ToB - the verdict

jimmerslimmer

So what do people think of this year's Tour of Britain? How has it faired? Has it punched above it weight or has it been a pigeon with a puffed up chest?

Have the races been super competitive semi classic wannabees or has it been a bus tour of transfers intersected with cycling distractions?

Where do you reckon it will go next onwards and upwards or fade into obscurity?

cougie

I really think it was a class act this year. I've been watching religiously and watched the finish live. Organisation seemed much better now - so hopefully it will go onto greater heights.

stefrees

cougie wrote:

I really think it was a class act this year. I've been watching religiously and watched the finish live. Organisation seemed much better now - so hopefully it will go onto greater heights.

i agree, good field, good racing, and the young brits showed a good future.

DeadCalm

Thought it was excellent.

Good to see British youngsters Cummings and Stannard on the podium. I thought Bellis had a decent race too.

I'd been really looking forward to seeing Boassan Hagen and he didn't disappoint. A star in the making.

Despite myself I really enjoyed watching Di Luca. A real maverick and all the better for it.

Jez mon

I thought that it seemed much better than the last few years. No dramatic mess ups. However, it still has a way to go.

One stage had a pretty dangerous finish (think it was Newbury). Another stage had the finish line on a corner (Stoke?)

DiLuca/Ale Jet, put in some good performances, BUT, are they the cyclists that the Tour wants?

The TV coverage was pretty poor, but at least their was some coverage!

FullFrameRob

Id say this was the best ToB since it's come back in what was it 2004.

Has there been any major problems with the traffic this year ?

I still think that an 8 day stage race needs a TT in it, doesnt have to be a huge one. The course they used for the start in London would make a good TT for the race.

cougie

I didnt see any traffic problems in the shows. Did anyone see that Motorbike escort heading down the dual carriageway on the wrong side of the central barrier on last nights show - you could see traffic was on it as normal. Hope he was OK !

The idea of city centre cycling coming back sounds a good one to me - we've seen the Nocturnes over the last few years and the crowds are massive. Wonder if Kelloggs will sponsor again ?

jimmythecuckoo

That is the best news to come out of the Tour.

Bring back Joey McLoughlin and the Banana team !!!

claudb

I thought it was excellent all round. The racing seemed agressive, the result was close, the crowds seemed large and enthusiastic, AND I enjoyed seeing it all thanks to ITV4. Yes, I know, there was a lot of padding in the show but I actually appreciate a bit of behind the scenes stuff. The editing and commentary (HP even got his tongue around 'Agritubel' after a couple of days !!) were pretty good to my mind.
I was maybe a bit disappointed that the higher profile British riders were not so conspicious but, by the same token, amazed at how many 'Young Guns' there are and how well they raced. With some mixed feelings I also have to say I was impressed by Di Luca's efforts. That he and Ale-Jet took the race seriously is a credit to them. I had to be sorry for Rob Hayles getting so close to the win though. I still clearly remember him getting the better of O'Grady in a (miserably cold and wet) "Prutour" stage in Edinburgh (1999 ??) so all credit to him that he's still in the ball park. And what can you say about Malcolm Ellliot at more than twice the age of most of the up and coming GB lads - superb.
Bring on the City Centre Crits series !!!

Maurice Thepity

Really good edition of the TOB this year.

Does anyone know anything about Hugh Porter's co-commentator? I don't think I've heard of him until now.

OllyBianchi

jimmythecuckoo wrote:

That is the best news to come out of the Tour.

Bring back Joey McLoughlin and the Banana team !!!

Well, Phil Thomas won the 3/4 cat crit before the last stage yesterday so he must be ready for a comeback...

jezcc

It was good. It's still not a well oiled machine of an event, but it's on the right track. The standard was pretty good, some real worthwhile riders in there. Hopefully this is the step it needs to be a really excellent bike race next year. Sort out those last couple of organisational problems. I also think that it will attract more names next year.

redddraggon

I took some friends who you might say only had a slight interest in cycling to Liverpool yesterday and they all enjoyed it.

Got some really really really pictures (I didn't take them though one of my friends did), which I'll post as soon as I have the internet in my house again.

jimmerslimmer

Maurice Thepity wrote:

Really good edition of the TOB this year.

Does anyone know anything about Hugh Porter's co-commentator? I don't think I've heard of him until now.

Antony McCrossan is/was a commentator on cycling.tv and does/did most of the live stuff on there with Brian Smith. I think he might be big Maggi's agent too.

