TdF - Most boring race of the year.....

deejay

andyp wrote:

Jean-Marie Leblanc had a tried and tested formula that he stuck with. Since his retirement Christian Prudhomme has started to shake it up a bit but he's restricted to what he can do with the course due to the geography of France, which is nowhere near as mountainous as either Italy or Spain.

Rant No 1 :roll:
Shake it up, Prudhomme is the problem.
He showed a lack of understanding with, Start in Monaco go along the Med to Barcelona then wander into Switzerland and for what the major and minor St Bernard passes to be ridden at Tempo because of the course design.
To come back to Provence for the Ventoux which could have been ridden on the second day and then have the longest transfer to get to Paris.
He's a dammed accountant that's all and he worries more about the Carnival than the Cycle Race and I don't recall discussions on this subject with Leblanc.
The moan then was about Team TT's. (which is about the only reason I would go to the race these days)
Why, ?? because they actually race that day.

deejay

Omar Little wrote:

Perversely part of the appeal of the TdF for me is to be found in some of the "boring" bits and you get to see some of the scenary and local geography as well as the racing... France really does look spectacular and every year without fail i end up fantasise about having a chalet in the mountains and going out to ride those roads every day!

It is a great televisual viewing experience even if there are other races which can be more exciting.

Rant No 2. (excluding the Helicopter)
You are kidding me, so I'm gonna takka da wee wee.
The French motorbike cameramen on duty at all ASO events are Morons without any idea about a cycle race.
The TDF is about French Heritage and why they can close roads for so long.

I need look no further than last Sundays Roubaix for an example of their handywork and this will be repeated at all ASO events.
The Drama going on in the last 20 Km's was difficult to follow by anybody.
You had a lot of views of the heads, wheels, chainwheels, but where the hell are they as I yell "he's over the rail crossing" now where is the roundabout'. (saved by the Heli shot)
Harman & Kelly can't tell you as I say "that's an orange jersey down the road so WTF is race radio and them, going on about".
JVs should be in front and I don't think they are catching him.

You were all saying the same sort of thing no doubt if you know the course or not,
now where is the hill and will Vansummeren loose his rhythm as a quick glimpse shows the hill and it is Tjallingii that looses it.
Number 3 cameraman has been pretty good all through and shows Cancellara storm up the hill.

All I ask is some shots looking over the riders shoulder and this will tell us the terrain in front and the body language of the riders.

As I have been told several times that my sport is a very "Boring" sport on TV.
Like motor racing with one car on screen at a time we get one rider on screen and his/her head, pedals, wheels.
Can you tell from that camera work (heads etc) if the rider is in the Studio or a lonesome rider on the road.
(Not the Helicopter)

PS. I accept that most camera people & directors (not the still pictures) are morons regarding sport as they spend their time in the studio looking at heads and then maybe go to a football match and spend their time shooting (guess what) HEADS. Even in the USA NFL games they spend all their time between the action looking at "Helmets".
News, Quizes, Panel games, Question time, Plays.......... :roll:

Jez mon

iainf72 wrote:

I think if you put the Tour in Italy, it would be the same as it is now. It's success is a large chunk of the problem where people do weird stuff like caring about who's coming 7'th and you end up with a lot of defensive riding. And because it's so big it ends up being predictable as sponsors want to get their bang for their buck.

The Giro isn't always great, but it's had more hits lately (2005 / 2010, the rest were fairly meh)

Also, I think if you only saw the Tour during the year, you'd think it was great. That's how it was when I first got into cycling. You'd get 30 minutes of the Tour per day and sometimes a 15 second highlight of a classic or other GT on a sports round up program.

This. The problem seems has a lot to do with how it is raced. A podium come July can make or break a riders season/career. Heck, even fourth place can net you a massive contract!

Some lumpy stages thrown into the mix, (i.e. not pan flat, but no mountains) would of course create some excitement, but at the detriment of bunch sprint finishes, which I personally find exciting...

Team time trials? I would make them much shorter, maybe have a team prologue, why? Well, TTTs look good on the TV, but if they are too long have too great an effect on the GC (IMO)

Oh, and get rid of the stages with mountains in the middle with lots of riding on the flat at the end of the stage, when combined with the defensive way people ride the tour, they make for very boring stages!!

pottssteve

deejay,

Your post is passionately written but about as easy to follow as the action you describe.....

Gingerflash

" but people kept going too fast and getting killed, so they stopped them"

Boo!