Tour de France 2015: Stage 12 **Spoiler**
Comments
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We are down at 3/10 for this Tour. Shocking stuff. And I even had Jakob in front to cheer at throughout the day.
I thought they all tried. Quintana just doesn't have much of an attack. Valverde couldn't go too hard in case Quintana couldn't follow. Nibali tried. Contador tried, but is impotent right now.
Ultimately no gaps, but I thought it was exciting while they were trying.
And second place GC man never had a dig at all.“You may think that; I couldn’t possibly comment!”
Wilier Cento Uno SR/Wilier Mortirolo/Specialized Roubaix Comp/Kona Hei Hei/Calibre Bossnut0 -
Boring Tour.....?
Has everyone forgotten the first week already? I would take where we are now with a couple of low activity stages and a great first 8 days, over the alternative sitting around watching sprinters teams mark each other up until the final km for the first week until we got to the mountains any day.
Yeah Sky are controlling this, that is because they are the best team at the moment by far, not really their fault, up to everyone else to close the gap.
Also FF, i can not seem to remember you moaning once Contador had got himself in front of a pretty poor field at the Giro then rode a relatively conservative rest of the race this year.
Maybe a few of the other teams need disengage the reversea gear in the frame motors or something..............0 -
If the Alps don't give something interesting then going forward there is literally no point watching cycling GTs with Sky's A*** team anymore if you a fan of exciting cycling and multiple and frequent time gaps.
It *might* get interesting when you have Sky Supreme Rider 1 go against former Sky Supreme Rider 2 now on BMC. That might be good for a laugh to see how two neighbours and thick as thieves friends 'race' against eachother.
Sky were terrible as a team in 2013 and in 2014 didn't win a single GT stage. Don't fall for the dominance delusion. Man....a rare 100% loyal Pro Race poster. A poster boy for the community.0 -
Froome's Landis like ride on Tuesday has effectively neutralised the whole race... Its as good as done. None of the other GC contenders will bother attacking as they know rocket-fueled Sky will make mince meat of them. The last two days have been horrifically boring. Today was a disaster for the fans. Greg Lemond was clearly shell-shocked and Ashley House just seemed really pee'd off... :shock: :?
Whoah there, I know it was a dominating ride but it was hardly Landis-like - he only put one minute into Quintana, not 6 after a massive solo breakaway...0 -
The Giro once again proving to be the race to watch if you want to get excited. If you think Contador was riding conservatively then you clearly did not watch the race; he hardly next to no teammates in the mountains and attacked and fought tons.And second place GC man never had a dig at all.
No surprises there.Contador is the Greatest0 -
Has Rigo finished yet?
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The Giro once again proving to be the race to watch if you want to get excited. If you think Contador was riding conservatively then you clearly did not watch the race; he hardly next to no teammates in the mountains and attacked and fought tons.
Contador did dominate the Giro pretty well, it was clear he was going to win for ages - the GC battle was hardly gripping (I enjoyed the Giro). And there's still plenty of mountains left in this tour - we could yet see Froome isolated with no team mates.
I'm disappointed this stage didn't have more fireworks, but it's too early to write off the rest of the Tour (and the first week was great anyway).0 -
The Giro once again proving to be the race to watch if you want to get excited. If you think Contador was riding conservatively then you clearly did not watch the race; he hardly next to no teammates in the mountains and attacked and fought tons.
Trail fun - Transition Bandit
Road - Wilier Izoard Centaur/Cube Agree C62 Disc
Allround - Cotic Solaris0 -
The Giro once again proving to be the race to watch if you want to get excited. If you think Contador was riding conservatively then you clearly did not watch the race; he hardly next to no teammates in the mountains and attacked and fought tons.
Contador did dominate the Giro pretty well, it was clear he was going to win for ages - the GC battle was hardly gripping (I enjoyed the Giro). And there's still plenty of mountains left in this tour - we could yet see Froome isolated with no team mates.
I'm disappointed this stage didn't have more fireworks, but it's too early to write off the rest of the Tour (and the first week was great anyway).
I guess you like the most of the forum did not watch the Giro; like most years.Contador is the Greatest0 -
The Giro once again proving to be the race to watch if you want to get excited. If you think Contador was riding conservatively then you clearly did not watch the race; he hardly next to no teammates in the mountains and attacked and fought tons.
