Was Paris-Nice exciting this year?

[Andre.J]

I was hoping to see more fight in Seeldrayers and VDB

 

[Francois the Postman]

Thoroughly enjoyed it. Again.

And more than chuffed that the riders made the most out of the opportunities that the slightly underwhelming stages had to offer (on paper). Every tricky run-in was exploited for maximum effect. And the wind did its bit too.

The closer we got to Nice, the less I saw of the riders and teams that enthuse me most. But a young talent and a decent Spanish showdown made more than up for that.

I do enjoy PN, but at this point in the season there is the constant taste of "training for better things" in the air, which does take some of the shine of the event, to me. I will never miss it if I can help it, but it's not a "calendar countdown" event to me.

It's no surprise that one-week stage races do lack the epicness of a Giro and Vuelta. I do like the long narratives. 8 days is a bit on the short side.

But what gets me most, is that those 8 days don't feel half as bruising as the one-day classics. The ones we already had, and the rapidly approaching cobble fest in particular. Those, to me, are true Spring highlights, and PN, TA, even MSR are tasty treats, but don't fill me up like some of the other ones never fail to do.

Now, 18 days and counting....

 

[tgsgirl]

I was hoping to see more fight in Seeldrayers and VDB

VDB was disappointing indeed, Seelie can be excused after missing a couple precious weeks of training after mistakenly being diagnosed with cardiac troubles.

 

[sublimit]

I must admit i got bored after a 3 or 4 days and started watching Tirreno-Adriatico. Hendersons win was good early on but yes i found it quite dull stuff.

 

[FignonLeGrand]

Contador domination was amazing at first, but now it's just a formality. Going off topic, but I would personally love to see Andy Schleck win the Tour this year.

Wow have you forgotten the days of Armstrong and Indurain before him, that was boring domination of poor peletons, Contador is dominating but having to race hard to do it. Id like to see Schleck challenge more but that will only happen when he mans up and leaves Frank to fend for himself on the hard climbs. His lack of will to attack properly on mont ventoux last year as he wanted another Schelck 1 - 2 was boring.

 

[pmcg76]

I must admit i got bored after a 3 or 4 days and started watching Tirreno-Adriatico. Hendersons win was good early on but yes i found it quite dull stuff.

Could this be down to the fact that after Henderson won, SKY done jack all in P-N? People and there preferences for certain teams, riders. Boring.

This years race was not as good as last seaon but still more exciting than most, I was disappointed with one stage(Saturday I think) where nobody took it to Contador. I only saw the final 45mins of Sunday as highlights on Monday, I knew the result and what happened but it was still exciting to watch

 

[zapata]

Paris-Nice didn't seem as exciting as last year or the previous edition. What are your thoughts?

That might be true. Still, it was probably the most exciting stage race since Paris-nice last year. If anyone thought it was dull, I don't know what you expect from a race, but you'll probably find cycling a dull sport in general. Plenty people do. Me, I thought it was a great race.

 

[Michele]

+1

And the last stage was really fun to watch.

 

[Andre.J]

VDB was disappointing indeed, Seelie can be excused after missing a couple precious weeks of training after mistakenly being diagnosed with cardiac troubles.

Thanks for the update; I wasn't aware of the Seeldrayers situation.

Andre

 

[sublimit]

Could this be down to the fact that after Henderson won, SKY done jack all in P-N? People and there preferences for certain teams, riders. Boring.

This years race was not as good as last seaon but still more exciting than most, I was disappointed with one stage(Saturday I think) where nobody took it to Contador. I only saw the final 45mins of Sunday as highlights on Monday, I knew the result and what happened but it was still exciting to watch

No. i just got bored.

I like Henderson though ever since the Vuelta stage win last year and was looking out for him because he looks like a fast finisher, and not just a lead out guy. and it seems when anybody mentions a Sky rider they automatically become a Teamsky fanboy.. its like ****ing annoying.


I'm so glad you found P-N exciting.

 

[Angliru]

I was hoping to see more fight in Seeldrayers and VDB

Me too with Seeldrayers especially after last year's performance, or was that at the Giro? Can't remember exactly but I know he really opened some eyes with his performance last year but pretty much disappeared the rest of the season. I guess that should have been a sign that it was a flash in the pan.

I don't know much about VDB's early season goals to know if P-N was one of his targets or not.

 

[tgsgirl]

Me too with Seeldrayers especially after last year's performance, or was that at the Giro?

He got the white jersey in both Paris-Nice and the Giro, so it wasn't exactly one off. And as previously stated, he got misdiagnosed with cardiac troubles over the winter. It meant he had to stop racing immediately, so he stayed off the bike for a week or two til they got a second opinion which said he was fine. He said at the time that for a few weeks after the second opinion still he was afraid to go all out, said he'd get scared he'd drop dead (apparently the first diagnosis was pretty serious) if he got his heart-rate above 150. So much like Cav, it's no wonder he's not in shape.

 

[Angliru]

He got the white jersey in both Paris-Nice and the Giro, so it wasn't exactly one off. And as previously stated, he got misdiagnosed with cardiac troubles over the winter. It meant he had to stop racing immediately, so he stayed off the bike for a week or two til they got a second opinion which said he was fine. He said at the time that for a few weeks after the second opinion still he was afraid to go all out, said he'd get scared he'd drop dead (apparently the first diagnosis was pretty serious) if he got his heart-rate above 150. So much like Cav, it's no wonder he's not in shape.

Thanks for the update. I had missed that or probably forgotten the medical issues. I'd like to see him and VDB represent Belgian well in the stage races since there is usually such a scarcity when the roads turn upwards.

 

[tgsgirl]

It wasn't really big news, even in Belgium, but it does explain some towards his current form. A shame really, because I too was looking forward to seeing him in 2010. Hopefully he'll get his form back, maybe he can focus on the Vuelta this year...