This year's tour is, without a doubt, the most boring in years

There is literally nothing to talk about in regards to this race- no story, no highlights, no nothing.

Now I didn't go into the Tour thinking this would be the greatest race of all time with the current pool of GC contenders, but I thought if there were so many of them, at least a few would make it interesting.

But it's not. They're boring to watch, and with the exception of Contador (obvious doper), the GC guys have been doing absolutely nothing. Lemme break it down:

Evans/Sastre/Vandevelde - Last year they attacked often, played cat and mouse games, and made the race exciting. This year? Nothing. They all just roll across the line with the peloton. Cycle Sport are talking out of their asses when they say Sastre made the best decision of his career to go to Cervelo- he went from a Tour champ with CSC-Saxobank to a complete ZERO with Cervelo. You barely see him on the camera either. Evans has always been a passive rider, but FFS just attack for once.

Andy Schleck/Frank Schleck - Last year they helped Sastre win the Tour, and made mountain stages exciting. This year they follow a "me-too" type approach, trying to make up Contador's attacks but with no success. They have not attacked on any stage yet, but have been playing catch-up. Their behavior is exactly opposite of what they did last year.

Armstrong - Now I know when he said he would come back he wouldn't win the Tour, but please, at least make it seem like you care about this race or your fans. Outside of yesterday's stage where he tried to bridge the gap to Kloden, he's rolled across the line with the peloton each day. Incredibly boring to watch.

Even the sprints suck too. In previous years, you've had Boonen, McEwen, Cavendish, and Hushovd all battling it out for green jersey points. This year you have Cavendish sucking someones wheel until the last 100 yards, then he rips past Hushovd (who has no help from his crappy team). Boonen was MIA until he dropped out. McEwen isn't even in the race anymore...

I know everyone is saving themselves for Mont Ventoux, but I can already tell you that the stage won't be as exciting as everyone is hyping it up to be, because if everyone is attacking it won't make a difference- they'll still finish around the same time. The hopes of long breaks like last years Tour with Sastre are minimal...

There aren't any doping positives either. Maybe everyone saw what happened to guys like Ricco, Kohl, Schumacher, Rasmussen, Landis, and Vinokourov in recent Tours and decided to not be as blatant?

 

beating a dead horse, pal...

 

I will miss seeing it next week. I always enjoy it.

 

Despite yesterday's great stage, I agree that this Tour has been pretty boring. But last year's Tour was even more mind-numbing - Sastre and Evans? I remember waiting and waiting and waiting some more until Sastre finally attacked.

To get really exciting racing - implement some sort of team salary cap scheme.

 

I agree with this statement.

 

Just imagine what it would have been like w/o LA.

 

Definitely no better, or perhaps, no worse. The commentary would have been MUCH MUCH better. I'm so sick and tired of the Versus boobleheads slobbering over LA; it's sickening to me. After a couple minutes the sound gets muted. If he wasn't there, they'd probably be more impartial...probably...

 

It would have just left more luvin for Wiggins.

 

I love the tour. Always and forever. Also, most important, ATOC, Amgen Tour of California. Just like I love riding a bicycle. I could ride a bicycle for the next 100 years and not be bored.
And if I'm not riding, I like to watch someone else riding.
And the scenery. Beautiful. The Alpes are so beautiful. Sure beats LaVerne & Shirley reruns.
dc

 

In general I agree with initial statement.
The route sucks, by far the worst in recent history.
There is much more unreal performances than in 2008, a few guys preform in a way they should not.

 

Eh? The second week was boring, but the third week has been really exciting. There is only a few seconds between about five people going into the last day. And yesterday nobody thought it would come down to a bunch sprint. You're not watching it right.

 

Yes, the route is terrible. I don't like the TTT. And the first two weeks were a snoozefest. MC dominating the sprints was so boring to watch. However, the stars of the sport have added spice to this otherwise bland tour. I appreciate how Thor has come out and made the green jersey a real competition. The initial drama between Team Astana has also been interesting to debate. And this last week has definitely been competitive. So, not as bad as previous LA years.