Rate the Giro

crescent

PBlakeney wrote:

Crescent wrote:

The race itself was a bit flat though, can't quite put my finger on it but it just didn't excite me as much as a Grand Tour normally does.

Were any of the genuine contenders in the last week one of your favourite cyclists?
I suspect that is highly pertinent to interest.

I don't really have a favourite cyclist or team, I'm generally quite happy to watch from an entirely neutral perspective. The issue, I think, was that each of the stages that was touted as "the one that would decide GC" just didn't really change much. Perhaps the redirected Queen stage would have made a difference, who knows? I can sit and watch cycling pretty much all day, and usually do during a GT, but this year Just didn't float my boat as normal.

DeVlaeminck

I gave it 5, didn't think it was that bad, slightly below average.

philbar72

6

+ points
Mortirolo and Masnada
Caleb Ewan
Carapaz on form
Nibali giving it a go
Hugh Carthy

- points
Quickstep fail
Viviani
poor mixture of stages
dumoulins chainring scar

pblakeney

Crescent wrote:

PBlakeney wrote:

Crescent wrote:

The race itself was a bit flat though, can't quite put my finger on it but it just didn't excite me as much as a Grand Tour normally does.

Were any of the genuine contenders in the last week one of your favourite cyclists?
I suspect that is highly pertinent to interest.

I don't really have a favourite cyclist or team, I'm generally quite happy to watch from an entirely neutral perspective. The issue, I think, was that each of the stages that was touted as "the one that would decide GC" just didn't really change much. Perhaps the redirected Queen stage would have made a difference, who knows? I can sit and watch cycling pretty much all day, and usually do during a GT, but this year Just didn't float my boat as normal.

Fair enough. I think any sport is more interesting if you have a particular interest in a participant. It needn’t be one you had at the start.
I enjoyed the breakaway wins, and there was a few.

ocdupalais

Crescent wrote:

I enjoyed the Eurosport coverage, thought the mix of presenters and commentators was just right. The last few days in the Dolomites were, visually at least, spectacular. The race itself was a bit flat though, can't quite put my finger on it but it just didn't excite me as much as a Grand Tour normally does. Nice to see a different face on top of the podium for a change. 5/10 for me.

Agree with that.
Eurosport pulled a blinder. Hopefully, it’s the blue print for upcoming GTs (and as such, it will render Kirby surplus to requirements : I can’t see any way he’ll dovetail into the level of wit and insight in the studio without jarring even more than usual).
Orla C was magnificent; Brian Smith has come alive (after being too diplomatic in the past) and Wiggins was sublime. The way the latter talks about the sport (prefers Giro to Tour; craving characters not robots, etc) - He could’ve been the standard BR forumite of the last 9 years who’s been complaining about the style of GT GC teams since Team Sky.

mididoctors

RichN95 wrote:

The Giros of the 2010s - Ranked! (based on GC battle)

10. 2012 - Rodriguez fails to beat a pedestrian Hesjedal. De Gendt(!) gets on the podium
9. 2013 - I just remember Visconti & the snow. Nibali won in second gear
8. 2014 - Quintana blunders his way to a soft win due to a controversial neutralised descent
7. 2019 - It finished yesterday.
6. 2011 - Contador wins with ease while out on bail. Then loses in court
5. 2017 - Dumoulin wins as Nibali and Quintana watched each other
4. 2016 - Nibali's comeback, assisted by Kruijswijk's snow blindness
3. 2015 - Contador triumphs against Astana
2. 2010 - Basso wins, but the muddy Strade and the great escape make it stand out
1. 2018 - The Wire/Breaking Bad/Game of Thrones of Grand Tour cycling.

2014 was a travesty. I quite like the 2012 race. Got to agree with your top 2 . More debatable 3 down.

mididoctors

RichN95 wrote:

mididoctors wrote:

Still way better than the worst giro I have ever seen which was the 2004 edition which I would struggle to give a 1

At least 2004 had Cunego and Simoni falling out.

Cunego and Petacchi won 13 out 21 stages between them .deathly dull


Honchar came second on GC !

tailwindhome

After Froome's 3 GT wins we've 3 first time winners in a row.

Pross

4 for me, below average with a lack of top draw contenders due to riders dropping out prior to the start or being forced to withdraw. Too many nothing stages and what should have been the main stage getting re-routed. There was the one stage that started crazily and looked like being a classic with the contenders being isolated after the first climb but they all sat up and let it get back together. The exception to dispel the rule that the Giro is the most exciting Grand Tour.

pblakeney

Pross wrote:

The exception to dispel the rule that the Giro is the most exciting Grand Tour.

Careful now. It still could be. :shock:
I predict a boring TdF and hope for a Vuelta redemption.

phreak

PBlakeney wrote:

Pross wrote:

The exception to dispel the rule that the Giro is the most exciting Grand Tour.

Careful now. It still could be. :shock:
I predict a boring TdF and hope for a Vuelta redemption.

With Sky having Froome, Thomas, Bernal and Poels all fresh, plus the usual support cast, it's hard to see anything but domination.

ugo.santalucia

Only a doping scandal can save the Tour...

Sutton_Rider

Commentary from Sean Kelly was so annoying (ya know, ya know, ya, ya, sniff, sniff) I had to use the mute button every time he opened his mouth. He may have been a good rider in his time, but that doesn't make him a commentator.

Dorset_Boy

Disappointing edition. Felt like the other contenders dropped one letting Carapaz escape and then never had enough to haul him back in. Movistar the only strong team, all others pretty weak, or worse.
Too many long dull early stages and then didn't make the most of the terrain available.

