Rate The Race: Tour de France 2019

No_Ta_Doctor
No_Ta_Doctor Posts: 14,692
edited August 2019 in Pro race
Yeah I know we've got about a million Tour discussion threads already, but we need the standard quantitative poll as well.

So, rate the race from 1 to 10, on the basis of whatever entirely subjective criteria you want.
Did you hate it because Ineos won?
Did you love it because you despise Dimension Data and they didn't turn up?
Did you *shock* quite like it because it was close, but didn't think it was fantastic because of the washout in the Alps?
Give it a score.
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Comments

  • tailwindhome
    tailwindhome Posts: 19,459
    I gave it an 8 which is a 9

    Really enjoyed it.
    “New York has the haircuts, London has the trousers, but Belfast has the reason!
  • shirley_basso
    shirley_basso Posts: 6,195
    7.

    Lacked genuine GC action as we knew JA was gonna fade at the end although the TT was unexpected

    Loss of the last 2 stages can’t be overlooked.

    Otherwise, stage by stage it was epic, just lacked a really enthralling GC competition.
  • No_Ta_Doctor
    No_Ta_Doctor Posts: 14,692
    7 for me.
    Had the potential for 9, if it hadn't been for Pinot's abandon and the shortened Alps stages.

    I particularly liked the tactical pinch on Sky needing to shift Alaphilippe whilst not leaving themselves open to a Pinot attack.
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  • No_Ta_Doctor
    No_Ta_Doctor Posts: 14,692
    TailWindHome wrote:
    I gave it an 8 which is a 9

    Really enjoyed it.

    I have no idea what you mean.... :oops:
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  • shirley_basso
    shirley_basso Posts: 6,195
    I wasn’t following closely enough to follow that part but his abandon and shortening of final stages was a serious blow to making it an epic.
  • specialgueststar
    specialgueststar Posts: 3,418
    Straight 9. 10 if there was a stronger sprinting group - seemed a bit under par
  • DeadCalm
    DeadCalm Posts: 4,249
    8. If Pinot hadn't been forced to abandon it would probably have been a 9.
  • RichN95.
    RichN95. Posts: 27,262
    SpecialGuestStar wrote:
    Straight 9. 10 if there was a stronger sprinting group - seemed a bit under par
    Which sprinter would have made it better? Gaviria?
    Twitter: @RichN95
  • alanparsons
    alanparsons Posts: 529
    RichN95 wrote:
    SpecialGuestStar wrote:
    Straight 9. 10 if there was a stronger sprinting group - seemed a bit under par
    Which sprinter would have made it better? Gaviria?

    Cav obviously, by not being there everyone begins to to believe he would have won the all the sprint stages.
    Interesting that DDD's sprint choice for this weekend at Ride London-Surrey is Renshaw ?!?

    8/10 from me.
  • mididoctors
    mididoctors Posts: 18,912
    9 minus one for alpine weather.
    "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 pm
  • N0bodyOfTheGoat
    N0bodyOfTheGoat Posts: 6,066
    Lowered to 7 due to the crucial final two race stages being cut to ribbons as a result of the weather, the first one retrospectively based on times over the Iseran summit.
    ================
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  • No_Ta_Doctor
    No_Ta_Doctor Posts: 14,692
    I'm interested in the vote for "1". It's something of an outlier.

    Chris Froome, is that you?
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  • m.r.m.
    m.r.m. Posts: 3,486
    Was an 8 for me. Really liked it a lot. Weather and timing of Pinot injury cost it full marks. That being said, even Pinot abandoning in anguish had value. I really feel for him. Hope he can come back with a vengeance!
    PTP Champion 2019, 2022 & 2023
  • specialgueststar
    specialgueststar Posts: 3,418
    RichN95 wrote:
    SpecialGuestStar wrote:
    Straight 9. 10 if there was a stronger sprinting group - seemed a bit under par
    Which sprinter would have made it better? Gaviria?

    It seemed like the sprinters there were mis firing in the first week. Didn't feel like there were those epic sprinter battles of other years. Ewan seemed to get better form as it went on . No dominant shows
  • bobmcstuff
    bobmcstuff Posts: 11,444
    SpecialGuestStar wrote:
    Straight 9. 10 if there was a stronger sprinting group - seemed a bit under par
    No way could that have been a 10, the finale ended up being a bit of a damp squib.

    If there had been the drama of stage 19 shortening with stage 20 going ahead in full (and being good) then I could have got on board with a 10. But the last two proper stages both being shortened takes the edge off.
  • rick_chasey
    rick_chasey Posts: 75,660
    No tA Doctor wrote:
    I'm interested in the vote for "1". It's something of an outlier.

    Chris Froome, is that you?

    Someone who reaaally hates alaphilippe ;)
    _
  • coopster_the_1st
    coopster_the_1st Posts: 5,158
    A 7 from me

    Losing Pinot and the 2 weather affected stages lowered it a couple of points.

    Also disappointed so many other GC contenders fell away when they had a great chance (Quintana, Yates, Porte, Bardet, Landa, etc, etc). Also the lack of attacking from Kruijswijk & Buchmann took the shine off it while they settled for 3rd and 4th places.

    However there were lots of positives.

