TDF = Snoozefest.

Gazzetta67

Maybe it`s just me, maybe i was brought up watching Hinault,Fignon,LeMond,Kelly
and got spoiled with great stages, nearly everyday in the Tour. . this tour is so boring it
Makes the England Cricket team look interesting.
Prudhomme has turned this race into 10 days in a Row Sportive - it`s bloody boring . I got out the Mag and looked at the upcoming stages. . How easy does he want this race to be ???? the Pyrenees were a Joke. - Oh Great lets have DOWNHILL finishes now.
The Stage to Verbier is Not tough, were are the climbers going to gain time there huh ?
Prudhomme has given into the Dopers. The Giro has outshone the Tour for years now.

Today it got that bad, that i started to watch an old Tape of the 83 and 84 Tours. -
Hinault must be saying to himself, what a bunch of softies cyclists are now. - and before anyone says what do you want 4 min time gaps, i say put in more mountain top finishes with harder Hors Cat Finishing climbs. that way it will encourage attacking riders. this Race is a Astana procession thanks to the TTT. . Prudhomme will Kill off the Tour with Routes like this......once again Sorry if this has already been covered, sorry if this is sounding personal but it angers me that the Tour is being treated like a Play thing to certain Folk i.e. Prudhomme

markwalker

errrr Bolllooookkkas

markwalker

weve had a superb 1st stage, windy transition instead of the usual processions Arcalis where Astana leadership issues started to get sorted. brilliant technical ttt and sprints and breakaways ,

Now were off to the Alps what more do people want? suicides? drugbusts? death crashes? ffs its great

grandad3

I agree in some respects with gazzetta, todays stage b o r i n g. I had to go and cut me grass untill it got close to the finish to see the end.

And that wasted stage in the mountains with a 70km downhill ride to the finish, jeeez grandma could have rode it

Think I will miss Thursdays stage and watch Fridays, might be more exciting.

Gazzetta67

Bollocks to you too

Croxted Avenger

I tend to agree. The TTT really distorts the GC early on. And yes, the Pyrennees were a joke. Seems the pure climbers don't have the stage to show their talents these days.

Eurostar

AG2R in yellow for five days - proof of snoozefest. Even the sprints have been predictable.

I reckon even the Alps will be boring - Bertie will just pedal off into the distance and nobody will be able to counter attack. With luck we may get to watch Lance cracking and plummeting back through the field. But he'll probably be in a cosy group with Kloden to look after him, claiming that he's not here to win, just to cure cancer.

squired

I've said it elsewhere on here before - they tried to engineer a race that will end with a number of riders in contention going to Ventoux, but you can't engineer an exciting race like that. What happens if we get to Ventoux and there is a headwind? Will they all just ride together again?

We often get told the riders make the race, not the course, but if that was so we could just have 21 stages that are pan flat and 30km long. Unfortunately the Tour de France manages to disappoint regularly with stages that aren't designed to get the best out of the modern style of racing.

If a stage has 5 climbs, but with 40km of valley before the final ascent all of the GC guys will wait until then as they don't want to be alone in the valley. Have little or no valley between the penultimate and final climbs and someone may actually try earlier. Mountains need to be steep enough to make a real difference up front. This year everyone was saying Arcalis wasn't tough enough and that proved to be correct. Include some short sharp climbs close to or at the end of more of the flat stages to give more riders the opportunity of winning a stage. This year it is entirely possible that 3 more stages end with sprints won by Cav, meaning he could win 1/3 of the stages in the race. That is just stupid.

iainf72

markwalker wrote:

weve had a superb 1st stage, windy transition instead of the usual processions Arcalis where Astana leadership issues started to get sorted. brilliant technical ttt and sprints and breakaways ,

1'st stage was good but the rest of the "race" has been forgetable.

Boring. Not Exciting.

mididoctors

there's always a bunch of duff transition stages in the tour

the problem is cav keeps winning and Columbia keep getting aided controlling the race....

markwalker

But the stages las 4 or more hours! Ive never even seen a film that everyone would agree is exciting from start to finish thats that long.

Ben hur maybe, but thats soap opera uffering and a great sprint(chariot race) a lot like stages, with internet gossip, sprinters getting over the climns and a mental bit of racing at the end.

Also I believe that the tour is more than just the race result the scenery for a start is part of the spectacle.

bobtbuilder

It has been a dreadful bore with the exception of the first stage (and that was down to nature rather than route planning IMO).

