Rate the Tour 2015
Comments
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[url=http://www.bikeradar.com/forums/viewtopic.php?p=19666124#p19666124]Richmond Racer 2[/url] wrote:^this isn't a British / non-British thing
That aint how it works
Its not I know, but giving this tour anything less than an eight, when the net result was the first ever British winner of two TDF's is in my opinion pretty weird. Life isnt always like a Rocky film, sometimes someone excels to the point they are indomitable, that that someone was British should give us something to rejoice in, not moan about them, just because they spoilt the narrative.
Good to see that not everyone here is as constantly negative as Thom and DeV. Especially after the horrendous whinging on here last year that lost us a few of the better posters we had (good to see Ms Racer tentatively reappearing though
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I'd go 7 as well. Fantastic 1st week which was paid for in the second as riders were obviously knackered from all the shenanigans of the first week. Then in the last week it wound up again as Movistar realised they couldn't keep waiting for Froome to crack and that they had to make an effort.
I think a few more genuine sprint stages in the middle week might help liven up the Mountain stages but also I think that there is something special about the 20-30km buildup you get with a proper bunch sprint that is lacking from the "final sharp dig" finish that Prudhomme likes so much. I think there is a slightly better balance to be struck there.We're in danger of confusing passion with incompetence
- @ddraver0 -
[url=http://www.bikeradar.com/forums/viewtopic.php?p=19666124#p19666124]Richmond Racer 2[/url] wrote:^this isn't a British / non-British thing
That aint how it works
Of course that's how it works, what a weird thing to say. Cheering on your own countrymen and seeing them win is always far more emotionally involving than just watching people who are good at what they do.
I don't agree with that at all. I'd think most people will though.0 -
I seem to remember him saying a couple of days before he abandoned, quite explicitly, that he was only aiming to cling on to the 3rd place he had at that point. Given he was something like 30" ahead of Valverde at that point I don't think he'd have done it. He might have made the top 5 given how Contador was doing and how far back Nibali was, but if he never learns how to attack he's always going to have limited opportunities to do much better when there are people like Quintana and Froome ahead of him. It's never nice to see someone abandon, but I didn't see much mention of him on here once he was gone and I don't think he would have contributed a lot more to the race other than being a focus for the US fans.I wonder what a fit TJ without illness in the third week following the fastest wheel leechable would have ended up? but he looked to be fading quite early after a good start.0 -
I seem to remember him saying a couple of days before he abandoned, quite explicitly, that he was only aiming to cling on to the 3rd place he had at that point. Given he was something like 30" ahead of Valverde at that point I don't think he'd have done it. He might have made the top 5 given how Contador was doing and how far back Nibali was, but if he never learns how to attack he's always going to have limited opportunities to do much better when there are people like Quintana and Froome ahead of him. It's never nice to see someone abandon, but I didn't see much mention of him on here once he was gone and I don't think he would have contributed a lot more to the race other than being a focus for the US fans.I wonder what a fit TJ without illness in the third week following the fastest wheel leechable would have ended up? but he looked to be fading quite early after a good start.
yeah that seems about right. he needs a GT with a big TT in it."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 pm0 -
I seem to remember him saying a couple of days before he abandoned, quite explicitly, that he was only aiming to cling on to the 3rd place he had at that point. Given he was something like 30" ahead of Valverde at that point I don't think he'd have done it. He might have made the top 5 given how Contador was doing and how far back Nibali was, but if he never learns how to attack he's always going to have limited opportunities to do much better when there are people like Quintana and Froome ahead of him. It's never nice to see someone abandon, but I didn't see much mention of him on here once he was gone and I don't think he would have contributed a lot more to the race other than being a focus for the US fans.I wonder what a fit TJ without illness in the third week following the fastest wheel leechable would have ended up? but he looked to be fading quite early after a good start.
yeah that seems about right. he needs a GT with a big TT in it.
He needs to work on not being so unbelievably boring first.
Off and on the bike.
