Tour de France Tour de France 2021, Stage 19: Mourenx – Libourne, 207.0 km

Page 12 - Get up to date with the latest news, scores & standings from the Cycling News Community.
Toggle sidebar Toggle sidebar
gregrowlerson

gregrowlerson

Aug 6, 2010
6,884
6,216
23,180
Big Doopie said:
unfortunately, most are, if they are designed right.

the best, most all-round rider wins. and after three weeks the difference between that rider and others is more often fairly large (or at least lacking in suspense).

for real suspense, you need at least two riders who are both top five in TT and climbs (and who don't crash)...TDF 89 anyone? But this is rare.

none of Merckx's wins were close (Ocana crashed in 1971), but his defeat in 1975 was a thrilling TDF!
none of Hinault's wins were close, but his defeat in 1986 is the most remembered.
Anquetil's most memorable win was his last with Poulidor close but never really really going to win with the final TT.
none of Indurain's wins were memorable at all (probably the most boring period in TDF history), and yet his defeat was newsworthy.

It is often the eventual losses of the dominant rider of the time that are truly memorable.

One of the reasons I actually think Lemond is so popular is that his wins were almost always as the underdog... the underdog to the patron Hinault in 1986 and the defeat of the blaireau, the comeback in 1989 and the, yes, comeback in 1990 from being really overweight and out of shape and being more than 10+ minutes down on Chiappucci.

To enjoy the TDF one has to enjoy exploits by the dominant rider of that time. You can enjoy a TDF like Merckx's 1969 win or Ocana's 1973 win by the panache demonstrated by the winner -- same can be said, in relative terms, about Pog's win this year).

And, frankly, I would not want it any other way. GTs should always crown the very best all-round rider and not have superficially created drama by lessening the challenges or putting things out of balance (see Giros of the 1980s that catered to climbing-challenged Saronni and Moser or the ridiculous Vuelta where Maertens won 13-14 stages).

My 2 cents.
Click to expand...

I generally agree. Pogacar’s exploits on stage 8 alone are probably more memorable than many GT's in their entirety (at least when only taking the gc into consideration).
 
  • Like
Reactions: Miha81, Hihope, Lui98 and 1 other person
A

Andy262

Sep 27, 2014
1,173
1,015
13,680
Nice win for Mohorič but crazy they let him go as cheaply as that.

Trek and Laporte the prime contenders for the dayglo *** and balls jersey.
 
M

mollusc

May 21, 2011
16
12
8,560
Big Doopie said:
unfortunately, most are, if they are designed right.

the best, most all-round rider wins. and after three weeks the difference between that rider and others is more often fairly large (or at least lacking in suspense).

for real suspense, you need at least two riders who are both top five in TT and climbs (and who don't crash)...TDF 89 anyone? But this is rare.

none of Merckx's wins were close (Ocana crashed in 1971), but his defeat in 1975 was a thrilling TDF!
none of Hinault's wins were close, but his defeat in 1986 is the most remembered.
Anquetil's most memorable win was his last with Poulidor close but never really really going to win with the final TT.
none of Indurain's wins were memorable at all (probably the most boring period in TDF history), and yet his defeat was newsworthy.

It is often the eventual losses of the dominant rider of the time that are truly memorable.

One of the reasons I actually think Lemond is so popular is that his wins were almost always as the underdog... the underdog to the patron Hinault in 1986 and the defeat of the blaireau, the comeback in 1989 and the, yes, comeback in 1990 from being really overweight and out of shape and being more than 10+ minutes down on Chiappucci.

To enjoy the TDF one has to enjoy exploits by the dominant rider of that time. You can enjoy a TDF like Merckx's 1969 win or Ocana's 1973 win by the panache demonstrated by the winner -- same can be said, in relative terms, about Pog's win this year).

And, frankly, I would not want it any other way. GTs should always crown the very best all-round rider and not have superficially created drama by lessening the challenges or putting things out of balance (see Giros of the 1980s that catered to climbing-challenged Saronni and Moser or the ridiculous Vuelta where Maertens won 13-14 stages).

My 2 cents.
Click to expand...

worth more than two cents. excellent post
 
  • Like
Reactions: hscoach2 and gregrowlerson
S

Stelvio

Apr 16, 2009
340
330
9,980
Armchair cyclist said:
Anyone able to translate from Norwegian?
Click to expand...

Not much more than Cavendish thinking there was something off with the steering, and the mechanic thought it was alright. They also said that it could be dangerous to do a victory salute if something really was wrong...

Probably just Cavendish being fidgety with his bike setup, as he sometimes is.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Armchair Cyclist
tobydawq

tobydawq

Nov 16, 2013
26,686
27,791
28,180
yaco said:
A mechanical in the closing kilometres means Cavendish will miss the final - It happened to Kittel.
Click to expand...

Yeah, but I don't understand the question... If it happens to him, he misses out on the sprint and can lose the jersey if Matthews by a miracle should win the stage. But I'm sure you know that, so I don't get what your question is directed at.
 
  • Like
Reactions: RedheadDane
You must log in or register to reply here.

TRENDING THREADS

Latest posts

Share this page

COMPANY
RESOURCES
FOLLOW
Top Bottom