• The Cycling News forum is still looking to add volunteer moderators with. If you're interested in helping keep our discussions on track, send a direct message to @SHaines here on the forum, or use the Contact Us form to message the Community Team.

    In the meanwhile, please use the Report option if you see a post that doesn't fit within the forum rules.

    Thanks!

The worst Grand Tour you can remember

Page 2 - Get up to date with the latest news, scores & standings from the Cycling News Community.
I think this Tour has been the best in years. GC attacks in flats and downhills, sprints decided by millimeters, Sagan crushing it and thoroughly earning his green jersey, a genuine battle for the polka dots (sad to see Pinot out, though), surprise contenders (Yates, Mollema). Not to mention all the utter madness. Outside of the fact that Froome seems to be by far the strongest, I've found it very, very entertaining.
 
Jul 7, 2015
170
0
0
Re:

Laggard said:
Froome attacks on a downhill and gains time. Froome amazingly follows Sagan on a sprinters stage and gains time. Froome crashes and resorts to running uphill.

And this is one of the worst TDFs ever?

Agree! I am shouting out loud to myself throughout. Who thought Cavendish would beat Kittel & Greipel repeatedly? Sagan breaking out of consistent 2nds. Top ten GC within about a minute for almost two weeks. Bauke will bring it next week. No one knows for sure what will happen next. Try to enjoy it!

edit:spelling
 

rzombie1988

BANNED
Jul 19, 2009
402
8
9,295
Re:

RedheadDane said:
Giro 2011

Sure, the racing was good, but the tragedies overshadowed it.
And the stupid aftermatch as well.
Giro 2011 was awesome. It was basically Contador attacking for 2 weeks straight. The winner wasn't in doubt, but Contador's sheer dominance was brilliant. That GC makes me sad though because Contador was never the same after that.
 
I've been following the sport reasonably closely since 1992. 2012 was by far the worst edition of the Tour in that time. Watching Sky and Wiggins strangle the race to an inevitable outcome was like watching a metronome for 3 weeks. Although I didn't last that long and switched off after the first TT.

Winning Grand Tours by watching your power meters was the low point for me. This year is below average but nowhere near as boring as 2012. There will be attacking in the Alpes, unlike 2012 when 420 watts by domestiques on most long climbs snuffed that out.

2014 was bad but Nibali still attacked the sub standard competition towards the end of MTFs to eek out his big time gaps. He and his team didn't ride away watching a power meter.
 
Jul 7, 2015
170
0
0
Re: Re:

tretiak said:
PremierAndrew said:
tretiak said:
This tour. Running cyclist without bike. Go down in history.
Talk about a guy who can not keep nerves.

I think he was planning on running all the way, because he heard the team car was 5 minutes behind


Why he got no bike of team mates?

Running Froome was sheer madness! Couldn't write it in a book. He can be beaten because he unravels when Sky train not in control.

Final sprint in Paris will be epic. There will still be attacks on Froome in mountains by Yates, Mollema and Quintana may still do something like last year to make it closer.
 
Jul 7, 2015
170
0
0
My point has been that this TdF for me has been a lot of fun but not on topic.

Worst for me would have to be 2012 for Sky machine soaking all of the fun out of it except Froome almost making a race out of it!
 
Re: Re:

rzombie1988 said:
RedheadDane said:
Giro 2011

Sure, the racing was good, but the tragedies overshadowed it.
And the stupid aftermatch as well.
Giro 2011 was awesome. It was basically Contador attacking for 2 weeks straight. The winner wasn't in doubt, but Contador's sheer dominance was brilliant. That GC makes me sad though because Contador was never the same after that.

In 2011 Giro I recall Contador destroyed the field on Etna (stage 9). The rest of that race he virtually soft peddled as the competition was completely demoralised and knew they were fighting for 2nd.
 
Re: Re:

tretiak said:
PremierAndrew said:
tretiak said:
This tour. Running cyclist without bike. Go down in history.
Talk about a guy who can not keep nerves.