Even his retirement was boring.0 -
I seem to remember him saying a couple of days before he abandoned, quite explicitly, that he was only aiming to cling on to the 3rd place he had at that point. Given he was something like 30" ahead of Valverde at that point I don't think he'd have done it. He might have made the top 5 given how Contador was doing and how far back Nibali was, but if he never learns how to attack he's always going to have limited opportunities to do much better when there are people like Quintana and Froome ahead of him. It's never nice to see someone abandon, but I didn't see much mention of him on here once he was gone and I don't think he would have contributed a lot more to the race other than being a focus for the US fans.I wonder what a fit TJ without illness in the third week following the fastest wheel leechable would have ended up? but he looked to be fading quite early after a good start.
yeah that seems about right. he needs a GT with a big TT in it.
He needs to work on not being so unbelievably boring first.
Off and on the bike.
Even his retirement was boring.
I thought that to begin with. But now I find it kind of amusing and endearing just how boring he is...0 -
Gave it an 8 but it would hav been 8.5 if that was available. Dont see how some can say it was all over after the first MTF. Firstly, it wasnt, by a long way, secondly, even if it had been hindsight is a great thing. The result was in doubt till the end of stage 20. Who could say with any certainty that Quintana would not pull back his defecit? Another good sign from this Tour was the inability of riders to attack again and again, proving, to me at least, that they no longer have the free recovery card that doping used to give. Looking at the eyes of the finishers on the last four mountain stages showed riders absolutely on there last legs.
If Cav had won the last stage I would have given it a 9.0 -
ITV's closing montage was fantastic. Might be a youtube if you're geo-blocked.
http://www.itv.com/tourdefrance...a rare 100% loyal Pro Race poster. A poster boy for the community.0 -
Born in Keyna and spent his adolescent and early adult life in South Africa. Doesn't appear to have resided any length of time in the UK. Through choice, he has lived in Monaco for the last 4 or 5 years; his only connection to UK seems to be a passport which allows him easier travel around Europe. I'm just not getting the emotional 'Froome is a Brit' part.[url=http://www.bikeradar.com/forums/viewtopic.php?p=19666124#p19666124]Richmond Racer 2[/url] wrote:^this isn't a British / non-British thing
That aint how it works
Of course that's how it works, what a weird thing to say. Cheering on your own countrymen and seeing them win is always far more emotionally involving than just watching people who are good at what they do.
I don't agree with that at all. I'd think most people will though.
That aside, Brit or no Brit, I though this tour was average. A couple of good stage wins by riders so far back in the GC that it makes zero difference to the GC leaders does not make it a good 3 week GT. Its a stage race, not a series of one day classics. Its ALL about the GC and that lacked suspense and drama.0 -
Good to see that not everyone here is as constantly negative as Thom and DeV. Especially after the horrendous whinging on here last year that lost us a few of the better posters we had (good to see Ms Racer tentatively reappearing though
I don't think that's quite fair tbh. I'm the first to call a stage, a moment, a rider, a team brilliant when I think it's deserved - just as I don't hesitate when I think it's the opposite.
There were good stages in this tour and there were at least just as many underwhelming stages for me. I landed on a 5 for that reason. I undestand that people on a Britsh biased forum get more excited when not only Froome does a good job but also Cummings and Sky.
Apparently for most of those arguing for a rating of 8, 9 and even 10 the GC is what's it's all about and should base their rating. Fair enough, I don't agree. Denmark has no GC rider and hasen't had since Rasmussen so excuse me for watching out for different racing but just the uphill racing.