Contador did dominate the Giro pretty well, it was clear he was going to win for ages - the GC battle was hardly gripping (I enjoyed the Giro). And there's still plenty of mountains left in this tour - we could yet see Froome isolated with no team mates.
I'm disappointed this stage didn't have more fireworks, but it's too early to write off the rest of the Tour (and the first week was great anyway).
I guess you like the most of the forum did not watch the Giro; like most years.
I suspect he didn't view it through the same eyewear.Trail fun - Transition Bandit
Road - Wilier Izoard Centaur/Cube Agree C62 Disc
Allround - Cotic Solaris0 -
I really enjoy these threads and Frenchfighter's alternate view.
My two pence:
IMO each Tour since 2011 has diminished in excitement, aggressive racing and personalities. The year Wiggins won I remember hoping that Froome might go insane with boredom and attack his own man. He nearly did.
Then Froome won it and I think Nibali was crying for others to attack him.
Then Nibali won it and everyone was injured so there was no one to attack him.
And now there is this Tour and everyone is either too tired or too far behind for any attack on Froome to be worthwhile.
Also part of the problem is that the eccentric, extrovert personalities have gone. I like Froome but the guy is about as entertaining as wood, other than that everyone else appears to be cowering for fear of being called a drugs cheat.
This Tour needs something. It's just a bike ride at the moment, a very fast one.Food Chain number = 4
A true scalp is not only overtaking someone but leaving them stopped at a set of lights. As you, who have clearly beaten the lights, pummels nothing but the open air ahead. ~ 'DondaddyD'. Player of the Unspoken Game0 -
Part of the problem may of course be how difficult the first week was ... something the Tour organisers keep upping the ante on.0
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[url=http://www.bikeradar.com/forums/viewtopic.php?p=19654202#p19654202]The Loyal Lieutenant[/url] wrote:Frenchie, just curl up on the sofa with a bottle of chardonnay, a big bar of chocolate and a box of tissues and watch your 2009 Tour DVD while listening to Adele songs. You'll feel better for it.
I was with you until Adele...
I was with him until chardonnay.Correlation is not causation.0 -
The dullest thing about this Tour is the anti-Sky brigade with chips on their shoulders.
It's very sad and very boring.
On the face of it all the riders are on their level except Contador, Rodriguez, Nibali and the French. And Purito has two stages to his name. Quintana is riding well, so is TvG, Mollema, Valverde, Barguil, Gallopin, Gesink, Samu, Birdsong et al.0 -
Is the longest running argument I've seen on the forum - longer than even doping: "cycling needs to be less boring"
Maybe it's not the sport for you?0 -
I really enjoy these threads and Frenchfighter's alternate view.
My two pence:
IMO each Tour since 2011 has diminished in excitement, aggressive racing and personalities. The year Wiggins won I remember hoping that Froome might go insane with boredom and attack his own man. He nearly did.
Then Froome won it and I think Nibali was crying for others to attack him.
Then Nibali won it and everyone was injured so there was no one to attack him.
And now there is this Tour and everyone is either too tired or too far behind for any attack on Froome to be worthwhile.
Also part of the problem is that the eccentric, extrovert personalities have gone. I like Froome but the guy is about as entertaining as wood, other than that everyone else appears to be cowering for fear of being called a drugs cheat.
This Tour needs something. It's just a bike ride at the moment, a very fast one.
This is a pretty good summary. The personality thing is well worth highlighting as well.Contador is the Greatest0 -
I don't think this is limited to cycling. When I used to be involved with an F1 forum every race thread was reduced to complaints about not enough overtaking. I assume football forums up and down the land are full of fans complaining about goalless draws etc.Is the longest running argument I've seen on the forum - longer than even doping: "cycling needs to be less boring"
Maybe it's not the sport for you?0 -
Is the longest running argument I've seen on the forum - longer than even doping: "cycling needs to be less boring"
Maybe it's not the sport for you?
Quite. I think it's been excellent so far.0 -
[url=http://www.bikeradar.com/forums/viewtopic.php?p=19654184#p19654184]Wallace and Gromit[/url] wrote:Days like this to give you goosebumps.
