Giro d'Italia Worst Giro d'Italia edition in the 21st century?

[OlavEH]

The "entertainment" potential of any GT is unpredictable. That is why designing a great route on paper sometimes does not deliver because along the way riders get hill, crash, or whatever is left is too close.

The route this year was not by any way a good design. Of course it was much worse than anticipated, but it could have been much better with a good route design.

In most cases it is really predictable which stages that have the potential to be not only good, but great. Mortirolo-Aprica will deliver certainly 9 out of 10 times. A 8 km, 10 % MTF will deliver in a far lower percentage of the time.

 

[Akuryo]

On top of route and questionable tactics this one also had the problem of the first week with rain, crashes and Covid, which depleted the fight for gc for some teams heavily. I mean, Arensman and De Plus rode as a domestique and still managed to hang on for a top 10 spots because nobody else was either willing to push after they had done their job or simply wasn't even in the race anymore... so yeah, this one stood out negatively in many ways. And not all of that could've been prevented. Weather and subsequently riders crashing or getting ill will happen even with the best route on paper. Who knows how the race would've developed for instance if Evenepoel/Quickstep didn't get Corona collectively? Maybe it would've lead Ineos to ride different and make the race more exciting. But one single illness prevented that scenario...

 

[Andre]

I voted 2023...it was pretty bad.

 

[Red Rick]

I'm not gonna lie, while the MTT was crazy I liked it in the end mostly because my guy won. It's about as crazy as action can get but the true tension was only there for a relatively short period of time.

I think I overestimated all the good parts of the Giro route and underestimated the bad parts.

 

[hrotha]

No one cares and that's the point. Today's stage delivered and that suffices for the average fan that is not polishing his ego about how he watched all the Giros since 1910.

I guess it was silly of me to come to a place called Cycling News dot com expecting a bit deeper analysis than what is considered sufficient by the people for whom literally anything at all would have sufficed

 

[Libertine Seguros]

No one cares and that's the point. Today's stage delivered and that suffices for the average fan that is not polishing his ego about how he watched all the Giros since 1910.

If a football match is 0-0 and consisted solely of putrid garbage on the level of West Germany vs. Austria in 1982, but then somebody pulls out a highlight reel 30-yard volley in the 92nd minute to win it... it was still a bad game, it just had a moment of quality.

 

[Elos Anjos]

The point is that there's a whole set of unpredictable factors that turned the race kind of dull: weather, covid-19, crashes, you name it. The same route could have delivered something else had some riders been there or the weather been more soft.
I' m not against some people ranking this Giro as "bad" because it clearly lacked action. I'm just stating that ranking it usually brings with it the thought that the outcome could have been different had route designers or riders or DS known better. Clearly, it's not their fault.

 

[topcat]

What an absolute SHlT SHOW. Remco would have won by a day. After what happened on tre cime, they all deserved to lose. We got some cheap crassy suspense on the gimmick time trial. I refused to watch it because I didn’t want to feel cheapened. I’ve been watching cycling for 45 years and it’s the worst gt I can think of. On a positive note, it’s over.

 

[OlavEH]

I' m not against some people ranking this Giro as "bad" because it clearly lacked action. I'm just stating that ranking it usually brings with it the thought that the outcome could have been different had route designers or riders or DS known better. Clearly, it's not their fault.

The route could have been much, much better. It woudn't guarantee more action, but it would certainly have been far more probable than the shite we've just witnessed.

 

[Andre]

It makes me wonder how the Giro will change for next year. Clearly the designers will try to make it interesting. They probably won't have Remco so the challenge to design some interesting racing will not be that easy.

 

[Red Rick]

It makes me wonder how the Giro will change for next year. Clearly the designers will try to make it interesting. They probably won't have Remco so the challenge to design some interesting racing will not be that easy.

Heard they'll at least start with a nice Murito finish in San Luca for some immediate GC action oh no that's a different Grand Tour

 

[Elos Anjos]

The route could have been much, much better. It woudn't guarantee more action, but it would certainly have been far more probable than the shite we've just witnessed.

I agree, but the judgement "The route could have been much, much better" is made in hindsight.

 

[OlavEH]

I agree, but the judgement "The route could have been much, much better" is made in hindsight.

I rated it 6 last fall and also made these comments about negative aspects of the route. It wasn't exactly wrong:

-None of biggest climbs like Mortirolo, Stelvio, Finestre, etc.
-- None of the big mountain stages that really encourage long range attacks.
--- First two weeks are too easy/too backloaded.

 

[Elos Anjos]

I rated it 6 last fall and also made these comments about negative aspects of the route. It wasn't exactly wrong:

-None of biggest climbs like Mortirolo, Stelvio, Finestre, etc.
-- None of the big mountain stages that really encourage long range attacks.
--- First two weeks are too easy/too backloaded.

Backloading weeks can be a deterrent, yes.
Like I have already discussed in other threads and several cycling commentators and webpages noticed, the backloading and the MTT were designed to counterbalance Remco's likely dominance in the previous two weeks given the amount of TTs. The fact that he left because of covid-19 speaks more about designing a route having only rider's features in mind.

 

[staubsauger]

The Lussari mtt was epic, but at cost of the whole race before. Eventually that increases my rating of the 2023 Giro d'Italia to a 3. But I straight up would've rated it 1 without Lussari . That's for certain.


Someone wanted to explain to me yesterday that this Giro d'Italia was well worth seeing for him. Because seeing guys like Vingegaard & Pogacar producing thermonuclear performances isn't so exciting for him.