Positives: a new winner from a new country, plus how well Hugh Carthy rode, and Sivakov doing so well for a 21 yo. ES coverage.
Negatives: Yates being all mouth & no troos (keep your trap shut until the race is over Si!), Jumbo Visma having no team, no incentive for the sprinters to race beyond the second w/end, no GC action.

Bora management will feel vindicated in leaving Sam Bennett at home.

m.r.m.

Rick Chasey wrote:

If, as per some, you can't go lower than a five (so you're ranking it out of five) then it's 7 outa 10 (i.e. a two star).

2 (stars) of 5 is 40%. So how does it become 7 outa 10? Should be 4 of 10.

I don't understand the weird rules people have like every GT getting at least a 5 or something like that. Why can't certain editions just suck? When genuinely using the whole scoring range you get much better nuance over the years for each edition instead of all of them clumping up in the middle.

I'm sticking with my 1/10. :P

RichN95.

M.R.M. wrote:

I don't understand the weird rules people have like every GT getting at least a 5 or something like that. Why can't certain editions just suck? When genuinely using the whole scoring range you get much better nuance over the years for each edition instead of all of them clumping up in the middle.

I'm sticking with my 1/10. :P

I suppose they may be rating it as general entertainment, with 1s and 2s being reserved for snooker and marathon running

edward.s

It was OK - a 4 for me.

Sean Kelly has the most annoying monotone voice in the known universe. I'd rather watch live on S4C with commentary in Welsh than more of him :-)

No_Ta_Doctor

The main issue with the race was that there were so few places where it was possible to add to the GC narrative. You need a couple of leg stretchers in the first couple of weeks just so you can play the "who's looking strong?" game. You can't read the tea leaves with a glass of flat room temperature water.

So we waited, with nothing much to talk about, for the last week.

Then it transpired that even the last week was back-weighted so that everyone was saving themselves for the Saturday queen stage, so even then not much to talk about. Saturday's stage could have saved the race, started really promisingly, but then it all came back together and bugger all happened again.

No_Ta_Doctor

RichN95 wrote:

M.R.M. wrote:

I don't understand the weird rules people have like every GT getting at least a 5 or something like that. Why can't certain editions just suck? When genuinely using the whole scoring range you get much better nuance over the years for each edition instead of all of them clumping up in the middle.

I'm sticking with my 1/10. :P

I suppose they may be rating it as general entertainment, with 1s and 2s being reserved for snooker and marathon running

If 1 and 2s are snooker and marathon running we need negative numbers for this years CL final.

RichN95.

It was like a ten part Scandi Noir series (series 2).

In episode 1 the victim's husband looks really dodgy, it's definitely him. Although the step-father does have form and the victim's secret lover is a suspect. The creepy colleague was a big suspect but then got killed in an accident in episode 2.

Episode 3. it's definitely the husband - case closed.

The secret lover's best friend turns up out of nowhere in episode 4 and the police question him for some reason, but it's definitely not him.
By episode 7 they're still questioning the lover's friend. Why? It's clearly not him. The husband looks less likely, the step-father is looking more suspect. Big twist coming. The internet has theories galore.

Episode 10 and in turns out it was the lover's friend all along. Then everyone remembers he was that slightly violent bloke from Series 1. Worst. Show. Ever. (It didn't help that most of the first four episodes were dominated by a sub-plot about local council elections)


(In series 1, everyone had convinced themselves that the quietly spoken serial killer couldn't possibly have done it)

m.r.m.

Think in order to fully appreciate this post, we need the roles casted with the riders.

Also, the Danish version of "The Killing" was one of the worst series I've ever seen. Quite like the end of Game of Thrones which was a dumpster fire that a hobo took a dump on.

RichN95.

M.R.M. wrote:

Think in order to fully appreciate this post, we need the roles casted with the riders.

Also, the Danish version of "The Killing" was one of the worst series I've ever seen. Quite like the end of Game of Thrones which was a dumpster fire that a hobo took a dump on.

I thought that was quite clear. Husband - Roglic, creepy bloke - Dumoulin (not that he's creepy), stepdad - Nibali, lover - Landa, lover's friend - Carapaz. Local council candidates (a reference to The Killing) - the sprinters

Edit: And the quietly spoken serial killer from series 1 - Froome

m.r.m.

Chapeau! Like the analogy quite a bit!

bm5

So Simon is the victim in both series?!
Great plot summary.

jerry3571

I did enjoy breakaways and first time winners of older pros. The stage where the sprint was foiled on the line (Thursday??) was a great stage. Lots of Italian winners for the Italian race was great too. The Italian crowd were great all except for one or two bits and it's the home of grand Tours with the Italians knowing their beans.
Just got to remind Mr Hatch that his fantastic diction and prenouncuation of multiple languages simultaneously makes him indesypherable (spelling??)
If Simon Gerrans says Ay Jee Two R then it's that. Not Ahhhh sheee deux ugh!! How jumped up can you be :?

DeVlaeminck

Crescent wrote:

I enjoyed the Eurosport coverage, thought the mix of presenters and commentators was just right.

Yes I enjoyed the coverage and I suspect without Orla, Brad, Bryan et al I might have scored the race a point less.

I did wonder if I should try and factor out the coverage in my score - maybe I'm overthinking this .

mididoctors

Wiggins saved this giro

kingstongraham

Too much rain. Italy must sort this out.

rick_chasey

mididoctors wrote:

Wiggins saved this giro

First for everything

mididoctors

KingstonGraham wrote:

Too much rain. Italy must sort this out.

I thought the rain was supposed to be a plus point