Correct me if I'm wrong, but wasn't that the year Berto got busted in the Tour?
Yup, I long for the days when a guy managed by Martinelli, who used to be managed by Bruyneel and Saiz andw a guy with no ambition further than following him (managed by Bjarne Riis)can swap turns up the Tourmalet. Breathing through their noses."In many ways, my story was that of a raging, Christ-like figure who hauled himself off the cross, looked up at the Romans with blood in his eyes and said 'My turn, sock cookers'"
@gietvangent0 -
Last year's was pretty dull after Froome and Bert went if I recall.
There's lots of excitement to be had, you just have to look harder. Maybe the GT race is a bit boring but there's lots of other stuff going on. Races within races, wheels within wheels never ending or beginning on an ever spinning reel, like snowballs down mountains, like carnival balloons or a carousel that's running rings around the moon...Correlation is not causation.0 -
The vast majority of Tours are, by and large, dull as dishwater. They look pretty and have the best riders and big crowds but they're usually decided by conservative tactics and ekeing out advantage where you can. That's why we all remember 2011, 2006, 2003, 1998 and 1989 and 1986 so fondly"In many ways, my story was that of a raging, Christ-like figure who hauled himself off the cross, looked up at the Romans with blood in his eyes and said 'My turn, sock cookers'"
@gietvangent0 -
Is the longest running argument I've seen on the forum - longer than even doping: "cycling needs to be less boring"
Maybe it's not the sport for you?
Definitely if that is based on the whole season. A season that, so far, has been absolutely joyful.
This Tour is turing in to be.. not so much, though.0 -
I can quite understand someone being unhappy with how a race is going and wanting to put that opinion. But to then keep repeating it and SHOUTING IT more and more, and making groundless slurs as well, is just bad manners. Unclassy.0
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Is the longest running argument I've seen on the forum - longer than even doping: "cycling needs to be less boring"
Maybe it's not the sport for you?
I have been watching nearly every race since 2007. Recently I have been questioning myself whether I should curtail my interaction with the sport quite substantially.
I quite like the idea of rock climbing.Contador is the Greatest0 -
But seriously, Lars has said he's going to get in the break tommorrow so I'm not sure there's any reason for being grumpy anymore.0
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The bells... the bells......
(edit: watching delayed transmission... when the coverage got stuck on a church due to the weather).0 -
Kwiatek won the combativity prize.
Photo of the day goes to this lady:
Contador is the Greatest0 -
The Giro once again proving to be the race to watch if you want to get excited. If you think Contador was riding conservatively then you clearly did not watch the race; he hardly next to no teammates in the mountains and attacked and fought tons.
Contador did dominate the Giro pretty well, it was clear he was going to win for ages - the GC battle was hardly gripping (I enjoyed the Giro). And there's still plenty of mountains left in this tour - we could yet see Froome isolated with no team mates.
I'm disappointed this stage didn't have more fireworks, but it's too early to write off the rest of the Tour (and the first week was great anyway).
I guess you like the most of the forum did not watch the Giro; like most years.
No, I watched the whole thing, and posted on many of the stage threads which you also posted on. It was a good race and I really enjoyed watching it, it was better than the tour has been so far - I don't disagree with you there.
But what I'm disagreeing with is your opinion of this Tour being really boring, it was an exciting opening week and there's still plenty of mountains left - you never know Froome could pull a Contador and lose a load of time on Stage 20
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There's also the "nostalgia effect", where you remember the exciting moments and forget all the associated hours of boredom surrounding them. Short of giving all the riders robot legs I don't think it's at all reasonable to expect start-to-finish excitement on every single stage![url=http://www.bikeradar.com/forums/viewtopic.php?p=19654269#p19654269]disgruntledgoat[/url] wrote:The vast majority of Tours are, by and large, dull as dishwater. They look pretty and have the best riders and big crowds but they're usually decided by conservative tactics and ekeing out advantage where you can. That's why we all remember 2011, 2006, 2003, 1998 and 1989 and 1986 so fondly0 -
I usually find that people complain about a sport being boring when their particular hero/team is not doing too well. I think this Tour is brilliant! 0
