Is this year's Tour exciting????
- Thread starter iBanesto
- Start date
I don't think the new layout has done what the Tour organizers had hoped. Stages 12 & 13 were pretty exciting but the rest has been a bit devoid of racing among the stars of the Tour. Perhaps the upcoming week will change all of that but so far I have to say I like the old schedule better.
(Posted as of the end of Stage 14)
(Posted as of the end of Stage 14)
If I were on Mayo's team, I wouldn't like the way things are going. I would also include on the list Hamilton's team, Ullrich's team, Heras' and many more. But being a USPS fan, I like the way the Tour is going thus far. I like seeing everything fall into place.
Hopefully I will have similar thoughts when the peloton pedals into Paris. Results can change very quickly in the Tour de France.
Hopefully I will have similar thoughts when the peloton pedals into Paris. Results can change very quickly in the Tour de France.
Perhaps someone should market little collarbone decals suitable for application to the head tube of a bike frame. They'd make a killing this year. I have to admit all of the crashes are "exciting" but I'd just as soon see a Tour de France where fewer riders had their hopes and chances ended by unnecessary injuries. Everytime I see a rider go down my eyes dance across the screen hoping to see Lance up and still riding. Yeah, I'm an Armstrong fan but I don't want to see anyone lose to a crash.
it was not what i really expected in the mountains!
i thought it would be an armstrong, ullrich, mayo, hamilton, basso, mancebo and heras battle in the mountains.
why are LA's rivals riding so bad besides basso????
heras, mayo, ullrich, hamilton, zubeldia ???
i thought it would be an armstrong, ullrich, mayo, hamilton, basso, mancebo and heras battle in the mountains.
why are LA's rivals riding so bad besides basso????
heras, mayo, ullrich, hamilton, zubeldia ???
iBanesto said:
I agree I was looking forward to the mountains but so far the mountains have not been all that exciting. I am kind of dissappointed.
Its like USPS rides on the front, drops most of the peleton, on the final climb Lance rides away from everyone and wins by 10 min.
If you read about stage 15 on cyclingnews.com it seems like there is something going on between USPS and CSC.
from cyclingnews.com's live report:
"TV pictures have captured something being passed between the US Postal and CSC team cars, intriguingly enough."
this tour is being sooooo boring, especially if you are spanish, as i am. Ullrich tried it today, and if voigt hadnt worked for armstrong and us postal he could still have chances of victory. This tour is being easier than lance had ever dreamt, i miss beloki, if he was like last year, we would have enjoyed with his courage
basso will never win anything at all, if he doesnt win this tour, he will never ever win it, and being 1 minute behind armstrong he seems to agree with the second place, so bad, i hope ullrich and kloden will be with armstrong in the podium in paris
basso will never win anything at all, if he doesnt win this tour, he will never ever win it, and being 1 minute behind armstrong he seems to agree with the second place, so bad, i hope ullrich and kloden will be with armstrong in the podium in paris
will basso wait for armstrong for 2 minutes and do the climb behind armstrong, as he has been doing everyday???rumbafum said:
maybe riis (monsieur 60%) orders stopped jens voigt and carlos sastre as well to help LA
Miguel_garcia83 said:this tour is being sooooo boring, especially if you are spanish, as i am. Ullrich tried it today, and if voigt hadnt worked for armstrong and us postal he could still have chances of victory. This tour is being easier than lance had ever dreamt, i miss beloki, if he was like last year, we would have enjoyed with his courage
basso will never win anything at all, if he doesnt win this tour, he will never ever win it, and being 1 minute behind armstrong he seems to agree with the second place, so bad, i hope ullrich and kloden will be with armstrong in the podium in paris
I love this years tour ,I loved last years tour. I guess I am just easy to entertain. It really bothered me that Hamiliton dropped out.
Basso is what 26? He is just now coming of age . He will win again. He has 6 or 7 years. Is everyone riding badly or is Armstrong just a lot better than really good?
Stage 16 should be incredible.
he must change of attitude to win anything, to get back the combative spirit he had when became junior world champion in valkenburg 98, otherwise he will nothing, and if he doesnt win this tour he wont win it never again, because he has had the best chance to defeat armstrong and he didnt really make good use of itjhuskey said:
This year's tour has been ok. I live in the United States and I do hope that lance does win. but....I also like an underdog and find myself being almost dissapointed that lance is winning so easily. I was really routing for ullrich today...to bad it didn't work out for him. hopefully basso can do well in the time trial tomarrow (inspite of what the guys on OLN think) and give lance a run for his money. I laugh at myself becuase I feel like I "betrayed" lance alittle but i guess its just how it goes.
This has been a less exciting Tour than most of the recent ones. No question. For me, the big reason has been the absolute authority of Postal. They've controled the race at every crucial moment, from climbs to cobbles. I love LA. I hope he wins. But I've missed the terrible, wonderful, and defining climbing moments of previous Tours. It's been a Tour of attrition rather than attack. A Tour of strategy rather than passion. That's just not the same.keydates said:
Of course, I still love it. But the drama factor is lacking. I wish JU had a better team. I wish TH hadn't crashed and pulled out. I wish IM hadn't dropped out. But there have been nice stories. TV's yellow jersey and IB's coming out. But watching LA sprint to stage wins in a tight field is not the same as watching earlier, dominate breaks.