I must admit I used to think he was a bit of a muppet but tbh having watched him in London and listened to him ITV4 I think he's come on a treat and will be giving Phil and Paul a run for there money ( note: I don't compare him with the eurosport commentators, I'll leave you to make your own judgement on that).

May be its seeing these guys in the flesh, but HP went up in my esteem too ... It was very heart warming to see the two of them sparring about the similarity between Toby the ToB mascot and Antony.

jimmerslimmer

jimmerslimmer wrote:

Maurice Thepity wrote:

Really good edition of the TOB this year.

Does anyone know anything about Hugh Porter's co-commentator? I don't think I've heard of him until now.

Antony McCrossan is/was a commentator on cycling.tv and does/did most of the live stuff on there with Brian Smith. I think he might be big Maggi's agent too.

I must admit I used to think he was a bit of a muppet but tbh having watched him in London and listened to him ITV4 I think he's come on a treat and will be giving Phil and Paul a run for there money ( note: I don't compare him with the eurosport commentators, I'll leave you to make your own judgement on that).

May be its seeing these guys in the flesh, but HP went up in my esteem too ... It was very heart warming to see the two of them sparring about the similarity between Toby the ToB mascot and Antony.

Woops slight inaccuracy there big maggi's manager is/was Martin McCrossan who _I think_ is Anthony brother.

andy_wrx

The course is rather tame, no 'mountains' to speak of (even Mennock Pass wasn't exactly a killer which had a decisive effect on the race).
Meaning that most stages were a big bunch sprint at the end and once a guy had got in yellow he stayed in yellow (p*nct*re pemitting !)

But then, I expect the organisers don't want the broken-up race these killer hills would provide, even if it was 'better racing' from an enthusiast's point of view
- they want the pack all together so the motorbike outriders can do the rolling roadblock, which they couldn't do if everyone was fragmented over 10 miles of road
- and the towns/regional development agencies which pay to have the Tour come to their town will want an exciting bunch sprint finish in their town, rather than cyclists coming-in in dribs & drabs looking bored.

The worry about a TT might be that whilst a city-centre TT (either a short prologue or maybe multi-lap) would be relatively easy logistically and would be an exciting spectator event (think of the crowds in London last year...) it could result in a skilled TT'er getting a fast time and then being in yellow all week, as the bunch finishes wouldn't allow anyone else to take the time back.

unclemalc

Any coverage is better than none and if you compare the overall presentation with what used to pass as coverage, it's now on another level.
It would have been even better with a few more 'big' names in, especially Cav for example, but the new lads in GB and the domestic teams made up for that with their efforts. Chapeau Cummings, Swift et al..
It was interesting watching Di Luca and Petacchi 'play' with the children when it came to the important bits, like exactly when and where to get points or how to win a sprint...

I REALLY REALLY want to see Cav vs Boonen vs Petacchi soon.... but we'll probably have to wait 'till Spring .

Moomaloid

For me the big winner was the sport. I thought, yeah it wasn't a tough course, but at least it was very well organised this year, and the crowds came out.

I think the GB team had a good showing, and the real highlight for me was Ben Swift. What an awesome young talent. Future star rider i think! It was a shame that a nobody won it, but there you go, hopefully the fields will get better over the next few years.

afx237vi

jimmerslimmer wrote:

Maurice Thepity wrote:

Really good edition of the TOB this year.

Does anyone know anything about Hugh Porter's co-commentator? I don't think I've heard of him until now.

Antony McCrossan is/was a commentator on cycling.tv and does/did most of the live stuff on there with Brian Smith. I think he might be big Maggi's agent too.

I think that's his brother, Martin McCrossan, who also does commentary on cycling.tv. They're both pretty good though.

As for the ToB itself... it looked like a pretty good race, but it does need harder stages. Also I thought the London crit was pretty boring to watch on TV. Didn't look as if the crowd was that interested either.

Jez mon

I think possibly they could have made the London circuit a bit smaller, it took a while for the race to come through, and there where quite alot of places where there was no one watching, this looks bad on the TV.

winkywonky

You can imagine my utter delight as I was told Phil Thomas was in my race. :shock:
After experiencing the 3/4 race yesterday, City centre races would be brilliant addition if there were support races like yesterday.

Jez mon

winkywonky wrote:

You can imagine my utter delight as I was told Phil Thomas was in my race. :shock:
After experiencing the 3/4 race yesterday, City centre races would be brilliant addition if there were support races like yesterday.

Yep that would be brilliant!

