Dauphine 2012 Spoiler

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  • rick_chasey
    rick_chasey Posts: 75,661
    LangerDan wrote:
    Rick Chasey wrote:
    The Tour's the Tour.

    It's exciting because it's the Tour - everyone cares, it matters, and we get wall-to-wall coverage of everything.

    There's no race like it. The giro might have tougher parcours, prettier sights, better racing, but the Tour is raced harder and faster, and the vast majority of the world's best riders for GC and stages aim for it.

    The Tour is the "Coldplay" of cycling.

    viewtopic.php?f=30005&t=12846410&p=17550575&hilit=Clocks#p17550575
    _
  • LangerDan
    LangerDan Posts: 6,132
    Rick Chasey wrote:
    LangerDan wrote:
    Rick Chasey wrote:
    The Tour's the Tour.

    It's exciting because it's the Tour - everyone cares, it matters, and we get wall-to-wall coverage of everything.

    There's no race like it. The giro might have tougher parcours, prettier sights, better racing, but the Tour is raced harder and faster, and the vast majority of the world's best riders for GC and stages aim for it.

    The Tour is the "Coldplay" of cycling.

    viewtopic.php?f=30005&t=12846410&p=17550575&hilit=Clocks#p17550575


    Precisely!
    'This week I 'ave been mostly been climbing like Basso - Shirley Basso.'
  • inkyfingers
    inkyfingers Posts: 4,400
    edited June 2012
    It's quite fashionable amongst some cycling fans to pretend not to care about the Tour de France and bang on about how boring it is and how great the Giro and the classics are.

    I absolutely love the Giro, but is the racing really that much more exciting? How many truly great Giri have we had in the last ten years? 2 by my reckoning - 2005 and 2010. In contrast how many great Tours have we seen in the last 10 years, once again i'd say 2 - 2003 and 2011. The 2011 Giro was a turd, The 2009 and 2008 Giri were so memorable that I can barely remember them. 2007 was won by Danilo Di Luca. 2006 was a procession led by a man with more red blood cells in his body than your average hospital blood bank. The Giro has been even slower to clean up its act than the Tour and it's definitely suffered for it, at least Landis and Contador were caught and eventually stripped of their titles, Di Luca and Basso are still Giro winners. The only time it occassionally trumps the Tour is that the racing in some of the flat/intermediate stages can be a little more open, but that's about it really as far as I can see.
    "I have a lovely photo of a Camargue horse but will not post it now" (Frenchfighter - July 2013)
  • rick_chasey
    rick_chasey Posts: 75,661
    Tour's the best stage race BY MILES, for entertainment and coverage.

    I meant the above description as a good thing.

    It's the hardest and fastest ridden race of the year.
    _
  • frenchfighter
    frenchfighter Posts: 30,642
    So Wiggins says in his article:

    -As far as the time trial itself went, it was ridiculously windy, the worst I've ever done. At times it was touch and go; I was right on the limit of being blown off. You didn't dare take your hands off the bars to take a drink and there were times when you had to come off the -tr-bars to keep in control.

    And yet they still managed to put 50 km/h times on the board?! Maybe they caught some tailwind, but it looks like the course was in one direction.
    Contador is the Greatest
  • iainf72
    iainf72 Posts: 15,784
    Rick Chasey wrote:
    Tour's the best stage race BY MILES, for entertainment and coverage.

    I meant the above description as a good thing.

    It's the hardest and fastest ridden race of the year.

    It's the best for coverage, but it's not for entertainment. Sponsors get into cycling for the coverage they get from the Tour, so the racing tends to be bland and predictable. It's become a victim of its own success

    I think people prefer the Giro because it tends to be a more beautiful race
    Fckin' Quintana … that creep can roll, man.
  • rick_chasey
    rick_chasey Posts: 75,661
    iainf72 wrote:
    Rick Chasey wrote:
    Tour's the best stage race BY MILES, for entertainment and coverage.

    I meant the above description as a good thing.

    It's the hardest and fastest ridden race of the year.

    It's the best for coverage, but it's not for entertainment. Sponsors get into cycling for the coverage they get from the Tour, so the racing tends to be bland and predictable. It's become a victim of its own success

    I think people prefer the Giro because it tends to be a more beautiful race

    I find the Tour more often more exciting than the Giro because I, and everyone else, cares more.
    _
  • ddraver
    ddraver Posts: 26,695
    I think a lot of people prefer the Giro bcasue it's cool to prefer the Giro...

    Bit like Slagging off the Arctic Monkeys after they became famous.
    We're in danger of confusing passion with incompetence
    - @ddraver
  • RichN95.
    RichN95. Posts: 27,253
    LangerDan wrote:
    Rick Chasey wrote:
    The Tour's the Tour.

    It's exciting because it's the Tour - everyone cares, it matters, and we get wall-to-wall coverage of everything.

    There's no race like it. The giro might have tougher parcours, prettier sights, better racing, but the Tour is raced harder and faster, and the vast majority of the world's best riders for GC and stages aim for it.

