The worst Grand Tour you can remember

[Miburo]

Re:

The only thing I remember from the 2012 Tour is Froome waving at Wiggins, but the only thing I'll remember from this Tour is Froome running up Ventoux. Equally bad GT's imo.

You got a good point, back then we also thought this won't happen with Contador and Schleck in shape. We still had dreams and it was hilarious seeing how Froome dropped Wiggins.

This is worse indeed

 

[Jakub]

Well, considering (finall) results, Tour 2006 was a disaster, wasn't it? 2014 too.

 

[Flamin]

Re:

The only thing I remember from the 2012 Tour is Froome waving at Wiggins, but the only thing I'll remember from this Tour is Froome running up Ventoux. Equally bad GT's imo.

2012 actually had some decent attacks from the GC guys, this year nothing, but it's perfectly understandable to have forgotten about that.

 

[ggusta]

Re:

Well, considering (finall) results, Tour 2006 was a disaster, wasn't it? 2014 too.

I loved 2006! Not the aftermath, nor being bït©h slapped by what cycling really is, but I liked the race. Altho I recall some really stupid team tactics.

2012, 2005 takes the cake. I have seen worse than this, but it is top 10. Froome running up ventoux in yellow. I am sorry, but I giggle still just thinking about it. But yeah, the gc race was known beforehand. Some great sprints though this year and Zakarin's ride was pretty good.

I guess we're banned if we compare too closely to the 'winner' of 1999 through 2005 but the dullness of the team trains are just tailor made for boringness.

 

[Valv.Piti]

Re: Re:

The only thing I remember from the 2012 Tour is Froome waving at Wiggins, but the only thing I'll remember from this Tour is Froome running up Ventoux. Equally bad GT's imo.

2012 actually had some decent attacks from the GC guys, this year nothing, but it's perfectly understandable to have forgotten about that.

The Juras and Alps were actually very good, I have yet to see something similar in this race. 2012 is better at this point IMO, but I expect that 2016 will at least go even with it.

 

[Alpe d'Huez]

Worst in what way? Boring? Bad management and oversite? Tragedy? Bad course design? Marred by doping and cheating?

I'll personally say any of Armstrong's wins, in hindsight, for obvious reasons. But the worst was 2005. When Lance passed Ulrich on the prologue, the Tour was over, and we all know the history beyond there.

The 1994 Tour was pretty boring, simply because Indurain was dominant early on, and his main expected rival, Tony Rominger, who almost beat him in 1993, crashed, then fell ill, and was never a threat. No one was.

Either the 1994 or 1995 Vuelta was similar to the 2014 Tour in that crashes took out a few top contenders early and allowed runaway wins by Rominger and Jalabert.

The 2006 Tour and 1999 Giro were exciting to watch, but when the final results wiped. The 2005 Vuelta similar, with the results wiped, re-wiped, etc.

The 1967 Tour probably had the most known tragedy.

 

[Alexandre B.]

Sky is too strong. They are three levels above the rest.

 

[Dekker_Tifosi]

Tour 2016

 

[Lance Armstrong]

Re:

Tour 2016

Latest Tour is always the worst Tour.

 

[Valv.Piti]

1. Tour 2016/Giro 2012.

Which is the worst?

 

[hrotha]

Re:

1. Tour 2016/Giro 2012.

Which is the worst?

Giro 2012: favourites regularly attacking on the last 2 km of every MTF.
Tour 2016: ???

Appalling as that Giro was, this Tour has clearly been even worse.

 

[IndianCyclist]

this year is equal to 2012 2014 as well. For a mountainous tour, the race was won in the TTs and the famed mountains were irrelevant. Arcalis, Ventoux, Alps all no producing any spectacle except for Bardet's exploit

 

[huge]

ThisTour definitely one of the worst ones if we look at GC battle. More than for yellow, for the podium battle, which was simply non existent.

 

[hrotha]

Re:

Sky is too strong. They are three levels above the rest.

This is hogwash.

Take Adam Yates and Porte today. They had a shot at the podium, but they never bothered. Their rivals weren't Sky.

 

[Flamin]

Re:

1. Tour 2016/Giro 2012.

Which is the worst?

I didn't think it was possible to beat the 2012 Giro, but I'd say the Tour just did.

 

[Andro]

Tour de France 2016

 

[Valv.Piti]

Re: Re:

1. Tour 2016/Giro 2012.

Which is the worst?

Giro 2012: favourites regularly attacking on the last 2 km of every MTF.
Tour 2016: ???

Appalling as that Giro was, this Tour has clearly been even worse.

15 men going over JP should instantly make it the worst, actually. Agree tho.

 

[Gigs_98]

Re: Re:

1. Tour 2016/Giro 2012.

Which is the worst?

Giro 2012: favourites regularly attacking on the last 2 km of every MTF.
Tour 2016: ???

Appalling as that Giro was, this Tour has clearly been even worse.

15 men going over JP should instantly make it the worst, actually. Agree tho.

And one third of those 15 riders being from one single team doesn't make the situation any better.