FJS

As this is my first year in the UK it was the first time I had a closer look at the ToB - it's a bit of a fringe event from a continental European perspective. I do think the racing was exciting, and it was great to see some internationally not so well known British riders competing with some international top riders. It was also great to see the interest for the race all over the country with lots of school classes cheering along the route.
With increasing interest in cycling and British riders making a stable impact internationally the UK would deserve a Pro Tour level event. But from what I saw at the ITV highlights there are quite a few steps left to take to get there.

Traffic control was terrible. Perhaps it used to be worse, but still, cars stopped by a policeman on the race route instead of prevented to even get on that route, cars parked/stopped, in the middle of the road, within the final kilometer - please. I can really imagine this being a real reason for European top riders not to ride in Britain.

The field was still quite weak, despite a number of superstars. If a modest team like Agritubel is able to dominate the GC like they did it simply means not enough big name teams and riders were present with a real desire to win.

The ITV4 highlights show was great, with a good combination of interviews, explanation, tourism bits, and race reports. The reports themselves though were crap - random bits put together with escapes appearing out of nowhere and always missing the moments break aways were created or ended, making it impossible to follow race tactics. And it should have been on ITV1, not tucked away on 4.

A more balanced route with a TT and mountain stage to make it possible for the big names to fight it out. If you put both the TT and mountain stage towards the end it won't get boring, and as it is now the GC gets decided by some relatively coincidental break away taking minutes anyway. The UK has plenty of opportunities to put together a serious climbing stage (Wales, Peaks, Scotland), and if it's possible to organize a TT in densily populated places like Belgium or Holland it should be in the UK too.

FullFrameRob

FJS wrote:

As this is my first year in the UK it was the first time I had a closer look at the ToB - it's a bit of a fringe event from a continental European perspective. I do think the racing was exciting, and it was great to see some internationally not so well known British riders competing with some international top riders. It was also great to see the interest for the race all over the country with lots of school classes cheering along the route.
With increasing interest in cycling and British riders making a stable impact internationally the UK would deserve a Pro Tour level event. But from what I saw at the ITV highlights there are quite a few steps left to take to get there.

Traffic control was terrible. Perhaps it used to be worse, but still, cars stopped by a policeman on the race route instead of prevented to even get on that route, cars parked/stopped, in the middle of the road, within the final kilometer - please. I can really imagine this being a real reason for European top riders not to ride in Britain.

The field was still quite weak, despite a number of superstars. If a modest team like Agritubel is able to dominate the GC like they did it simply means not enough big name teams and riders were present with a real desire to win.

The ITV4 highlights show was great, with a good combination of interviews, explanation, tourism bits, and race reports. The reports themselves though were crap - random bits put together with escapes appearing out of nowhere and always missing the moments break aways were created or ended, making it impossible to follow race tactics. And it should have been on ITV1, not tucked away on 4.

A more balanced route with a TT and mountain stage to make it possible for the big names to fight it out. If you put both the TT and mountain stage towards the end it won't get boring, and as it is now the GC gets decided by some relatively coincidental break away taking minutes anyway. The UK has plenty of opportunities to put together a serious climbing stage (Wales, Peaks, Scotland), and if it's possible to organize a TT in densily populated places like Belgium or Holland it should be in the UK too.

I think the field will always suffer a bit when the race clashes with 2 Pro Tour races plus the Tour of Spain and the Tour of Missouri.

The route could be far far better, but i think as seen as the race gets sponsorship from local councils & regional development agencys, isnt it a case of which area stumps up the most cash gets the race.

the ferry

......watched the start in my local town Darlington and then travelled down to Blackpool on the Sunday with the family with the promise of a day out

really enjoyed both days and thought the TV coverage has been brilliant.

Blonde

Rode out to watch it yesterday as it came from Leyland towards Liverpool. Of course being a flat stage they went past so quickly we didn't realty see anything but it's good to turn out and support these things. I enjoyed the highlights later on telly as well. Good stage on Sat in Scotland. Scenery looked lovely. We don't have any really long climbs here to form proper break aways or solo climbing efforts and so I suppose that's the nearest you'd get in the UK to an Alpine stage of the TDF and it was quite exciting, even though the break away bunch still caught the young lone rider from the Australian team who had been hoping for a win. It was the only stage that I saw which had the riders coming over the line in several distinct groups. I just commented tonight that there's nowt on telly now the tour's finished... good news that the TOB organisers are putting on a series of rides in the next few months then. I wonder if it's anything to do with Rapha? (like their Rollapalluza and Salford Nocturne events)

Regarding the quality of the field: I think it was pretty top quality; olympic gold medalists; Italian world champ Roulers and Sprinters; there were two Paris-Roubaix winners in there as well.... not too bad I'd say.