What is the point of mountain stages with 30k of flat or downhill after the last climb? Summit finishes seem to be going out of fashion, when they should be the highlights of the race.

The TTT has virtually eliminated some of the pre-race GC favourites.

bikerZA

It'll get more interesting, no doubt about it. For me (and most I'm sure!) the first week is the most dull (although this first week hasn't been as dull as most!). When we're in the big mountains, then it'll be good.

inseine

I think that it's been a good Tour, but I don't have the time to spend half a day infront of the tele. I think most stages are best condensed into the hour review.
Anyway, 11 stages to go, 4 British wins, Wiggins in fifth and the prospect of fireworks on Ventoux, whats not to like? OK, I'd have taken out the TTT. Good to watch to distorts the GC

Tom Butcher

Definitely a poor tour this year - though to be honest it normally is a bit of a let down after the Giro.

flattythehurdler

Someone on here already bposted that it has been more like watching a cycling holiday than a race. Whilst it has been great and exciting rooting for Cav in the sprints, the GC after the fantastic stage to Arcalis has lacked an7y real interest. The pyrennes were neutered completely. IMO they have sacrificed a few exciting days in order to spice up a single day on the Ventoux, after which it will be too late for anyone to respond. I think the Dauphine is the best stage race at the moment.

edhornby

I must admit the first few days were really good but the pyrenees weren't tough enough after arcalis, so everyone's waiting for the alps.

the flat stages between the mountains usually throw up a breakaway which is reeled in and one sprinter usually dominates, it was the same with cipollini, zabel, kelly, abdoujaparov et al - be glad that it's a british sprinter (I'm in the pro-cav camp for what it's worth)

my hope is that the schlecks give it some stick and that cadel has a go as soon as the mountains come otherwise it will be boring I agree

oh yeah - ditch the TTT or remove the times from the individuals GC position and make it a cash prize only

on the whole - this year has been a lot more exciting that any of the years that Miguel Indurain won, they were bloody boring, and frankly I'd say the same for Lance's years of wins also

Courage Monsieur

Snoozefest might be overstating it a bit but I do think you have a point.

Sure we've had some nice moments and it's still the Tour, but it is less lively than I'd hoped, and defo duller than previous years. And cramming the action into the last week at the expense of the 1st two is a questionable approach. Still, next week might rock!

The past few days I've even started skimming through a lot of the coverage with my new HDD recorder (get one from Argos £99 they're great for cutting the ads out!).

pb21

I would agree that so far only one stage has been exciting, the rest boring/predictable.

However it is three weeks long and the early mountains are there to weaken the riders come the later mountains.

There is the potential that if the Pyrenees had been tougher Contador would already have an unassailable lead, and the race would be over.

The organisers have clearly aimed the route wanting the Ventoux stage to be as spectacular as possible i.e. time gaps close together going into the start. So far its working out that way.

Edwin

Exaactly. I thought the first week was great actually. You can't have everything though, the organisers have obviously tried to design it so it's open right till the end, instead of someone effectively winning after the first ITT then defending, or someone like Contador building an unassailable lead after the first few mountains. Unfortunately that means the main contenders aren't going to try anything until the last week.
I just hope the Alps don't turn out to be a huge disappointment after we've waited all this time for the racing to really start properly!

Kléber

Remember, this is a three week grand tour. In cricket, a test match only lasts a few days and a golf tournament can be held in a long weekend. So a sports event this time can't have moments of excitement all the time, instead look at it as a soap opera with different plots. For example yesterday was dull but there was still plenty of action in the closing miles, whether the Columbia train's organisation or the warfare for one KoM point between Martinez, Pellizotti and Moncoutie, plus the battle for the green jersey is one.

Tom Butcher

But the Giro consistently manages a 3 week grand tour with excitement most of the way through.

Is that partly because of the route or because the Tour attracts the top rider with the top team (Mig, Lance, Contador) who then dominate to an extent that it spoils the race ?

ellieb

Don't we have this thread every year at about this time in the race?

liversedge

The pyrenees were wasted, other than that I'd say it has been a pretty typical grand tour?

wpdoolan

what a waste of the tourmalet it would have been more interesting watching a sportive come over it.

Everyone i talk to is complaining how boring it is and they are cyclists. What must the general public think.

Seems every flat stage is only worth watching for the last 10km and every mountain top finish just watch the last mountain.