    The Tour is the "Coldplay" of cycling.
    What? Hated by people desperate to show how cool, alternative and informed they are?
    Twitter: @RichN95
  • inkyfingers
    inkyfingers Posts: 4,400
    Rick Chasey wrote:
    iainf72 wrote:
    Rick Chasey wrote:
    Tour's the best stage race BY MILES, for entertainment and coverage.

    I meant the above description as a good thing.

    It's the hardest and fastest ridden race of the year.

    It's the best for coverage, but it's not for entertainment. Sponsors get into cycling for the coverage they get from the Tour, so the racing tends to be bland and predictable. It's become a victim of its own success

    I think people prefer the Giro because it tends to be a more beautiful race

    I find the Tour more often more exciting than the Giro because I, and everyone else, cares more.

    I have to agree with Rick, I always get very excited by the Giro but it rarely delivers as much as it promises. As I said above, the racing in the Giro in the last 10 years has rarely been that much more exciting than the Tour, at least in terms of the GC. The flat and intermediate stage are sometimes more interesting because of crashes and the fact that you don't tend to get big teams dominating the lead outs and the chase like you do at the Tour (though Liquigas have a fairly good crack).

    As for saying that the Giro is a more beautiful race, arguing that Italy is more beautiful than France is like arguing over whether Brigitte Bardot or Marilyn Monroe was more attractive. They were both stunning in their day, just for different reasons. The Giro would be helped in this regard if Rai could only afford to buy some HD cameras.
    "I have a lovely photo of a Camargue horse but will not post it now" (Frenchfighter - July 2013)
  • TMR
    TMR Posts: 3,986
    I watched the last stage of the Dauphine on Eurosport HD. That was beautiful. Incredible scenery.

    Not sure why we're having a pissing contest about which race is harder or prettier. Who cares? It's racing and therefore it's awesome :)
  • inkyfingers
    inkyfingers Posts: 4,400
    The Mad Rapper wrote:
    Not sure why we're having a pissing contest about which race is harder or prettier. Who cares? It's racing and therefore it's awesome :)

    What else are we going to do? :wink:

    Makes a change from moaning about the Schlecks and what shoes Mark Cavendish is wearing.
    "I have a lovely photo of a Camargue horse but will not post it now" (Frenchfighter - July 2013)
  • TMR
    TMR Posts: 3,986
    inkyfingers wrote:
    What else are we going to do? :wink:

    Makes a change from moaning about the Schlecks and what shoes Mark Cavendish is wearing.

    I had hoped we might all just get along. I am feeling 'tree huggerish' today :(
  • rick_chasey
    rick_chasey Posts: 75,661
    The Mad Rapper wrote:

    Not sure why we're having a pissing contest about which race is harder or prettier. Who cares? It's racing and therefore it's awesome :)


    For us fans, it's all pretty relevant - they're reason people are giving for why we like them more or less.

    The Tour is to the cycling season what the olympics are to most olympics sports (take rowing). It just dominates everything else. This is the only race where everyone discusses it throughout the season.

    You get the odd die hards who will go on about the classics prep. all year long, with route changes, discussions about classics contenders etc, and you get some who get all excited about the Giro, but everyone comments on the Tour, and everyone follows Tour contenders throughout the season to try and draw clues for the Tour.

    That just doesn't happen for other races in the same way.

    The reason I like the olympics 100m over, say, the Crystal palace 100m, is ultimately everyone, me, the athletes, the crowd, the media, care more about the 100m olympics.
    _
  • inkyfingers
    inkyfingers Posts: 4,400
    The Mad Rapper wrote:
    inkyfingers wrote:
    What else are we going to do? :wink:

    Makes a change from moaning about the Schlecks and what shoes Mark Cavendish is wearing.

    I had hoped we might all just get along. I am feeling 'tree huggerish' today :(

    Come one then everybody (that includes you Iain).....Group Hug!
    "I have a lovely photo of a Camargue horse but will not post it now" (Frenchfighter - July 2013)
  • TMR
    TMR Posts: 3,986
    inkyfingers wrote:
    Come one then everybody (that includes you Iain).....Group Hug!

    No hands below the waist please... ;)
  • LangerDan
    LangerDan Posts: 6,132
    RichN95 wrote:
    LangerDan wrote:
    Rick Chasey wrote:
    The Tour's the Tour.

    It's exciting because it's the Tour - everyone cares, it matters, and we get wall-to-wall coverage of everything.

    There's no race like it. The giro might have tougher parcours, prettier sights, better racing, but the Tour is raced harder and faster, and the vast majority of the world's best riders for GC and stages aim for it.

    The Tour is the "Coldplay" of cycling.
    What? Hated by people desperate to show how cool, alternative and informed they are?

    A quarter of a century ago I may have given a sh!t about being cool & alternative. Now I dislike stuff just because, well, I just don't like it. The Tour is like Coldplay simply because it frequently abuses its market dominance to serve up sub-quality product which a lesser event wouldn't get away with.
    'This week I 'ave been mostly been climbing like Basso - Shirley Basso.'
  • rick_chasey
    rick_chasey Posts: 75,661
    Last year's tour was excellent.
    _
  • Abdoujaparov
    Abdoujaparov Posts: 642
    Important question is how can Porte and Froome descend? Wiggins could either get distanced or isolated if they struggle. EBH descending well won’t really cut it.