ASO took for example a gamble of exploiting the chance crosswinds in at least two stages in the second week and instead we got a peloton that softpedalled to the finish line in several stages after the 4 hard (and good) days. That's bad luck, mind, but it was a gamble and it failed.0 -
I gave it a 7. Would have been an 8 if some of the mountain stages had a bit more magic. To get higher I probably would have wanted some dramatic yellow jersey trading in the mountains I suppose.0
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Born in Keyna and spent his adolescent and early adult life in South Africa. Doesn't appear to have resided any length of time in the UK. Through choice, he has lived in Monaco for the last 4 or 5 years; his only connection to UK seems to be a passport which allows him easier travel around Europe. I'm just not getting the emotional 'Froome is a Brit' part.[url=http://www.bikeradar.com/forums/viewtopic.php?p=19666124#p19666124]Richmond Racer 2[/url] wrote:^this isn't a British / non-British thing
That aint how it works
Of course that's how it works, what a weird thing to say. Cheering on your own countrymen and seeing them win is always far more emotionally involving than just watching people who are good at what they do.
I don't agree with that at all. I'd think most people will though.
That aside, Brit or no Brit, I though this tour was average. A couple of good stage wins by riders so far back in the GC that it makes zero difference to the GC leaders does not make it a good 3 week GT. Its a stage race, not a series of one day classics. Its ALL about the GC and that lacked suspense and drama.
Think you're talking to yourself there as it doesn't address my point. What I meant is I couldn't care less where any rider is from, and I get no pride from someone else from the same country as me doing something they are good at which I don't contribute to in the slightest.0 -
Nine for me, I loved it, especially the breakaways.'fool'0
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Tours are about the mountains; everything else is a sideshow.
The sideshow was good but thats irrelevant for ranking the Tour imo.
From a GC perspective the Pyrenees were awful. GC favs just dropping packets on the first stage killed the race.
The Alps were fiery but lacked killer instinct.
Nibali's move was absolutely brilliant. I really enjoyed the mountain breaks and wins. Bardet and Geschke wins were fabulous. Only three wins from those in the top ten is poor.
Sagan was amazing. Sprints were ok but there should have been a couple more. Dont like Greipel but never seen him so good.
Froome attacked once then defended the entire rest of the way = sh*t.
Nine time GT winner Contador didnt have it majorly detracted from the fans enjoyment.
Sour faced French, idiot fans, twitter trolls, constant talking and referring to those bellends, sky and brit forum loons; all that was rubbish.
Giro was a proper narrative with proper fans on the road and on the forum. Proper racing.Contador is the Greatest0 -
7.5/10
I found most stages had a bit of interest and that helped keep each day exciting.
The first week played into skys hands, they clearly got their squad bang on and took full advantage of their spring classics riders, as a result Froome was fresher took full advantage on the first mountain stage.
It seemed like there was very little opportunity for the GC contenders to have an easy day, contrasting with the usual formula, I think this nullified Nibali, Contador and to some extent Quintana. Consequently the mountains may have been more exciting if all 4 GC contenders were fresh to do battle.0 -
I went for 8 because I enjoyed watching it. Maybe also because to my surprise I pretty much anticipated the outcome: Froome would win unless he fell off, Contador was too tired, Nibali out of form, TJVG wouldn't be able to sustain a three-week effort, Quintana was an unknown quantity.
The GC battle was more or less over after the first mountain stage, when Froome rode aggressively and destroyed the others' morale. Still there was a possibility he would crash on one of the descents (e.g. Allos) or have a jour sans. I'm not fussed about the other jerseys, although the polka dots possibly would have got more attention if a Brit hadn't been in yellow; I got the impression some riders had actually targeted that competition, at least to lead it for a while.
The stages were varied and we had some great stories, such as two guys crashing out in yellow, Teklehaimanot hinting at a bright future for African cycling on the biggest stage, Cummings catching the Frenchmen napping, Pinot being a "character", G's endurance and Sagan finding ways ever more amusing ways to come second. The Tour is a story that develops over three weeks. Even when the main storyline isn't that exciting there are always subplots to follow and those kept me entertained.
I didn't give an extra mark because a "Brit" won it. Froome though did earn my respect this time for the way he handled the pressure/attention/controversy and took the race to his opponents, contrary to his (and Sky's) reputation for conservative riding. They were brilliant as a team too and it's good to see a well-drilled machine in action.0 -
Tours are about the mountains; everything else is a sideshow.
