Top 10 Rides of the Year

[Timmy-loves-Rabo]

There was no reason why he should have looked for help, but I still thought it was impressive how he recognised that if he finally wanted to win the Tour, it was up to him to start limiting the deficit to Andy. He might have expected some help from Voeckler and perhaps Contador but he didn't look around and ask them to come through, just drilled it at the front.

huh ? what?

I'm pretty certain I remember him being p!ssed on the bike demanding help from the others, in true cuddles manner.

 

[Parrulo]

huh ? what?

I'm pretty certain I remember him being p!ssed on the bike demanding help from the others, in true cuddles manner.

thats so very true. it was a rather funny moment tbh.

i also remember earlier on the climb contador tried to do a few pulls but was clearly already struggling a lot by then, iirc he was at the back of the pack when andy attacked and looked cooked already.

 

[The Hitch]

I mean you always thought Contador and Sanchez can win on the last day?

I ruled out Contador for the Tour the day he announced he was going to do the Giro

Even if you made epo legal just for him he still wouldnt be able to win the Tour after THAT Giro.

I voted for Andy Schleck in every single TDF poll, even when 60-70% of people were bizzarely voting that Contador would win.


I ruled out Samu completely on stage 1 after the Mont Allesouts screwjob, saying that he should leave the Tour and go to the Vuelta instead.

If I were Samu i would save myself for another race.

If he had listened hed be a Gt winner by now

And this is what I had to say 4 days before the end of the race

Contador is weak after Giro, Samu is way down on GC, Basso is not a good enough tter to take back the time he lost in ttt, and Frank isnt a good enough climber.

That leaves only Evans who Andy is a better climber than, so he should win it.

So no, I never expected either Samu nor Contador to win at any point, though Samu surprised me with his form, which was better than i had expected ( or the others were worse) and I do think he had the form to contend.

 

[The Hitch]

Man, Evans winning the Tour has really messed you up hasn't it!!!

I gave this poster the respect of answering his ad hominem accusations, with a very long post, but he obviously has absolutely no interest in responding.

Seems to me increasingly like it was trolling.

Pretty pathetic anyway.

 

[Siriuscat]

1 Alberto Contador, Modane - Alpe D'Huez: Two reasons firstly he knew he had to try and knew he had to try big and he gave it everything, such a gutsy ride. Two I've never seen a GC rider hit the front and attack so early in a stage of a GT before, it was mind blowing to watch.

2. Alberto Contador, Messina to Etna: Showed how absolutley dominant a rider he can be, he destroyed the field and won the Giro in about 20 pedal strokes, from then he played with them, gifted stages and almost always had something left (caveat...like the rest he was dying at Gardeccia his early attacks an the Giau and Fedaia to undermine Nibali's downhill abilities were supreme and could warrant a place on their own).

3. Thomas Voeckler, Pinerolo - Galibier: Like Alpe D'huez a few years ago this stage sums up Thomas and irrisistable qualities of the man, It's more impressive than Andy's ride because he's not supposed to be able to do that stuff, raw courage and the pure honour of wearing le maillot jaune.

4. Andy Schleck, Pinerolo - Galibier: I'm not a fan but you couldn't not be impressed with the way he took his chances that day, superb stage victory.

5. Cadel Evans, Pinerolo - Galibier: Cadel won the tour on this stage by going balls out to minimise the advantage Andy had built up. He did it on his own and showed incredible courage to go and get the tour victory.

6. Phillipe Gilbert, Liege-Bastogne-Liege: Brilliant finish to an incredibly impressive Ardennes week but more because out worked and outwitted team Frandy (granted it's not difficult), difficult to take out which was best Amstel Fleche or LBL.

7. Alberto Contador, Giro Nevegal MTT: He was down 20-30 seconds then out of nowehere the cadence jumped and he came over the line 35sec ahead of Nibs, it shocked everyone, commentators as well. It was an imperious bit of climbing and put the seal on an incredible GT victory.

8. Froome/Cobo, Pena Carbaga: Mano a Mano racing for a GT victory it doesnt get a lot better and would be highr if it hadn't been for the events of above.

9. GB team at the worlds: Not just Cav but every single member of the GB team who really gave us some results to be proud of, from the juniors all the way to Cav.

10. Peter Sagan, ToS, St3 to Grindelwald: Sagan catching Cunego off the Grosse Schiedegg was incredible to watch, one of those kamikaze specials we used to see from Savoldelli.

