil the fun for position nr.1 . Let's hope 2-10 will be exciting.

 

[Libertine Seguros]

Every year the prestige of the Grand Tours is in the order
1. Tour
2. Giro
3. Vuelta.

Every year the quality of the racing in the Grand Tours is in the order
1. Giro
2. Vuelta
3. Tour

Remember the Monte Grappa stage of the Giro? Where the GC candidates were pushing it hard despite there being over 40k to go? Where they crested the climb with only 3 men remaining, then you had Nibali attacking on the descent and soloing in?

If the Col de la Madeleine stage, which is near identical, involves that much action, I'll eat a bug. That kind of profile in the Tour is a recipe for conservative racing (don't want to risk blowing up another day), and either the break will be allowed to go or the vast majority of GC contenders will come in together, like the Jausiers finish in the 2008 Tour.

 

[auscyclefan94]

I think i'm satisfied pretty fast. If Gesink stays alive and is ready for the mountains then I'm happy. It's ages ago that a dutch climber competed with the best in the mountains.
Sure Boogerd had a heroic mountain stage victory, but Boogerd wasn't a rider for the high mountains. He was medium mountain man.

Besides that the TdF isn't the Giro.... unfortunately. If the TdF had as awesome stages as the Giro with all the big guns competing. How awesome would that be?
I'm afraid Contador will be just too strong which will spoil the fun for position nr.1 . Let's hope 2-10 will be exciting.

It is far more exciting when it comes down to the wire ftw.

 

[auscyclefan94]

Every year the prestige of the Grand Tours is in the order
1. Tour
2. Giro
3. Vuelta.

Every year the quality of the racing in the Grand Tours is in the order
1. Giro
2. Vuelta
3. Tour

Remember the Monte Grappa stage of the Giro? Where the GC candidates were pushing it hard despite there being over 40k to go? Where they crested the climb with only 3 men remaining, then you had Nibali attacking on the descent and soloing in?

If the Col de la Madeleine stage, which is near identical, involves that much action, I'll eat a bug. That kind of profile in the Tour is a recipe for conservative racing (don't want to risk blowing up another day), and either the break will be allowed to go or the vast majority of GC contenders will come in together, like the Jausiers finish in the 2008 Tour.

So your saying that the boring racing is a lot to do with the riders and not just the route itself?

 

[Libertine Seguros]

So your saying that the boring racing is a lot to do with the riders and not just the route itself?

Yup.

The route is often less inspiring than the other two GTs, but because of the importance of the Tour, you have people who are much less willing to take risks, and ride to protect their placings more than to win, lest they take too much out of themselves for following days. And because so much is riding on the Tour, you'll find a lot of people who, at the Giro or Vuelta, would acknowledge their GC plans as over and drop time or hunt stages, who ride like billy-o to protect their high placing. There's too much pressure on the riders for them to risk things. Somebody like, say, Bradley Wiggins, is expected by his sponsors to be up there in the Tour. Therefore he has to fight to hold on to a top 10 place, can't finish outside the top 10 because that's considered a failure. So he's going to have to race conservatively, because going on the attack on the wrong stage could result in bonking and losing major time the next. Much safer to ride tempo with the others.

 

[Alpe d'Huez]

I would say both contribute. The course of the Tour is rarely as exciting as the Giro, and the riders are more conservative and the racing more controlled.

Completely agree with your 1, 2, 3 on prestige and quality though LS. Not every year, but if you looked at a modern historical average (quarter century or so), yes, for certain. Good post.