    Would say Evans definitely gains an advantage from his race craft – the parcours may look sh*te, but there are still plenty of opps to make an ambush.
  • rick_chasey
    rick_chasey Posts: 75,661
    Abdoujaparov wrote:
    Important question is how can Porte and Froome descend? Wiggins could either get distanced or isolated if they struggle. EBH descending well won’t really cut it.

    Would say Evans definitely gains an advantage from his race craft – the parcours may look sh*te, but there are still plenty of opps to make an ambush.

    Any stages you had in mind for this?
    _
  • RichN95.
    RichN95. Posts: 27,253
    Rick Chasey wrote:
    Last year's tour was excellent.
    Unlike Coldplay's last album, which was underwhelming.
    Twitter: @RichN95
  • mididoctors
    mididoctors Posts: 18,908
    Rick Chasey wrote:
    Last year's tour was excellent.

    yeah it was...
    "If I was a 38 year old man, I definitely wouldn't be riding a bright yellow bike with Hello Kitty disc wheels, put it that way. What we're witnessing here is the world's most high profile mid-life crisis" Afx237vi Mon Jul 20, 2009 2:43 pm
  • Turfle
    Turfle Posts: 3,762
    Abdoujaparov wrote:
    Important question is how can Porte and Froome descend? Wiggins could either get distanced or isolated if they struggle. EBH descending well won’t really cut it.

    Would say Evans definitely gains an advantage from his race craft – the parcours may look sh*te, but there are still plenty of opps to make an ambush.

    Froome is an excellent descender - he followed the Movistar downhill attacks at the Vuelta where Wiggins couldn't. Porte has looked awful. Wiggins follow Froome, or EBH if he's there, and he'll be fine.
  • RichN95.
    RichN95. Posts: 27,253
    Turfle wrote:
    Abdoujaparov wrote:
    Important question is how can Porte and Froome descend? Wiggins could either get distanced or isolated if they struggle. EBH descending well won’t really cut it.

    Would say Evans definitely gains an advantage from his race craft – the parcours may look sh*te, but there are still plenty of opps to make an ambush.

    Froome is an excellent descender - he followed the Movistar downhill attacks at the Vuelta where Wiggins couldn't. Porte has looked awful. Wiggins follow Froome, or EBH if he's there, and he'll be fine.
    So essentially the pecking order of descending abilities goes 1. Cross country skier (EBH), 2. Mountain biker (Froome), 3. Trackie (Wiggins), 4. Triathlete (Porte).
    Makes sense.
    Twitter: @RichN95
  • tailwindhome
    tailwindhome Posts: 19,434
    RichN95 wrote:
    2. Mountain biker (Froome).


    Didn't know Froome was a mountain biker.

    Is there a growing trend for successful switching of codes - Evans, Sagan, Ryder H, and Froome. Are there others?
    “New York has the haircuts, London has the trousers, but Belfast has the reason!
  • iainf72
    iainf72 Posts: 15,784
    TailWindHome wrote:
    RichN95 wrote:
    2. Mountain biker (Froome).


    Didn't know Froome was a mountain biker.

    Is there a growing trend for successful switching of codes - Evans, Sagan, Ryder H, and Froome. Are there others?

    Landis and Rasmussen too
    Fckin' Quintana … that creep can roll, man.
  • ddraver
    ddraver Posts: 26,695
    If XC is dropped fom the Olympics (as is suggested), expect to see a whole lot more. Even with the popularity of XC (far more so than in the UK), the big money is on the road...
    We're in danger of confusing passion with incompetence
    - @ddraver
  • RichN95.
    RichN95. Posts: 27,253
    edited June 2012
    TailWindHome wrote:
    RichN95 wrote:
    2. Mountain biker (Froome).


    Didn't know Froome was a mountain biker.

    Is there a growing trend for successful switching of codes - Evans, Sagan, Ryder H, and Froome. Are there others?
    Fuglsang, Peraud and Cioni. Peraud still does quite a bit - he's doing it at the Olympics.
    This month's Cycle Sport has a 'top ten ex-MTBers' feature.
    Twitter: @RichN95
  • gabriel959
    gabriel959 Posts: 4,227
    Rick Chasey wrote:
    Last year's tour was excellent.

    Sorry but the Pyrenees were crap.
    x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x
    Commuting / Winter rides - Jamis Renegade Expert
    Pootling / Offroad - All-City Macho Man Disc
    Fast rides Cannondale SuperSix Ultegra
  • rick_chasey
    rick_chasey Posts: 75,661
    gabriel959 wrote:
    Rick Chasey wrote:
    Last year's tour was excellent.

    Sorry but the Pyrenees were crap.

    Yeah. Alps made up for it though.

    Both stages were epic in different ways.
    _

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