I like the Ardennes Classics

milton50

How about you? I'm at a loose end and was wondering what races or parts of the season we, as a forum, most look forward to.

The UCI World Tour for this year could be broken down into the categories listed below. If you had to pick a favourite from each of the categories which race would it be? And what would your three top races of the year be?

Grand Tours
Tour De France
Giro D'Italia
Vuelta a Espana

Choice: Tour de France. I'm tempted to say the Giro which has provided some of the best actual racing over the last few seasons. But the simple truth is that no other stage race can replicate the tension and intensity that the Tour manages to produce. Its the race which the top riders in the world try and peak for. It has its faults, but then so do the Giro and Vuelta.

Monument Classics

Milan-San Remo
Tour of Flanders
Paris-Roubaix
Liege-Bastogne-Liege
Giro di Lombardia

Choice: Liege-Bastogne-Liege. Probably the hardest category to pick a single favourite. For some reason I have always preferred the ardennes classics to the cobbled classics (sorry Rick). I love Flanders and Roubaix but Liege-Bastogne-Liege has always drawn me in more. It just has such an amazing parcours for a single day classic and never seems to disappoint. I like Lombardy as well but it doesn't quite have the atmosphere and intensity of Liege. Maybe because of its position in the season.

Other Stage Races

Tour Down Under
Paris-Nice
Tirreno-Adriatico
Tour of the Basque Country
Tour de Romandie
Volta a Catalunya
Criterium du Dauphine
Tour de Suisse
Tour de Pologne
Tour of Benelux
Tour of Beijing

Choice: Much of a muchness? Romandie, Tour de Suisse, and the Dauphine are all very similar. I enjoy the Tirreno-Adriatico as a spectacle. Pologne is under rated. I'll have to go for the Dauphine though simply because of the history and tradition. There's always a bit of intrigue to find out who has decent form for the Tour.

Other one day races and classics

E3 Harelbeke
Gent-Wevelgem
Amstel Gold Race
La Fleche Wallone
Classica San Sebastian
Vattenfall Classics
Grand Prix Quebec
Grand Prix Montreal
GP Ouest-France

Choice: I was lying when I said the monument category was the hardest. How can I choose between Amstel Gold and La Fleche Wallone? San Sebastian's awesome as well. I'll probably just plump for the Amstel Gold Race. It just seems a bit more conducive to break aways and attacking. Such a close call though. Quebec and Montreal are fast becoming races to look forward to. San Sebastian is one of those races that you think is going to be epic but. although good, never quite reaches the level you'd hoped for.

Top Three

Top three races of the season in no particular order: Liege-Bastogne-Liege, Amstel Gold Race, Tour de France. The truth is that if you ask me again in a week's time I'll probably have a different opinion. Or if we have a really amazing Lombardy that will suddenly sneek in there.

Anyway, just thought it was interesting to hear what you lot look forward to over the season.

rick_chasey

Total opposite for me.

I find the Ardenne races increasingly dull. As the quality gap between riders gets smaller and smaller they've basically become races where it's an uphill sprint between the riders left. You spend more time paying attention to the back rather than the front. LBL is better, for sure.

What I like about the cobbled one dayers is that though the cobbled sections, whether uphill or flat, create a good natural selection of the fittest, the bits inbetween, especially the runs in, are so utterly tactical, with wind etc.

It's a genuinely good all round test, and those flat sections mean a team can really show, but only if they have a finisher too! It's as good a mix of all of what makes cycling good.

The Tour's the Tour and it's good for that, but you lot know I never get as excited for GTs as I do for one dayers. I guess it's no coincidence I'm a bigger fan of knockout football than league football.

Turfle

Of the monuments, Flanders and Roubaix are head and shoulders above anything for me.

The 3 main Ardennes classics have become a bit too much of a one-hill sprint recently. It's actually a bit of a struggle to remember what even happened in them this year.

A hilly one dayer when raced well is great though. The later Italian races (Sabatini, Emilia, Piemonte etc) can be very good, but there isn't always live coverage.

Favourite GT is still the Tour. Giro has had the most exciting recent additions, but still get most excited come Tour time.

Stage race, probably either Pais Vasco or Catalunya. Also got a bit of a soft spot for Tour of Poland as it is often a showcase for the next great rider.

