Is the 2008 tour the most Boring ?

pdrolo

Been watching the tour since the mid 80's - have to say this year race - is the most sterile for years - even the mountain stages have been mostly dull - and Evans looks set to sit in the pack - and plod to paris - come on Menchov - give him a race

Do you agree - is this the most boring tour since the indurain years ?

redddraggon

The tour is never boring. Why does Evans need to attack?

RichN95.

The top two separated by a second, the top five by less than a minute.

Cunego and Valverde suffering, while Kohl and Vandevelde prosper.

A British superstar.

CSC's tactics on stage 10.

Ricco's rise and fall.

Only three flat bunch sprints and some uphill sprints.

Five different Yellow Jerseys..

Yep - it's been boring as hell, I'm off to watch the golf.

squired

I think it has been great. A limited number of dull sprints, and I thought the first proper mountain stage was fantastic. Also more attacks than I can remember on a single climb in a very long time.

afx237vi

What Rich said.

The last two days have been a snoozefest though. Thank god we have a good old scandal to talk about.

ddraver

Am i watching a different tour to everyone else?!?!?! I think its been fantatic - one of the most evenly matched ive ever seen - I'm a latecomer and started in the Armstrong era -

the breakaways seem to have real chances of winning rather than just been played with by a whole load of EPO'd up domestiques from Discove..durrm i mean... a non descript team sitting on the front and preventing anyone except their man attacking day after day after day

watching the CSC boys, Voight and Cancellara and others, destroy themselves to split the field and then virtually die in a heap at the side of the road on hautacam was wonderful (and gives you some faith in their cleanlieness), Cavendish sprinting past the (poor old) french champion in a breakaway 100m (100m!!!!) from the line was wonderful and the death or glory attacks on the mountains were wonderful untill they turned out to be perpetrated by a cheating bastard I'd like to have a few words with in a quiet alley some day

(sorry - I ve been singing the TdF's praises at work and now i look like a right pillock)

Bugly

Boring? the most open race in years love it

guv001

+1 for Rich95's comments

Kléber

Sames as Rich95

dirk_van_gently

+ 1 for RichN95, but I won't be watching the golf.

What IS boring is watching the same tour format year after year.

Been topper as far as I'm concerned.

blazing_saddles

More like the most exciting for years, so far. OK, this middle week is bound to be a bit quiet, as it's designed to offer teams with nothing a chance to get in a break.
A tough, meaningful stage replaced the usual "bike throwing" prologue.
Brittany was far better than the usual trudge and the Massif worked far better than during the Death March, 2004 Tour.

Having said all that, I fear we will see some of the most numbingly boring Alpine stages ever.
We have lost all our explosive mountain goats and therefore the factor of unpredictability.
The giant CSC deisels are readying themselves to pound tempo up the cols, a la USPS/Disco, while the GC hopefuls melt away, one after another.
It's not hard to picture all the usual suspects, left to wheel suck eachother up the sterile, last few kms, patiently waiting for the final ITT....

God, I hope I'm wrong.