Apparently Evans was even given stick by the other riders after his attack the other day, what sort of a race is it that people arent allowed attack

Stuey01

I thought the first week was great. This week not so much, but with 2 Cavendish wins so far I'll take it.

I enjoyed the TTT, such drama!

deejay

Gazzetta67 wrote:

Maybe it`s just me, maybe i was brought up watching Hinault,Fignon,LeMond,Kelly
and got spoiled with great stages, nearly everyday in the Tour. . this tour is so boring it
Makes the England Cricket team look interesting.
Prudhomme has turned this race into 10 days in a Row Sportive - it`s bloody boring . I got out the Mag and looked at the upcoming stages. . How easy does he want this race to be ???? the Pyrenees were a Joke. - Oh Great lets have DOWNHILL finishes now.
The Stage to Verbier is Not tough, were are the climbers going to gain time there huh ?
Prudhomme has given into the Dopers. The Giro has outshone the Tour for years now.

Today it got that bad, that i started to watch an old Tape of the 83 and 84 Tours. -
Hinault must be saying to himself, what a bunch of softies cyclists are now. - and before anyone says what do you want 4 min time gaps, i say put in more mountain top finishes with harder Hors Cat Finishing climbs. that way it will encourage attacking riders. this Race is a Astana procession thanks to the TTT. . Prudhomme will Kill off the Tour with Routes like this......once again Sorry if this has already been covered, sorry if this is sounding personal but it angers me that the Tour is being treated like a Play thing to certain Folk i.e. Prudhomme

Wholehearted Agree, but then I'm Old School also.
I saw the highlight programs in 83/84 with Ligget and an inexperienced Sherwin, but my favourite was the 89 Tour with the return of 2 past winners.
These 2 raised the standard after 2 years of lower class racing although they were exciting with what was available.
In 1989 they RACED each day to the very last moment in Paris.

I used to go every year up to 2004 and then gave up because of the Idiots and Camper Vans that are attracted and the very large influx from the USA that suddenly appeared because they had an interest in a winner. (they had never heard of him 2 rears before except as that cancer guy, and that I know with my vists there)
I don't have to justify that remark because it's on your screens every day and those vans do not see much more than I, here in the UK because as Sean Kelly pointed out the vans have to get in position about 3 or 4 days before the riders are due.

I didn't understand the 2009 route (before Xmas) when I saw it go through Provence and skirt around District 62 (which is on an almost straight line between Monaco and Nimes.
To go all around Southern and Middle France and then return to the highest point in Disrict 62 for a Finale and then the Longest (I'm guessing) Transfer in history to Paris.
I am that old that I have been to the Parc des Princes Track Meeting and the Finish of Le Tour.

I would also guess that Prudhomme is more of a Business man than a Sportsman and this Tour is more about Money than anything else.

takethehighroad

Gazzetta67 wrote:

Oh Great lets have DOWNHILL finishes now.
The Stage to Verbier is Not tough, were are the climbers going to gain time there huh ?
i say put in more mountain top finishes with harder Hors Cat Finishing climbs. that way it will encourage attacking riders.

Just a few points really. The stage over the Colombiere will be downhill, but before it there will be four first cat climbs to go over.

As for Verbier, it will be similar to the Prato Nevoso stage last year, because the climbers know they will have to attack.

And the way Prudhomme has designed the route this year is to only have a few HCs before the Ventoux, he wants it to be dead close. Unofrtunately, like you say the TTT has distorted the standings, but only because Contador is SUCH a good time triallist and SUCH a good climber that he can take time anywhere.

For once though, Lance is right. We may have had 50% of the stages but we've only had about 10% of the racing, there's much more excitement to come, have faith! Tomorrow's satge for example looks like it had potential, and you can't say the stage over La Bonette last year didn't cause some splits.

deejay

TakeTheHighRoad wrote:

Just a few points really. The stage over the Colombiere will be downhill, but before it there will be four first cat climbs to go over.

2007 Linus Gerdemann !!!

takethehighroad

That was the first mountain stage though, Cancellara started in yellow that morning, and looked what happened last Friday?

Chip \'oyler

I tend to agree with the OP. If it wasn't for the Brits doing so well I would have fallen asleep. Apart from them I can only think of two 'highlights' - a split in the field on the Camargue and Contador putting an attack in.

The Pyranees were a waste of time. In fact with Ventoux being the day before Paris they could have got away with this years tour being over three days. Seems to me (and justifiably so) that the main GC riders are waiting for Ventoux. You can't blame the riders - it's the organisers.