Like you say, next year it could be entirely different. So much depends on how they get raced. This year was a bit of a down year in the major classics in terms of excitement imo.

slimreaper

Pretty much agree with Rick and Turfle about the Monuments and Ardennes.
I always like the Giro bacause it seems to have been ages since the last GT when it comes back around.
I like the TdSuisse and Romandie for no real reason. Possibly the scenery.

pb21

Roubaix all the way.

thomthom

Roubaix and Flanders for me as well. Races like Amstel and Fleche have become somewhat in the same cat as Gent-Wevelgem. A lot of pedalling and then a sprint where 2-3 riders realistically have a chance.

L-B-L is usually good though.

FJS

In terms of anticipation, de Ronde van Vlaanderen tops anything else by miles for me. It's Flanders' FA-cup final and 14 Juillet in one, and the combination of hills and cobbles and tactics and strengths trumps Paris-Roubaix' more straightforward race of attrition IMHO.

Not much between Milan-San Remo, Paris-Roubaix and Lombardia for me - all have their own unique character and route. Liege-Bastogne-Liege perhaps a bit less so, I think the harder final with the St Nicolas has killed the tactics a bit and it was better without the harder finale which put more emphasis on the Redoute, but it does at least give GT riders the opportunity to show they take the classics seriously - hope Wiggins will at least give it a go next year.

The Tirreno and Paris-Nice probably get my vote for 1-week races, but to be honest I'm more excited about both the Omloop (first big race of the year) and Amstel Gold (similarly particular route and character as the monuments, just lacks the history).

Impossible to compare GTs and Monuments

milton50

Rick Chasey wrote:

I find the Ardenne races increasingly dull. As the quality gap between riders gets smaller and smaller they've basically become races where it's an uphill sprint between the riders left. You spend more time paying attention to the back rather than the front.

I think you can level that criticism at Wallone, which is why I ended up going for the Amstel Gold Race over Wallone, but I don't find that with LBL or Amstel Gold. If you look back at the winners most of them are good all round strong cyclists rather than big name climbers.

I should say that I don't dislike the cobbled classics, I just on balance prefer the Ardennes Classics. My preference is for Flanders, though, rather than Roubaix. Flanders throws up moments like this

I just don't know what it is about Roubaix. It just seems like a fairly simple race. I think of it in the same way as I think about Star Wars. Yeh it's decent but I just can't understand the obsession. Plus quite often ten minutes will pass by while a huge plume of dust obscures everyone.

thomthom

Milton50 wrote:

Flanders throws up moments like this

The thing is.. it doesn't. Not anymore.

milton50

Meh. Rides as classy as that don't come around every year.

milton50

Turfle wrote:

Of the monuments, Flanders and Roubaix are head and shoulders above anything for me.

The 3 main Ardennes classics have become a bit too much of a one-hill sprint recently. It's actually a bit of a struggle to remember what even happened in them this year.

Would you take Gent-Wevelgem over, say, LBL and Amstel Gold?

thomthom

Milton50 wrote:

Meh. Rides as classy as that don't come around every year.

I don't think you got my point..

nweststeyn

Milton50 wrote:

Rick Chasey wrote:

I should say that I don't dislike the cobbled classics, I just on balance prefer the Ardennes Classics. My preference is for Flanders, though, rather than Roubaix. Flanders throws up moments like this

8) :twisted:

TMR

My favourite race is Paris-Roubaix. It's steeped in so much history it makes me tingle just thinking about it.

I do like the 3 GTs, but TBH the TdF was boring as **** this year. I drove 12 hrs each way to the Pyrenees to watch it as well

I hope next year it just explodes on every mountain stage. I want drama, I want insane attacking, I want failure and heart ache. I want to see history being made.

nweststeyn

I thought you said you enjoyed it!!!

TMR

nweststeyn wrote:

I thought you said you enjoyed it!!!

The bits I saw were good (any visit to the TdF is good), but I meant the racing wasn't exciting overall (in terms of GC). Sagan lit up the stages I saw, and of course I saw George in the TdF for the last time, so that was special.

nweststeyn

Ahhh there we go

This thread needed some positivity.

TMR

nweststeyn wrote:

Ahhh there we go

This thread needed some positivity.

You little ray of light you

Turfle

Milton50 wrote:

Turfle wrote:

Of the monuments, Flanders and Roubaix are head and shoulders above anything for me.

The 3 main Ardennes classics have become a bit too much of a one-hill sprint recently. It's actually a bit of a struggle to remember what even happened in them this year.