Hey, c'est la vie. It's still fun. And just think, next year's Tour will have some exciting new people. I have to wonder if some of LA's teammates will strike out on their own next year. How long can talents like Landis and Azevedo play second fiddle to LA?
It could be much more exciting if it weren't for the whole team concept. It is a shame that the team can make more of a difference than the individual. Case in point, Lance's last year win by 61 secs may have been mostly due to the team time trials. This year, Basso is behind by about 80 secs, 50 of which came from the team time trials and would be more if not for the new format, which discounts the margin of time difference.
Another reason that it is boring is that the leaders mostly LA, just sit back and let their teams carry them up the hill. It has gotten to the point where you don't even need to sit through 2 hours of OLN, "we love Lance coverage", but simply tune into the last 20 mins. Just once I'd like to see LA out front besides the last 200 meters.
Furthermore, the King of the Mountain competition makes absloutely no sense, you get points for being first up the mountains, but it is of little consequence when the same guys first up the earlier mountains are no where to be seen where it counts, being first up the last mountain.
Lastly, the whole idea of having a rabbit or someone pace another to win is ridiculous and is a major reason that major track or swimming events namely, the Olympics, only allow for competitors who are qualified for the entire distance and not simply a portion of it.
Another reason that it is boring is that the leaders mostly LA, just sit back and let their teams carry them up the hill. It has gotten to the point where you don't even need to sit through 2 hours of OLN, "we love Lance coverage", but simply tune into the last 20 mins. Just once I'd like to see LA out front besides the last 200 meters.
Furthermore, the King of the Mountain competition makes absloutely no sense, you get points for being first up the mountains, but it is of little consequence when the same guys first up the earlier mountains are no where to be seen where it counts, being first up the last mountain.
Lastly, the whole idea of having a rabbit or someone pace another to win is ridiculous and is a major reason that major track or swimming events namely, the Olympics, only allow for competitors who are qualified for the entire distance and not simply a portion of it.
It has been a disappointing tour for me. Lance really is dominating and deserves the win. However, I would have loved to see someone at least give him some decent competition. T-mobile has been a major disappointment with Vino being injured, Cadel not selected, and Jan not being up to it. Other obvious disappointments are Mayo, Heras, Hamilton. As jhuskey said, I am not sure if it that LA/USPS are way ahead or if the others just aren't performing their best... I am bored with seeing a race for second place!
I hope Basso goes for a break, even if Lance is not "showing weakness". I'd rather he got third or forth but know he gave it a red hot go rather than staying comfortable and getting second.
I hope Basso goes for a break, even if Lance is not "showing weakness". I'd rather he got third or forth but know he gave it a red hot go rather than staying comfortable and getting second.
I hear you. That is why I respect Ulrich for what he attempted today and think Voigt should go to hell, resting and coming back to help USPC. That was weak.
If Basso does not go for it Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday, then the whole TDF is a farce. What's the point? If he has this god given talent, hell, then he should use it to win, not to come in second or third. This is not about just playing the game, it is pure and simple about winning. Ask Ulrich last year in the final time trial, despite the rain, he went for it and crashed. This TDF needs more of that. Right now it just attrition and teams carrying the day.
I am tired of watching the TDF year after year, come down to three or four days out of 22.
These guys need to find their damn sacks and go for the win!!!
Lastly, can anyone tell me why Ulrich doesn't get his big ass out of the saddle more often, especially when Lance is tinkerbelling around him....
If Basso does not go for it Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday, then the whole TDF is a farce. What's the point? If he has this god given talent, hell, then he should use it to win, not to come in second or third. This is not about just playing the game, it is pure and simple about winning. Ask Ulrich last year in the final time trial, despite the rain, he went for it and crashed. This TDF needs more of that. Right now it just attrition and teams carrying the day.
I am tired of watching the TDF year after year, come down to three or four days out of 22.
These guys need to find their damn sacks and go for the win!!!
Lastly, can anyone tell me why Ulrich doesn't get his big ass out of the saddle more often, especially when Lance is tinkerbelling around him....
Miguel_garcia83 said:
Perhaps you just need a bit of sugar for your grapes. Sounds to me like people are confusing a boring Tour for one in which the results so far just aren't what they were hoping for. Watching one competitor soundly trounce the competition isn't boring. But depending on who you were hoping would win, it might be disappointing.
No, it is more about seeing good competition. I think even a fan of LA or the Yankees or whatever dominant team or individual, likes to see a competitive match, race, or whatever. Otherwise, it is not worth watching a foregone conclusion. Time could be better spent elsewhere.
I am just hoping some besides Lance shows up at the starting line with his gonads tomorrow.
I am just hoping some besides Lance shows up at the starting line with his gonads tomorrow.
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