Could probably put another few honourable mentions in but 10 was the number. Two riders stand out for me this year outwith who we generally mark as the superstars, Johnny Hoogerland and Thomas Voeckler. Johnny just attacks he puts you on the edge of your seat and is exciting to watch. Thomas has had an exceptional year and has been winning for most of it. I make an effort to watch him more than any other rider just now because he is what makes cycling such a great sport.

 

[The Hitch]

Everyone's his own view on what a ride of the year was. However, Hitch's point is skewed. He chose Contador's attack on stage 19, with 4':44'' behind the Tour leader, the 3rd ride of the year on a losing effort

PS: I'm not criticizing the pick at all, but the double standard.

Actually 7 of my top 10 list ended up in losses. Only Kiriyenka Schleck and Nieve crossed the finish line with their arms in the air.

And Cadels ride came 7th on the list

I think your getting 2 arguments mixed up.

I never said a losing effort disqualifies someone from ride of the year. I said it disqualifies a stage as being the stage where the rider wins the Tour. If you beat your rival on 5 stages in a gt, I dont think the one stage where you lose time to him is the one where you "win the Tour".

 

[usedtobefast]

my ride the other day.it was a good one.

 

[movingtarget]

WTF?

The stage where he loses the most time to his closest rival is the single moment where he wins the Tour???

Theres no such thing as the stage someone wins the Tour anyway, unless there are 20 stages where you finish with the pack and one where you win.

But if what you are trying to say is that this was the most important stage to his victory, well I would argue that the tt where he took 2 minutes and the Gap descent where he took a minute and a half to his rival are infinately more important to his overall win than the stage where he lost more time to that riavla than anyone could have possibly imagined.

Cadel vs Schleck, Cadel landed far more blows to Andys body throughout the Tour, and a knockout right at the end, but Andy did land one big head shot and that was stage 18 and that was the one moment where Cadels victory was seriously under threat.

Cadel won the Tour, he lost stage 18.

It would be like arguing that the set Djokovic lost to Nadal was the one where he won the US Open.

We agree to disagree. Yes Schleck won the stage. But it was a critical stage in the race and Evan's could have done what he has done before and looked for help, reacted too late and lost the race. The way the stage panned out, Sanchez, Basso and Contador did not have the legs and Rolland was told not to assist Evan's. Rolland was probably the only one who could have helped apart from Frank Schleck who obviously wasn't going to. Voeckler was struggling and hung in there until the finish. Considering the earlier time gap, Evans had some big decisions to make. I did not say that Evans ride was superior to Schleck's but I am an Evans fan and for me that stage and the TT were HIS rides of the year. Evans minimised his losses and Schleck looked the more fatigued of the two on the following stage, understandably.

As I said on a previous post, Schleck lost the race on the Gap stage and on the Galibier and was never going to hold off Evans in the TT with the form he had been showing but Evan's defensive ride on Galibier kept him close enough to Schleck to win. Hindsight tells us the gap was nowhere near enough for Schleck. Evan's ride was basically a solo one on a windy day, under pressure and with a lot of his rivals happy to follow. He must have felt the race slipping away. Schleck's ride was a daring one and full of merit. A great stage win but not enough to win the overall. After Galibier I was fairly confident that Evans could lose a small amount of time on Alpe and still win the overall.

I admit that Schleck is not one of my favourite riders and apart from his gutsy ride on the Galibier stage, my opinion has not changed. Once again in the 2011 TDF he showed his usual whining attitude, his tactical naivety, lack of preparation and overconfidence but he was very gracious in Paris and took the loss on the chin while praising Evans performance which shows he can be likeable when he wants to be. Bruyneel should be a bonus for him and add a lot of tactical awareness and discipline I think he lacks at the moment.

 

[greenedge]

7. Alberto Contador, Giro Nevegal MTT: He was down 20-30 seconds then out of nowehere the cadence jumped and he came over the line 35sec ahead of Nibs, it shocked everyone, commentators as well. It was an imperious bit of climbing and put the seal on an incredible GT victory.

Really???

I had Harmon on call for me. Besides Contador stated he rode easy on the flats. And by then he had an unassailable lead anyways.

 

[auscyclefan94]

WTF?

The stage where he loses the most time to his closest rival is the single moment where he wins the Tour???

Theres no such thing as the stage someone wins the Tour anyway, unless there are 20 stages where you finish with the pack and one where you win.