Would you take Gent-Wevelgem over, say, LBL and Amstel Gold?

I look forward to, and enjoy, LBL much more than the other two. Not really fair of me to lump it in with FW and AGR.

inkyfingers

Paris Roubaix would be my pick, closely followed by Flanders.

Having said that the race I get the most excited about is Het Nieuwsblad, simply because it's the first serious race of the year

nweststeyn

The Mad Rapper wrote:

nweststeyn wrote:

Ahhh there we go

This thread needed some positivity.

You little ray of light you

You've always been one of my favourites on this forum... Let's hug.

Pross

Roubaix is the big one for me. Other than thr Tour it was the first race I saw and I loved the fact they were racing road bikes on something I wouldn't take an MTB over!

greasedscotsman

Milton50 wrote:

I just don't know what it is about Roubaix. It just seems like a fairly simple race. I think of it in the same way as I think about Star Wars. Yeh it's decent but I just can't understand the obsession. Plus quite often ten minutes will pass by while a huge plume of dust obscures everyone.

If you haven't, take your bike over there and have a go at riding Arenberg or maybe the sections around the Carrefour de l'Arbre. Photographs or video really don't do it justice. It feels like your bike is going to collapse underneath you. And what's wrong with dust?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IlGMQ--_wUM

But to answer your original question, my favourite race is Roubaix closely followed by the TdF. But I do genuinely look foward to what ever race is coming up next. Like I'm looking forward to the Worlds starting tomorrow, then Paris Tour and Lombardy. And then once that's all done, it's onto the cyclo cross!

ju5t1n

To answer your question and pick one from each category, mine would be: Giro, Flanders, Dauphiné and Amstel

AchillesLeftKnee

Roubaix I absolutely love because of the way it treads a fine line between outright stupidity and a majestic tough SOB fight. No hiding from the unfetter wind behind your team, no sprint trains, no getting paced over the climbs, no "skinny buggers only" 20% stuff, no cunning tactics, no science, no finesse, just a bunch of blokes getting after it on surfaces no right-minded individual would bother with on low volume tyres and may the strongest\toughest\most Radio Rentals one win! Top stuff.

The climby ones I'm less fussed about as they don't seem quite so single-minded. Still good to watch though.

GT-wise, Tour de France, if only because it's The Daddy. Might not be the hardest or the most entertaining, but it's definitely The Daddy. It also doesn't suffer from the Small Man Syndrome With Regards To Climbs the other two can get, so isn't just a straight climbfest. That's not to say I don't enjoy watching a bit of brutal climbing, but I'd rather have a small caviar course than barf at the end of a roe-eating contest.

corona

Tour of Qatar, nothing compares

ozzzyosborn206

the races i look most forward to are flanders and roubaix, the tour, and the worlds, just because the worlds mean so much and are often hard to guess because its a different course every year. However thats not to say these are the races i enjoy watching the most, it depends on the way the race is ridden, i love watching top riders in awesome form, Cancellara in 2010 doing the double, Gilbert last year, even Sagan at the tour this year. some of the mountain top finishes to last years Veulta i could watch over and over too

blim

From each category: Ronde, Tour, Tour de Suisse & het Nieuwsblad (plus most other Flemish semi-classics)

I love the Ardennes scenery, but the racing can't compare to the Flemish races.

I also have a sneaking love for Paris-Tours: it's the bittersweet autumnal, end-of-season feeling of it that i like.

knedlicky

From the categories:

L-B-L (minimally ahead of Flanders)

Tour de F (out of tradition, but often enjoy Giro more)

Tour de Romandie (though liked some recent Tours de Suisse)

Fleche Wallonne (might have taken the Frankfurt GP had it been on list, although having said that, it’s lost a lot since first its demotion and then second its altered finish)

San Remo and Lombardy are also important for me, because although not true markers of the professional season duration, they are usually the first and last races I get the chance to watch each year.

milton50

knedlicky wrote:

From the categories:

L-B-L (minimally ahead of Flanders)

Tour de F (out of tradition, but often enjoy Giro more)

Tour de Romandie (though liked some recent Tours de Suisse)

Fleche Wallonne (might have taken the Frankfurt GP had it been on list, although having said that, it’s lost a lot since first its demotion and then second its altered finish)

San Remo and Lombardy are also important for me, because although not true markers of the professional season duration, they are usually the first and last races I get the chance to watch each year.

You are now my favourite poster. Well done.