The sideshow was good but thats irrelevant for ranking the Tour imo.
From a GC perspective the Pyrenees were awful. GC favs just dropping packets on the first stage killed the race.
The Alps were fiery but lacked killer instinct.
Nibali's move was absolutely brilliant. I really enjoyed the mountain breaks and wins. Bardet and Geschke wins were fabulous. Only three wins from those in the top ten is poor.
Sagan was amazing. Sprints were ok but there should have been a couple more. Dont like Greipel but never seen him so good.
Froome attacked once then defended the entire rest of the way = sh*t.
Nine time GT winner Contador didnt have it majorly detracted from the fans enjoyment.
Sour faced French, idiot fans, twitter trolls, constant talking and referring to those bellends, sky and brit forum loons; all that was rubbish.
Giro was a proper narrative with proper fans on the road and on the forum. Proper racing.
What are you talking about? Froome took time out of Quintana on six stages, Quintana was well behind and didn't launch one proper attack until stage 19.0 -
Tours are about the mountains; everything else is a sideshow.
The sideshow was good but thats irrelevant for ranking the Tour imo.
From a GC perspective the Pyrenees were awful. GC favs just dropping packets on the first stage killed the race.
The Alps were fiery but lacked killer instinct.
Nibali's move was absolutely brilliant. I really enjoyed the mountain breaks and wins. Bardet and Geschke wins were fabulous. Only three wins from those in the top ten is poor.
Sagan was amazing. Sprints were ok but there should have been a couple more. Dont like Greipel but never seen him so good.
Froome attacked once then defended the entire rest of the way = sh*t.
Nine time GT winner Contador didnt have it majorly detracted from the fans enjoyment.
Sour faced French, idiot fans, twitter trolls, constant talking and referring to those bellends, sky and brit forum loons; all that was rubbish.
Giro was a proper narrative with proper fans on the road and on the forum. Proper racing.
In general I tend to agree with most of your comments, but that is 100% pure codswallop... almost every line of it. But I guess you are entitled to your own opinions...
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7.5 for me
Good in parts - when it was good, it was very good.
Didn't care for all the bs going on outside of the racing
Froome was Froome.
Hopefully Nairo will keep on learning from this and take it next time0 -
duplicate post0
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the anti climax of froome killing the race the first day in the Pyrenees was offset somewhat by the lack of surrender by the others who kept fighting. dam near did for sky."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 pm0
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I seem to remember him saying a couple of days before he abandoned, quite explicitly, that he was only aiming to cling on to the 3rd place he had at that point. Given he was something like 30" ahead of Valverde at that point I don't think he'd have done it. He might have made the top 5 given how Contador was doing and how far back Nibali was, but if he never learns how to attack he's always going to have limited opportunities to do much better when there are people like Quintana and Froome ahead of him. It's never nice to see someone abandon, but I didn't see much mention of him on here once he was gone and I don't think he would have contributed a lot more to the race other than being a focus for the US fans.I wonder what a fit TJ without illness in the third week following the fastest wheel leechable would have ended up? but he looked to be fading quite early after a good start.
yeah that seems about right. he needs a GT with a big TT in it.
He needs to work on not being so unbelievably boring first.
Off and on the bike.
Even his retirement was boring.
Word0 -
:oops: I was intending to answer NorvernRob point. I agree with you.
Think you're talking to yourself there as it doesn't address my point. What I meant is I couldn't care less where any rider is from, and I get no pride from someone else from the same country as me doing something they are good at which I don't contribute to in the slightest.
Born in Keyna and spent his adolescent and early adult life in South Africa. Doesn't appear to have resided any length of time in the UK. Through choice, he has lived in Monaco for the last 4 or 5 years; his only connection to UK seems to be a passport which allows him easier travel around Europe. I'm just not getting the emotional 'Froome is a Brit' part.
I don't agree with that at all. I'd think most people will though.Of course that's how it works, what a weird thing to say. Cheering on your own countrymen and seeing them win is always far more emotionally involving than just watching people who are good at what they do.
