Rate the Vuelta 2014

thomthom
thomthom Posts: 3,574
edited September 2014 in Pro race
Thoughts?

Comments

  • Pross
    Pross Posts: 43,463
    I wasn't overly impressed by the route though not quite as 'samey' as last year. I'd like to see a few more longer, steadier climbs thrown in for balance. That said, it was good to see a bit of a GC battle going on with a slim chance the lead could change hands on the penultimate stage. Shame Quintana crashed out and Froome hadn't quite regained full form or it could have been a classic.
  • blazing_saddles
    blazing_saddles Posts: 22,725
    I thought all the MTFs were quite the samey.
    All around the 10 km mark, plus or minus a km or so.
    The Stage 12 crit was possibly the most boring GT stage of the decade.
    "Science is a tool for cheaters". An anonymous French PE teacher.
  • type:epyt
    type:epyt Posts: 766
    Not as good as the last 3 years. Even with it looking relatively close it was all over by the TT (sound familiar?).
    Life is unfair, kill yourself or get over it.
  • ad_snow
    ad_snow Posts: 469
    madasahattersley wrote:
    Oleg didn't like it...

    ScreenShot2014-09-14at214636_zps968872a7.png
    ??

    That was last year
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  • Pross
    Pross Posts: 43,463
    Would love to see an explanation from the people who rated it as 'awesome'. It definitely seems trendy to throw adulation at the Vuelta and Giro whilst running down the Tour.
  • Paul 8v
    Paul 8v Posts: 5,458
    The Tour of Britain is often maligned as a "Chipper" out the TOB and the Vuelta in the last week I know which one offered a better viewing experience.

    The last stage of the Vuelta was abysmal, the rain didn't help but a prologue length TT around what looked like a farm track in some places is really not exciting. Perhaps if they had put a long enough TT in that the GC could have changed THAT would have been a much more fitting climax.
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  • gethinceri
    gethinceri Posts: 1,659
    Pross wrote:
    Would love to see an explanation from the people who rated it as 'awesome'. It definitely seems trendy to throw adulation at the Vuelta and Giro whilst running down the Tour.
    Because it was better than "Good".
  • d_o_g
    d_o_g Posts: 286
    There were a couple of stages which were absolute rubbish - yesterday, the crit and was it stage 17 which was just a long dull transfer. Weeks 1 and 2 were overall pretty decent, shame about Quintana, but we did get a good battle by probably the two strongest riders out there, which is more than can be said for the tour or the Giro.

    Parcours not as good as the Tour, it has to be said. Think there was only one stage where there was a decent climb and then a fast descent to finish, which made for one of the best stages in the TDF and gives some others a shot at a victory.
  • me-109
    me-109 Posts: 1,915
    Good by the way it was raced by the protagonists, rather than by the parcours they were given.
  • dolan_driver
    dolan_driver Posts: 831
    The Giro was probably the Grand Tour of the year with the Tour a close second.

    With Quintana crashing out and Froome chasing fitness, the Vuelta was never much of a contest. Froome was probably the class act of the race, putting Contador under pressure even though he wasn't fully fit. Roll on next year's Giro.

    DD.
  • Pross
    Pross Posts: 43,463
    I thought that at the time the Giro was panned for its dangerous roads and all the crashes? I can't even remember much about it other than that, the Irish stages and maybe Aru winning a MTF??? I think that's my age rather than a reflection on the race though and it was the GT for which I watched the most stages :|
  • shockedsoshocked
    shockedsoshocked Posts: 4,021
    Not as good as 2012 which was ridiculous, but still an better than good race. A longer TT at the end might have brought it a bit closer.
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  • milton50
    milton50 Posts: 3,856
    Average. No stage comes to mind as particularly amazing, Froome took two weeks to find some decent form, by which time the race had gone, and Quintana crashed out before the race really got going.

    I'm a fan of cycling so I will always find wathicng the best guys in the world somewhat entertaining but I thought the Tour and the Vuelta were both disappointing this year.
  • Yellow Peril
    Yellow Peril Posts: 4,466
    Awesome, some great stages and 5 riders punching it out. Missing it more than this year's Tour and I also enjoyed that.
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  • Dorset_Boy
    Dorset_Boy Posts: 7,557
    Well it had two of the worst stages ever to feature in a GT.
  • Paul 8v
    Paul 8v Posts: 5,458
    What was the other one? (Assuming one is the under 12's junior TT length race around a farm track at the end)
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  • blazing_saddles
    blazing_saddles Posts: 22,725
    Paul 8v wrote:
    What was the other one? (Assuming one is the under 12's junior TT length race around a farm track at the end)


    Ooooerrr, the flat stage 12 crit in Rioja land.
    The riders called desperately boring, as did Sean Kelly.
    It went on for an age, with a lone breakaway who could hardly be bothered, being chased by the bunch,
    who really couldn't be bothered.
    "Science is a tool for cheaters". An anonymous French PE teacher.
  • Paul 8v
    Paul 8v Posts: 5,458
    Blazing Saddles wrote:
    Paul 8v wrote:
    What was the other one? (Assuming one is the under 12's junior TT length race around a farm track at the end)


    Ooooerrr, the flat stage 12 crit in Rioja land.
    The riders called desperately boring, as did Sean Kelly.
    It went on for an age, with a lone breakaway who could hardly be bothered, being chased by the bunch,
    who really couldn't be bothered.

    I think I fast forwarded that one to the end, sounds like I didn't miss much!
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  • SCR Pedro
    SCR Pedro Posts: 912
    It just wasn't quite up to standard this year. The weather had a lot to do with that in the first week.
    I would like more stages designed to give the break a better chance. The sprint stages were rather dull, and too long, and the MTFs would never give the break a chance.
    The scenery was ok, but not as good as previous years.
    4 out of 10 from me.
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  • mamba80
    mamba80 Posts: 5,032
    Pross wrote:
    Would love to see an explanation from the people who rated it as 'awesome'. It definitely seems trendy to throw adulation at the Vuelta and Giro whilst running down the Tour.

    because my daughter who is a keen racing cyclist said so, she finds the tdf boring and rarely watches it but was down every night for the V and trust me, the house has to be on fire to get her down out of her bedroom :lol:

    tbh I thought it was a cracking race but I rate AC and love his post race interviews.

    I certainly would nt run down the tdf either.

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