But if what you are trying to say is that this was the most important stage to his victory, well I would argue that the tt where he took 2 minutes and the Gap descent where he took a minute and a half to his rival are infinately more important to his overall win than the stage where he lost more time to that riavla than anyone could have possibly imagined.

Cadel vs Schleck, Cadel landed far more blows to Andys body throughout the Tour, and a knockout right at the end, but Andy did land one big head shot and that was stage 18 and

Cadel won the Tour, he lost stage 18.

It would be like arguing that the set Djokovic lost to Nadal was the one where he won the US Open.

Yes it was where he won the tour because if he didn't make the bold chase then he wouldn't have won the tour. It was race defining moment. He would of lost a hell of a lot more if he didn't chase so it is where he won the tour. That was the one moment where Cadels victory was seriously under threat and slipping through his hands hence why it was where he won. Time gaps are not necessarily an accurate measure. Anyway, I could throw many hypotheticals at you regarding if different choices were made or tatics were played out by teams or riders which would change the outcome of what happened regarding the Time bonuses.

 

[Maxiton]

huh ? what?

I'm pretty certain I remember him being p!ssed on the bike demanding help from the others, in true cuddles manner.

Nope, that's not quite what happened. What happened was, there was a lot of confusion up front when Contador suddenly left the front in favor of the back. Evans and a couple of others had a confused discussion because this wasn't in anyone's playbook. Basically no one knew what to do for a moment, including Evans. Evans seemed to be explaining to them that he wasn't sure what was up with Contador, and yes, he might have also added that he had no intention of pulling the entire peloton for the rest of the stage; then he seemed to realize that it didn't matter and he had to get on with it, do the whole thing by himself or lose the race. I have to say, the reliance on Contador part and the confusion were Evans' least impressive moment; his taking the bit in his teeth and riding at the front to save his race was maybe his most impressive moment. In light of that, the minutes he won or lost on the stage were immaterial. This was the effort that all but ensured his victory.

 

[Woody22]

I gave this poster the respect of answering his ad hominem accusations, with a very long post, but he obviously has absolutely no interest in responding.

Seems to me increasingly like it was trolling.

Pretty pathetic anyway.

No, working 2 jobs and having 2 children under 5 just giver me few opportunities to check the forum. Due to my love of cycling I jump on whenever I have the chance, so please don't be offended.

I have read your reply and appreciate what you said. Like i said at the time, I respect your right to say whatever you like. I just thought on that occassion that you were going out of your way to talk Evans down. The poster you were replying to was just stating that he thought about Evans ride in the relevant forum. However, on reflection, I should stick to my point and not make statements about posters being "messed up". So for that, sorry.

Anyway, just to clear up things. I support Evans (obviously) but more than that I support cycling. Contador is clearly the best GT rider at the moment and possibly of all time, and I don't wan't you to have the impression that I hate him or certain riders.

And to you personally Hitch, I always take special note of your posts as you do go to the trouble of backing up your thoughts with stats and relevant facts. I don't always agree with you, but nor should I have to.

Look forward to reading more of your stage previews in the future.

p.s. Sorry to everyone else who had to read this.

 

[Timmy-loves-Rabo]

Nope, that's not quite what happened. What happened was, there was a lot of confusion up front when Contador suddenly left the front in favor of the back. Evans and a couple of others had a confused discussion because this wasn't in anyone's playbook. Basically no one knew what to do for a moment, including Evans. Evans seemed to be explaining to them that he wasn't sure what was up with Contador, and yes, he might have also added that he had no intention of pulling the entire peloton for the rest of the stage; then he seemed to realize that it didn't matter and he had to get on with it, do the whole thing by himself or lose the race. I have to say, the reliance on Contador part and the confusion were Evans' least impressive moment; his taking the bit in his teeth and riding at the front to save his race was maybe his most impressive moment. In light of that, the minutes he won or lost on the stage were immaterial. This was the effort that all but ensured his victory.

i guess we watched different races I definately remember him getting heated in those two stages 18-19...
Anyway it doesn't matter. I agree it was a good ride, but I disagree a ride of the year by evans.He did what was necessary. It was schlecks and contadors courgage which forced his hand.

 

[auscyclefan94]

i guess we watched different races I definately remember him getting heated in those two stages 18-19...
Anyway it doesn't matter. I agree it was a good ride, but I disagree a ride of the year by evans.He did what was necessary. It was schlecks and contadors courgage which forced his hand.