That aside, Brit or no Brit, I thought this tour was average. A couple of good stage wins by riders so far back in the GC that it makes zero difference to the GC leaders does not make it a good 3 week GT. Its a stage race, not a series of one day classics. Its ALL about the GC and that lacked suspense and drama.
Now in context, hopefully I'm still not talking to myself :P0 -
its a 7 from me.
Highlights, The 2 quintana attacks that really took the fight to Froome and Froomes corresponding all out effort on stage 10. J rods 2 great stage wins. Bardets flair and descending prowess. Valverdes teamwork when it mattered. Geriant Thomas's engine for 17 days of the tour. Wouter Poels work in the 2 hardest stages. Greipel's power in the sprints. Nibali's fantastic Stage win. Sagans perseverance and overall ability. Matt Rendalls Doorstop of Jaja. Chris Boardman, Gary Lewin and Ned Boulting.
Lowlights, Contador, a faded force that really should have concentrated on winning the tour rather than the giro, Nibalis GC effort. Cavendishes Illnesses, the spitting and piss throwing, the abuse of team sky (generally). Vayer and the twatterati. the clinic frothing away... Jalabert and selected french Media people.
there are other things, but that'l do for now. was a good course and very very tough by the looks of it.0 -
[url=http://www.bikeradar.com/forums/viewtopic.php?p=19666124#p19666124]Richmond Racer 2[/url] wrote:^this isn't a British / non-British thing
That aint how it works
Its not I know, but giving this tour anything less than an eight, when the net result was the first ever British winner of two TDF's is in my opinion pretty weird. Life isnt always like a Rocky film, sometimes someone excels to the point they are indomitable, that that someone was British should give us something to rejoice in, not moan about them, just because they spoilt the narrative.
Good to see that not everyone here is as constantly negative as Thom and DeV. Especially after the horrendous whinging on here last year that lost us a few of the better posters we had (good to see Ms Racer tentatively reappearing though )
I'd go 7 as well. Fantastic 1st week which was paid for in the second as riders were obviously knackered from all the shenanigans of the first week. Then in the last week it wound up again as Movistar realised they couldn't keep waiting for Froome to crack and that they had to make an effort.
I think a few more genuine sprint stages in the middle week might help liven up the Mountain stages but also I think that there is something special about the 20-30km buildup you get with a proper bunch sprint that is lacking from the "final sharp dig" finish that Prudhomme likes so much. I think there is a slightly better balance to be struck there.
For me you have nailed it ref 2nd week and type of sprint stage, think to many mtf makes for boring racing.eating parmos since 1981
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[url=http://www.bikeradar.com/forums/viewtopic.php?p=19666124#p19666124]Richmond Racer 2[/url] wrote:^this isn't a British / non-British thing
That aint how it works
Its not I know, but giving this tour anything less than an eight, when the net result was the first ever British winner of two TDF's is in my opinion pretty weird. Life isnt always like a Rocky film, sometimes someone excels to the point they are indomitable, that that someone was British should give us something to rejoice in, not moan about them, just because they spoilt the narrative.
Good to see that not everyone here is as constantly negative as Thom and DeV. Especially after the horrendous whinging on here last year that lost us a few of the better posters we had (good to see Ms Racer tentatively reappearing though )
I'd go 7 as well. Fantastic 1st week which was paid for in the second as riders were obviously knackered from all the shenanigans of the first week. Then in the last week it wound up again as Movistar realised they couldn't keep waiting for Froome to crack and that they had to make an effort.
I think a few more genuine sprint stages in the middle week might help liven up the Mountain stages but also I think that there is something special about the 20-30km buildup you get with a proper bunch sprint that is lacking from the "final sharp dig" finish that Prudhomme likes so much. I think there is a slightly better balance to be struck there.
