What is Your Favorite Cycling Race??

[just some guy]

How can a grand tour be A race. Each stage is a race.

The Giro is my fav grand tour ie a group of 21 individual races

But my fav race is flanders

 

[luckyboy]

Giro
Ronde
Roubaix
Tour
Vuelta
Worlds
Tirreno
Liege
Pais Vasco
Lombardia
Paris-Nice
Amstel
Dauphine
Fleche

 

[Bye Bye Bicycle]

Paris - Nice
Milan - San Remo

Those two weeks when the real racing season kicks off. I love it. Then the build-up to Flanders/Roubaix via Dwars, E3, Wevelgem, De Panne. After Roubaix it's a bit of a hole with the hilly classics which I don't appreciate that much. Giro depends on the year, there have been great ones (2000, 2004) and bad ones (2006, 2007, 2009). This year's Giro is different. After Weylandt's death I just follow it without emotions, apart from some Contador-related vomiting.

Le Tour is the highlight, of course. Quality, length and depth of the TV coverage, transfer rumours, gossip, reading l'Equipe, seeing some Frenchies winning stages and jersey etc. Oh, and the French countryside.

The post-TdF hole lasts until the World Champs. The Espoirs race is often the only chance to see some U23 heroes live in action. And there's always action. The elite race is great in the first two laps with some Uzbeks and Moroccans in the attack and the last two laps. The four, five hours in between bore me to death.

 

[Echoes]

From the list, Paris-Roubaix without the shadow of a doubt.

Overall, still Paris-Roubaix.


Otherwise, I do love Tro Bro Leon, Montepaschi Strade Bianche, OK Tour of Flanders too.

And the cyclocross of Asper Gavere, of Roubaix and Namur.


All races that are held between Januari and June and between August and December are worth watching.

 

[Kwibus]

I will try to remember to make this poll in November/December.

 

[Bavarianrider]

A 70km point to point Time trial

 

[King Of The Wolds]

Tour
RVV
P-R

Don't understand the attraction of the Worlds. A WC should be the main event in any sport - not something squeezed in at the end of a long season (which will have already shown us the best stage racer, sprinter, TTer, etc.), when all the riders are knackered.

 

[Moondance]

Annual




Yes. Moondance seems a bit moody in his recent posts.

As i recall even if it was only 3 posts it moved into other non cycling ground. Something about marriage and ak zaf cheered moondance up with a very humorous scenario of what a conversation with Joop Zoetemelk would actually look like

Do I?

I know I got rather snappy at ACF when I'd completely had it one afternoon with him and Alexander Kristoff... My brain tells me to feel sorry about having done that, although I try as I might I cannot seem to produce any sympathy for the Kristoff-crowd.

Nevertheless, I will endeavor to make sure that my always sunny disposition will be adequately reflected in my postings here.

 

[Finbouy]

Giro, not just cos' it's on at the mo neithers.
But also the Brittany races that go on throughout the year.

 

[Anonymous]

i love every race but the tour can be so boring.

 

[Midnightfright]

Has to be LBL for me, I can't fully explain why. I guess it's partly because the 1st race I ever saw/remember/got my fascinated with cycling was vandenbroucke winning in 99 i think , i had no idea what was going on i stumbled upon it and was mesmerized.

 

[SimonC]

I love Paris - Roubaix it can't be matched for drama and brutality, the riders are put through the mill, it old style racing.

The unpredictabilty of it is also a major pull for me. Went out to see La Fleche Wallone this year and really enjoyed that aswell.

 

[RedheadDane]

Can't I just say I like them all? I think each race have a charm on its own.

 

[on3m@n@rmy]

I wish this was split into two polls; one for GTs and a second for classics/monuments. I've always been a GT fan, but am quickly becomming a classics & monuments fan and really, really, really wanted to vote RVV or PR. But the little GT sitting on my shoulder was wispering Giro.

 

[Ildabaoth]

I rate the Tour in my top 5 races until july. Then the bore Tour arrives and I downgrade it to at least 10th place. The same year after year.

 

[ak-zaaf]

RVV for all the obvious reasons, maybe a tie with the Worlds road race.

And I love the Tour. The race itself disappoints most of the time, but it's the only month where cycling is in the media all the time. Books get published hat were shelved for months, there's 2 late night talkshows about cycling on TV, my reputation among colleagues usually turns from cycling-nerd to TDF-guru for a short while, there are tour games everywhere...
And in the end it's the race with the most top riders in top shape.

But I'll always like one day races better.

 

[Greenflame]

Paris-Roubaix and Ronde van Vlaanderen with Roubaix just slightly ahead of Vlaanderen. World Road Race is third. Not quite sure what's next though. Hard to make a comparison between one day races and grand tours. I love the Tour because of everything around it (for the Dutchies, yes, I am one of the very few who love Mart Smeets' Avondetappe ), the Giro because it has some amazing racing, while LBL and Lombardia are brilliant as well. I enjoy Sanremo as well, though perhaps not as much as the other races.

The cobbled classics are the clear favourites in my cycling season though.

 

[mr. tibbs]

Anyone with access to my post history can probably guess that my favorites are as follows:

1 - Paris Roubaix
2 - Other races, led by Le Tour & De Ronde.

 

[Descender]

RVV
Worlds
Giro di Lombardia
Giro d'Italia
PR/LBL/MSR
Vuelta
Tirreno-Adriatico
Paris-Nice/Basque C./Dauphiné




















Tour

 

[Captain_Cavman]

Paris Roubaix is the day's racing I most look forward to. But overall the Tour is the best race by a country mile. Riders peaking just for this race to prove themselves against the best.

Sometimes the quality of the riders makes the racing defensive and dull; just as when two good football teams cancel each other out. It doesn't mean I'd rather watch two mediocre teams battling for a second class trophy. The Johnsons Paint trophy has probably produced more excitement than the FA Cup final in recent years. I still prefer to watch the FA Cup final though.