You could say that Evans dropping Schleck & Contador on the stages before that forced their hands to attack at those points. It is a tit for tat debate tbh. We could go all the way back to Mont des Alouettes stage if we wanted to.

I gave this poster the respect of answering his ad hominem accusations, with a very long post, but he obviously has absolutely no interest in responding.

Seems to me increasingly like it was trolling.

Pretty pathetic anyway.

I think you may owe someone an apology. People don't live on the forum 24/7 like you or I do. Anyway, a little more respect from you that people have different views on things would be much appreciated. Thanks.

 

[just some guy]

You could say that Evans dropping Schleck & Contador on the stages before that forced their hands to attack at those points. It is a tit for tat debate tbh. We could go all the way back to Mont des Alouettes stage if we wanted to.


I think you may owe someone an apology. People don't live on the forum 24/7 like you or I do. Anyway, a little more respect from you that people have different views on things would be much appreciated. Thanks.

But this is how to respect others

At least I won't have to read your condescending bull**** that you post. Anyway, I highly doubt there is an ignore fanclub by the amount of people who continually respond to my posts. Idiot.

 

[gregrowlerson]

I think you may owe someone an apology. People don't live on the forum 24/7 like you or I do. Anyway, a little more respect from you that people have different views on things would be much appreciated. Thanks.

Well said, and I like the "24/7" bit

 

[auscyclefan94]

But this is how to respect others

Well if you want to post the comments that people sent to me and describe the whole situation so the comment isn't taken out of context that would be much appreciated. I still stand by my post because the poster had continually been rude and condescending towards me on twittter and this forum and I wasn't going to tolerate it anymore.

 

[The Hitch]

Anyway, a little more respect from you that people have different views on things would be much appreciated. Thanks.

I hope this is a case of you not being too aware of what your words actually mean.

Saying that I dont respect different views is a pretty serious attack.

Disagreeing with someone is NOT the same as disagreeing with their right to hold the opinion.

I think you are far more in violation of the latter than myself, as on many occasions you refuse to offer on topic analysis, but instead ridicule the opposite idea.

So long as I am arguing with someone on the subject matter, rather than ridiculing their post, and offering 2 sentence end all responses, as you do, I can not really be accused of anything more than disagreeing with their opinion.

Which is several leagues lower than not respecting their right to hold that opinion.

 

[roundabout]

Really???

I had Harmon on call for me. Besides Contador stated he rode easy on the flats. And by then he had an unassailable lead anyways.

A fanboy got to pad out his list so let him be.

 

[Angliru]

huh ? what?

I'm pretty certain I remember him being p!ssed on the bike demanding help from the others, in true cuddles manner.

I recall the same and thought that this particular incident was something that should have remained quite clear in most viewers minds considering the circumstances and the volume of dialogue on these forums that it generated.
Selective amnesia maybe?

 

[personal]

...
I never said a losing effort disqualifies someone from ride of the year. I said it disqualifies a stage as being the stage where the rider wins the Tour. If you beat your rival on 5 stages in a gt, I dont think the one stage where you lose time to him is the one where you "win the Tour".

But what if Andy rode TT (penultimate day of the Tour) of his life and lost time to Evans but lost less then what his lead was before that and by doing that won the Tour?

 

[Siriuscat]

Really???

I had Harmon on call for me. Besides Contador stated he rode easy on the flats. And by then he had an unassailable lead anyways.

Harmon and Kelly were calling him behind Nibs right up until he crossed the line and they realised he was ahead. Doesn't change that ride for me.

 

[Libertine Seguros]

Yes it was where he won the tour because if he didn't make the bold chase then he wouldn't have won the tour. It was race defining moment. He would of lost a hell of a lot more if he didn't chase so it is where he won the tour. That was the one moment where Cadels victory was seriously under threat and slipping through his hands hence why it was where he won. Time gaps are not necessarily an accurate measure. Anyway, I could throw many hypotheticals at you regarding if different choices were made or tatics were played out by teams or riders which would change the outcome of what happened regarding the Time bonuses.

Evans won the Tour on the penultimate day in the time trial. Up until that point he was not leading the race and was therefore not winning.

You're welcome.

 

[cineteq]

Evans won the Tour on the penultimate day in the time trial. Up until that point he was not leading the race and was therefore not winning.

You're so logical. LOL!!!

 

[AussieGoddess]

hmm - can I just list 10 of Gilbert's wins?

I think I would still have issues choosing just 10