There is a lot of bullshit about "better posters" - If people have left the forum I'd have thought it's more likely to be because of the constant chat about what some idiot posted on twitter (who really gives a f**k) or bitching about what French Fighter just posted than because someone scored this Tour 6 out of 10. The post you think is "good to see" is someone saying it's wierd to score the Tour less than 8 just because a Brit won it - if that's their criteria for scoring it I admit I don't share their enjoyment in seeing someone win just because I share their nationality.
What has disappointed me are some of the xenophobic comments about the French that have appeared on here.[Castle Donington Ladies FC - going up in '22]0 -
What has disappointed me are some of the xenophobic comments about the French that have appeared on here.
They started it. It's only a bit of sport, Mun. Relax and enjoy the racing.0 -
I am never comfortable with Dual Passport holders as I'm never sure where their own Allegiances are, but if they perform well on a bike then I may become a Fan.
Of course that's how it works, what a weird thing to say. Cheering on your own countrymen and seeing them win is always far more emotionally involving than just watching people who are good at what they do.[url=http://www.bikeradar.com/forums/viewtopic.php?p=19666124#p19666124]Richmond Racer 2[/url] wrote:^this isn't a British / non-British thing
That aint how it works
I was never a fan of a 3rd rate Italian rider who realised how true that was and became a 1st rate British rider to get a bronze in the Olympics. Max Sciandri is now comfortably resident in Italy having been born in UK and at 18 months moved to USA where he was educated and probably each morning did the God Bless America allegiance.
I was a fan of Robbie McEwen an Australian who used his UK Dual passport to make travel in Europe easier but was always an Oss.
About Froome and his popularity with us and the general public. (or French)
I think the resemblance to the Greatest Cycling Doper has it's merits because like Armstrong he is only seen racing for a couple of summer months.
We never see him in single day races through the year but I know he is collecting money in the after Tour Crits and was 2nd yesterday.
Most of the other Tour riders are down to ride the San Sebastian on Saturday.Organiser, National Championship 50 mile Time Trial 19720 -
Tours are about the mountains; everything else is a sideshow. The sideshow was good but thats irrelevant for ranking the Tour imo.
From a GC perspective the Pyrenees were awful. GC favs just dropping packets on the first stage killed the race.
The Alps were fiery but lacked killer instinct.
Nibali's move was absolutely brilliant. I really enjoyed the mountain breaks and wins. Bardet and Geschke wins were fabulous. Only three wins from those in the top ten is poor.
Sagan was amazing. Sprints were ok but there should have been a couple more. Dont like Greipel but never seen him so good.
Froome attacked once then defended the entire rest of the way = sh*t.
Nine time GT winner Contador didnt have it majorly detracted from the fans enjoyment.
Sour faced French, idiot fans, twitter trolls, constant talking and referring to those bellends, sky and brit forum loons; all that was rubbish.
Giro was a proper narrative with proper fans on the road and on the forum. Proper racing.
Must have been watching a different race, probably a re run of "My Man" in the Giro. You prefer the Giro for one reason, Contador won it, against a B string opposition. At the Tour, against top opposition he is 10 mins back.
For a regular poster you seem to know little about Pro racing.
Firstly, the Tour is about 21 stages, all important.
Second. The Giro is a sideshow to the Tour, the Tour is the biggest anual sporting event. Every rider wants to win it.
Froome went all in on one climb, not possible to do too much more unless doping. Quintana went all in on one climb. The rest of the MTF's they were all on the limit. Cant attack unless you have the legs.
Sagan was consistent but didnt win a stage so hardly amazing. Bet he would trade the green for one stage win.
If you found little to enjoy in this years Tour it simply proves you only enjoy racing if "Your Man" is winning, otherwise its toys out of the pram time. 0 -
the anti climax of froome killing the race the first day in the Pyrenees was offset somewhat by the lack of surrender by the others who kept fighting. dam near did for sky.
I have no idea what you mean by that statement. Did you expect the so called Big Four" to finish side by side on every MTF until the last one, then someone to win by 1 second? How can taking a minute out of the best climber in the peloton, in one climb, be "Killing the race"? If Quintana had taken the first climb would that have killed the race? :?:0