I think he was planning on running all the way, because he heard the team car was 5 minutes behind


Why he got no bike of team mates?

Didn't have any teammates with him. Henao was the first to come up to Froome and by that point, he was already on the Mavic neutral service bike
 
Jul 16, 2010
17,455
5
0
therealthing said:
2014 Tour by far. After Contador went there was no point even watching. No way was anyone going to even try to stop Nibali. Boring racing, apart from the cobble stage.

Nibali attacked a lot, hardly boring.

This Tour so far is the most boring one I've ever seen. The only excitement came from Peter Sagan's echelon stage and I guess Froomie's descent. The running Froome thingie is excitement for the wrong reasons, so I don't count it.

Giro 2016 was much better than this Tour has been so far!

And I'm saying this as a Belgian, and we have 2 Tour stages, wore yellow and a Belgian is leading the KoM competition. And I still find it boring.
 

rzombie1988

BANNED
Jul 19, 2009
402
8
9,295
Re: Re:

Cookster15 said:
rzombie1988 said:
RedheadDane said:
Giro 2011

Sure, the racing was good, but the tragedies overshadowed it.
And the stupid aftermatch as well.
Giro 2011 was awesome. It was basically Contador attacking for 2 weeks straight. The winner wasn't in doubt, but Contador's sheer dominance was brilliant. That GC makes me sad though because Contador was never the same after that.

In 2011 Giro I recall Contador destroyed the field on Etna (stage 9). The rest of that race he virtually soft peddled as the competition was completely demoralised and knew they were fighting for 2nd.
He did beat everyone, but they still went for it and we had some pretty good showings from Anton/Rujano. All of the mountain stages were really cool.
 
Re: Re:

Cookster15 said:
rzombie1988 said:
RedheadDane said:
Giro 2011

Sure, the racing was good, but the tragedies overshadowed it.
And the stupid aftermatch as well.
Giro 2011 was awesome. It was basically Contador attacking for 2 weeks straight. The winner wasn't in doubt, but Contador's sheer dominance was brilliant. That GC makes me sad though because Contador was never the same after that.

In 2011 Giro I recall Contador destroyed the field on Etna (stage 9). The rest of that race he virtually soft peddled as the competition was completely demoralised and knew they were fighting for 2nd.

You remember incorrectly. He demolished them repeatedly and gifted stages.
 
Re: Re:

rzombie1988 said:
Cookster15 said:
rzombie1988 said:
RedheadDane said:
Giro 2011

Sure, the racing was good, but the tragedies overshadowed it.
And the stupid aftermatch as well.
Giro 2011 was awesome. It was basically Contador attacking for 2 weeks straight. The winner wasn't in doubt, but Contador's sheer dominance was brilliant. That GC makes me sad though because Contador was never the same after that.

In 2011 Giro I recall Contador destroyed the field on Etna (stage 9). The rest of that race he virtually soft peddled as the competition was completely demoralised and knew they were fighting for 2nd.
He did beat everyone, but they still went for it and we had some pretty good showings from Anton/Rujano. All of the mountain stages were really cool.

In the end none of that mattered; Contador was stripped of his results anyway.
And the tragedies overshadowed everything.
 
Re: Re:

Carols said:
Cookster15 said:
rzombie1988 said:
RedheadDane said:
Giro 2011

Sure, the racing was good, but the tragedies overshadowed it.
And the stupid aftermatch as well.
Giro 2011 was awesome. It was basically Contador attacking for 2 weeks straight. The winner wasn't in doubt, but Contador's sheer dominance was brilliant. That GC makes me sad though because Contador was never the same after that.

In 2011 Giro I recall Contador destroyed the field on Etna (stage 9). The rest of that race he virtually soft peddled as the competition was completely demoralised and knew they were fighting for 2nd.

You remember incorrectly. He demolished them repeatedly and gifted stages.

Attacking on Fedaia is softpedaling now? I already hear the cries of kittens

Or was it the Giau, which was y'know, some 30km earlier.