- May 6, 2009
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No enough credit for how good they are, either by the fans, or the general media, or whatever reasons you like.
I've always thought races like the Volta a Portugal doesn't get as much credit as it should for producing entertaining racing, and some challenging terrain (plus some scorching August heat), has been around for 72 editions and was considered for a long time 'the 4th GT', an ideal preparation for teams and riders to get used to multi week stage racing, plus from English media outlets (like CN), you hear squat about the race, nothing in the way of TV coverage on Eurosport, barely any media reports, and the post stage articles were lacking detail of what happened and race photos, just thank God for people like Libertine and DAOTEC to keep us up to date on info. Isso, does the race get a lot of media coverage in Portugal, particularly in the north, where cycling is popular?
Other then the Volta, I'll put in the Tour of Austria, unfortunately they hold their race in July (usually the day after the Tour de France starts), but they are not afraid to give the 1st stage to the sprinters, and then the next day to send them up the Großglockner. It generally has some good racing and a good field as well. Shame this has nearly died.
Now I've given my reasons for the first two, and hear me out on this, and before you laugh me off the forum (it was nice knowing you guys and girls
), but I actually consider the Giro d'Italia to be under rated. Why? Not by the fans, the riders and teams, or if you're Johan Bruyneel, you don't rate this race at all, the cycling media, but the general media it's self, especially if you're in what Pat McQuaid likes to call the "new world of cycling". Fellow Australians, New Zealander's, South Africans, Americans, Canadians, Brits, Irish, and where ever else cycling is not popular (compared to rugby, basketball etc.), can probably attest to the fact that in July, in the newspapers and on the sports section of the nightly news report, they will give a brief account of what happened, or if you're lucky like we in Australia are with SBS, we get every stage live, and in general, Tour de France = cycling, everybody knows about the Tour de France, but if you ask them about the Giro d'Italia, unless they are a cycling fan in some way, they will have NFI what you're on about. Even though the Giro >>>>>>> the Tour in every way humanely possible, except for the size of the race, it simply doesn't rate a mention.
I also think that with the Tour being the pinnacle, and so many riders and team putting their focus towards July, the Giro tends to suffer in lack of big name GC riders riding FTW (we never saw Armstrong there during his 7-year reign, no Schlecks etc.), or if they ride at all. In terms of being a spectacle and entertaining, the Giro has it in spades that ASO could only wish for. I was on the edge of my seat watching Nibali and Arroyo descending like madmen off the Monte Grappa, and the Mortirolo respectively, with a middle finger directed at self preservation, but if I opened up a newspaper here, or looked on the news, I wouldn't know about it.
So that is my reasons I've put out there, agree or disagree all you like, or if you have other races that should be included.
I've always thought races like the Volta a Portugal doesn't get as much credit as it should for producing entertaining racing, and some challenging terrain (plus some scorching August heat), has been around for 72 editions and was considered for a long time 'the 4th GT', an ideal preparation for teams and riders to get used to multi week stage racing, plus from English media outlets (like CN), you hear squat about the race, nothing in the way of TV coverage on Eurosport, barely any media reports, and the post stage articles were lacking detail of what happened and race photos, just thank God for people like Libertine and DAOTEC to keep us up to date on info. Isso, does the race get a lot of media coverage in Portugal, particularly in the north, where cycling is popular?
Other then the Volta, I'll put in the Tour of Austria, unfortunately they hold their race in July (usually the day after the Tour de France starts), but they are not afraid to give the 1st stage to the sprinters, and then the next day to send them up the Großglockner. It generally has some good racing and a good field as well. Shame this has nearly died.
Now I've given my reasons for the first two, and hear me out on this, and before you laugh me off the forum (it was nice knowing you guys and girls
), but I actually consider the Giro d'Italia to be under rated. Why? Not by the fans, the riders and teams, or if you're Johan Bruyneel, you don't rate this race at all, the cycling media, but the general media it's self, especially if you're in what Pat McQuaid likes to call the "new world of cycling". Fellow Australians, New Zealander's, South Africans, Americans, Canadians, Brits, Irish, and where ever else cycling is not popular (compared to rugby, basketball etc.), can probably attest to the fact that in July, in the newspapers and on the sports section of the nightly news report, they will give a brief account of what happened, or if you're lucky like we in Australia are with SBS, we get every stage live, and in general, Tour de France = cycling, everybody knows about the Tour de France, but if you ask them about the Giro d'Italia, unless they are a cycling fan in some way, they will have NFI what you're on about. Even though the Giro >>>>>>> the Tour in every way humanely possible, except for the size of the race, it simply doesn't rate a mention. I also think that with the Tour being the pinnacle, and so many riders and team putting their focus towards July, the Giro tends to suffer in lack of big name GC riders riding FTW (we never saw Armstrong there during his 7-year reign, no Schlecks etc.), or if they ride at all. In terms of being a spectacle and entertaining, the Giro has it in spades that ASO could only wish for. I was on the edge of my seat watching Nibali and Arroyo descending like madmen off the Monte Grappa, and the Mortirolo respectively, with a middle finger directed at self preservation, but if I opened up a newspaper here, or looked on the news, I wouldn't know about it.
So that is my reasons I've put out there, agree or disagree all you like, or if you have other races that should be included.
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