I didn't ask him what was actually exciting about the 2023 Giro d'Italia before the Lussari MTT. The only exciting stage actually had a thermonuclear performance by Roglic that shook the whole race.

 

[Netserk]

The point is that there's a whole set of unpredictable factors that turned the race kind of dull: weather, covid-19, crashes, you name it. The same route could have delivered something else had some riders been there or the weather been more soft.
I' m not against some people ranking this Giro as "bad" because it clearly lacked action. I'm just stating that ranking it usually brings with it the thought that the outcome could have been different had route designers or riders or DS known better. Clearly, it's not their fault.

We have a separate thread for ranking the route. That is not this thread. This is for ranking the racing as it unfolded. Was it particularly enjoyable? Was it the best edition of the race to watch? Or was it below all other editions of the Giro for you to follow?

 

[Elos Anjos]

We have a separate thread for ranking the route. That is not this thread. This is for ranking the racing as it unfolded. Was it particularly enjoyable? Was it the best edition of the race to watch? Or was it below all other editions of the Giro for you to follow?

Judgements about being the best or worst Giro depend on expectations about it.
Having low expectations about this Giro make it enjoyable.
And having low expectations about this Giro depend on being wise or having low cycling culture...being knowledgeable comes with a price.
Concurrently, the Giro in its entirety is as good as the most important stage and last stage.
I would watch it again.

 

[Andre]

...as in "ignorance is bliss?"

 

[Gigs_98]

Now that the race is over...yeah it was this one.

 

[Peyroteo94]

This race gets 2/10 because Cav won the final stage.

 

[Kaptain Kool]

Judgements about being the best or worst Giro depend on expectations about it.
Having low expectations about this Giro make it enjoyable.
And having low expectations about this Giro depend on being wise or having low cycling culture...being knowledgeable comes with a price.
Concurrently, the Giro in its entirety is as good as the most important stage and last stage.
I would watch it again.

I had no expectations at all and it was extremely boring.

 

[Tonton]

Now that it's over, this one was the worst. A movie in which nothing happened until the final fifteen minutes. The design was bad but it shouldn't get all the blame, some of it must go to the teams and riders; you can't make people attack if they don't want to. Pogacar would have set this thing on fire. I can't even write that with Remco gone, they fought not to lose: at Lago Laceno and on the Gran Sasso, he was there...

I will point at the positives, at least for me:

- I like the finish in Rome: all roads lead to Rome after all - you can't make that up
- It's Il Giro d'Italia, and the national champion won a stage
- It's Il Giro d'Italia, and an Italian won a sprint stage - and the points jersey
- I'm now a fan of Ben Healy and Derek Gee - they're not afraid to try and try again
- In his last Giro, Thibaut Pinot wasn't a spectator, he fought and finished super strong

I'll give it an 8. But it sucked...

 

[SHAD0W93]

Was the edition so bad this is taking place of the poll? I read every stage and saw the highlights from Eurosport.
I’d give it a 4/10 with a point each for;
Roglic getting his revenge on the final MTT and dominating it despite the mechanical,
Cav finally getting the stage win, being the final stage showing he was able to get through the hard stages, and dominating the stage,
Pinot getting 5th with the KoM,
Almeida winning a stage and being on the podium while showing he is progressing and could fight for the win.

I didn’t like Evenepoel and Hart having to withdraw, all of the crashes and withdraws for illness or Covid, the stages being watered down, Pinot not winning a stage, and Cav only getting one stage.


The Giro seems to be getting worse and worse so hopefully they can correct it next year.

 

[Avoriaz]

What an absolute SHlT SHOW. Remco would have won by a day. After what happened on tre cime, they all deserved to lose. We got some cheap crassy suspense on the gimmick time trial. I refused to watch it because I didn’t want to feel cheapened. I’ve been watching cycling for 45 years and it’s the worst gt I can think of. On a positive note, it’s over.

I think TGH would have won quite easily

 

[Devil's Elbow]

Oh, we're doing the rankings here? Well, time to let go of three weeks of pent-up disillusionment then.

Where do you even start with this one? We had the most pathetic GC podium I've ever seen, and the people behind them generally weren't any better. Grand Saint Bernard being scrapped due to nonexistent heavy rain was a joke, as were the time limit being extended to allow for walking speed on Lussari and the timing in all three TTs. Abandons greatly hurt the GC battle and completely ended any tension for purple or white. Then there was the way the KOM battle, which looked at least somewhat interesting until that point, just completely ended for no good reason before we'd even started climbing in the queen stage. Plus the fact that there wasn't a single stage entertaining enough that I'll think back to it positively.

Now some people will tell you that it could have been worse, that it could have been an utterly one-sided domination. But a domination generally requires the winner to actually race. So no, that would not have been worse. Even more so than last year, this race proves that a close GC does not imply a good GC battle. Stage after stage, I felt myself wondering why the *** I was even watching. The only other GT where I felt the same - for partially different reasons - was the 2012 Tour.

And what positives are there to compensate? Literally nothing. There is not a single aspect of this race that I will look back on fondly at any point. Even for the few people who tried to entertain - Pinot didn't get his stage win, neither did Gee, and Healy's win was a borefest. There was never any sort of payoff this race. At least Roglic' mechanical didn't decide it all...

All in all, I don't think it's recency bias to say this has been one of the worst GTs ever. An endless list of negatives and a nonexistent list of positives merits only one rating: 0/10. Let it burn in infamy.