The traffic control we saw yesterday was spot on; very well organised rolling road blocks; Police and official tour motorbikes worked really well in partnership; the police stopping cars and then letting the tour motorcyclists catch up and take over with their 'warning' flags, whilst the police went on to the next section of road and so on. As we followed the route on our bikes the traffic was very slow but still gradually moving, as the rolling road block moved along in front of us, so it seemed to work very well- at least for yesterdays route anyway.

jimmerslimmer

I have to say I pretty much agree with most people on most things on this thread ...

I think the race was organised far better and was far more enjoyable than previous incarnations. I don't know whether Sweetspot were involved in previous years but at least this year none of the race needed to be neutralised. It feels like the race might have come of age.

I felt most of the stages were well designed and the racing pretty competiitive. In comparision with the Tour of Ireland another 2.1 race I think ToB was the winner. Given it clashed with other races I thought there was decent smattering of 'stars'. I get the impression the peleton enjoyed the racing and hopefully it will get a better standing next year.

I thought the TV coverage was good for a start and although there were massive lapses in continuity on the whole it was enjoyable. I thought the motorbike camera work was pretty good and way better than the Tour of Ireland wobblefest.

The only things I would change are:
the rolling road closures - they failed in places and there were too many parked cars enroute.
get the route to be more extensive and include a few more places - the only time the Tour of Britain has been to Wales was one very brief visit to Newport. Imagine a tour climbing a few passes in Snowdonia, or the pass of Glencoe in Scotland, or Cheddar gorge and the cobbles of the Bath Royal crescent .. okay I'm getting carried away now but you get my point ...

Any way I think a well deserved congratulations to the ToB from one of your fiercest critics ...

Doobz

After the stage yesterday (on my hunt for bidons) I spoke to some of the riders from the MTN Energade team.
I chatted with them for about 15 mins and asking how they felt the race went and how they found the U.K -

The only thing they said that could have been better was the surface of the roads - They said some of them were probably dangerous driving a car lol. Being from South Africa myself and the roads there are not exactly marble smooth. For them to complain about that said alot.. Okay they also moaned about the weather but so did everyone else

I would love to see more stages in the hills in Wales as it has so much more to offer then the little lumps they went over this year..

guv001

I cannot believe that the organisers could run a ToB and not venture into Wales. Hopefully next year it will cross the border.

doyler78

jimmerslimmer wrote:

I have to say I pretty much agree with most people on most things on this thread ...

I think the race was organised far better and was far more enjoyable than previous incarnations. I don't know whether Sweetspot were involved in previous years but at least this year none of the race needed to be neutralised. It feels like the race might have come of age.

I felt most of the stages were well designed and the racing pretty competiitive. In comparision with the Tour of Ireland another 2.1 race I think ToB was the winner. Given it clashed with other races I thought there was decent smattering of 'stars'. I get the impression the peloton enjoyed the racing and hopefully it will get a better standing next year.

I thought the TV coverage was good for a start and although there were massive lapses in continuity on the whole it was enjoyable. I thought the motorbike camera work was pretty good and way better than the Tour of Ireland wobblefest.

The only things I would change are:
the rolling road closures - they failed in places and there were too many parked cars enroute.
get the route to be more extensive and include a few more places - the only time the Tour of Britain has been to Wales was one very brief visit to Newport. Imagine a tour climbing a few passes in Snowdonia, or the pass of Glencoe in Scotland, or Cheddar gorge and the cobbles of the Bath Royal crescent .. okay I'm getting carried away now but you get my point ...

Any way I think a well deserved congratulations to the ToB from one of your fiercest critics ...

At least we had Cav The Tour of Ireland is only in its second year and this years coverage and organisation was immeasurably better than last years so it seems we learn our lessons a little quicker than yourselves. Its only taken 4 years for you to put a tour out without a major balls up. I guess it's how you choose to see these things

jimmerslimmer

doyler78 wrote:

At least we had Cav The Tour of Ireland is only in its second year and this years coverage and organisation was immeasurably better than last years so it seems we learn our lessons a little quicker than yourselves. Its only taken 4 years for you to put a tour out without a major balls up. I guess it's how you choose to see these things

Couldn't agree more - if your looking for the book of cycle tour foobars I think it was written about the previous ToBs and the prutour before that ...

I guess some of the buzz about the ToB is the surprise that it did come together, and forgetting the NIssan Classic I think the Tour of Ireland for a 2 year old race is phenomenal.

Mind you may have had cav, but at least the ToB didn't have to endure McQuaid...