    - The route was really good
    - Alaphilippe. Was suspect of his performance initially but warmed to his gritty determined riding in the last week while trying to defend the maillot jaune
    - The breakaway wins
    - The amiable winner and the way he conducts himself
    - Sagan achieving green jersey record
  • DeVlaeminck
    DeVlaeminck Posts: 9,108
    8 Really enjoyed it but the story was "can Allaphilippe hang in" rather than two established heavyweights trading blows so I suspect it may not go down as a particularly historic edition however engaging it was at the time.
    [Castle Donington Ladies FC - going up in '22]
  • salsiccia1
    salsiccia1 Posts: 3,725
    8.5, so I rounded it up (I'm generous like that). Great edition.
    It's only a bit of sport, Mun. Relax and enjoy the racing.
  • craigus89
    craigus89 Posts: 887
    I give it an 8. Could have been a 10 if the final two stages weren't curtailed, and if TD/CF were racing and Pinot was able to keep going and keep the GC alive.

    There was plenty enough sprinting for me.
  • specialgueststar
    specialgueststar Posts: 3,418
    bobmcstuff wrote:
    SpecialGuestStar wrote:
    Straight 9. 10 if there was a stronger sprinting group - seemed a bit under par
    No way could that have been a 10, the finale ended up being a bit of a damp squib.

    If there had been the drama of stage 19 shortening with stage 20 going ahead in full (and being good) then I could have got on board with a 10. But the last two proper stages both being shortened takes the edge off.

    True enough. A bit of reflection - it was an 8 (.5) . At the time the cataclysm and drama of an alpine shut down contributed to the uniqueness of this Tour but in effect it needed that resolution. I think it had been decided ( stopped in the 10th rather than a KO) but it still had some legs - couldn't see much changing though just time gaps stretching ( perhaps Buchmann still had something? ) A very entertaining Tour.
  • Dorset_Boy
    Dorset_Boy Posts: 7,611
    8 for me. Routes was good, being roadside for 18, 19, & 20 having ridden the Etape perhaps helped and being in the middle of the storms in Valloire and Tignes added to the drama. The deflation of the French when Pinot abandoned and JA was dropped was like England messing up another penalty shootout.
    Think the route was good and there was a definite feeling of can JA hang on. Shame that S20 couldn't take place in full as someone might have lost the tour on the second descent to add further drama.
  • kingstongraham
    kingstongraham Posts: 28,228
    Shirley Basso wrote:
    Lacked genuine GC action as we knew JA was gonna fade at the end

    Didn't we also "know" he was going to struggle in the Pyrenees?
  • kingstongraham
    kingstongraham Posts: 28,228
    10 up till the curtailed stages and loses a point there, and the crazy decision to award times part way through an abandoned mountain stage knocks it down another point.
  • Pross
    Pross Posts: 43,597
    7 for me, I thought it would be a 9 after the first 2 weeks but it just petered out a bit partly due to the shortened stages and there were more of the traditional transition stages in the final week. GC battle was close throughout but no-one really risked it all for glory. It will always suffer from 'if Froome and / or Dumoulin had been there' which is unfair on Bernal who didn't put a foot wrong and probably had more to give if it was needed. Benefited from the lack of a single GC team or sprint team dominating. I'm starting to think I was harsh and an 8 would have been more appropriate.
  • Pross
    Pross Posts: 43,597
    KingstonGraham wrote:
    10 up till the curtailed stages and loses a point there, and the crazy decision to award times part way through an abandoned mountain stage knocks it down another point.

    Would have been more crazy not to have awarded times and penalise a rider who had attacked and dropped the yellow jersey.
  • diplodicus
    diplodicus Posts: 722
    9
    No objective reason, just thoroughly enjoyed it
  • mrfpb
    mrfpb Posts: 4,569
    I've only been watching for a few years, so it's the first time I've seen the race without Froome. I give it a 10 due to openess of GC going in to week 3 and the changes to 19 and 20 added to the drama for me. Not much the teams could do on 19, but the need to adapt to changes on 20 ws a tester.

    The ability of Ineos to look totally out of the race after two weeks, but then pull it out of the hat on stage19 was like a repeat of Froome's win at the Giro.

    Someone commented on the Fròme thread that he can win a GT when not at his 100% best. Ineos have proved it's not just Froome, it's a team thing.

    While I like/admire Ineos I was hoping the French would have their day. Alaphillipe lit up the race and Pinot seemed to time his peak to perfection; but it wasn't to be.
  • Dorset_Boy
    Dorset_Boy Posts: 7,611
    KingstonGraham wrote:
    10 up till the curtailed stages and loses a point there, and the crazy decision to award times part way through an abandoned mountain stage knocks it down another point.

    Curious as to what alternative you think there was as there wasn't another official timing point until the finish by which time they would have crashed on the ice and then crashed at 50 mph into the mudslide....?!
  • kingstongraham
    kingstongraham Posts: 28,228
    Dorset Boy wrote:
    KingstonGraham wrote:
    10 up till the curtailed stages and loses a point there, and the crazy decision to award times part way through an abandoned mountain stage knocks it down another point.

    Curious as to what alternative you think there was as there wasn't another official timing point until the finish by which time they would have crashed on the ice and then crashed at 50 mph into the mudslide....?!

    Stage was abandoned - no times.

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