Rate the Race: Giro d'Italia 2020

No_Ta_Doctor

So what marks out of ten do you give it?

No_Ta_Doctor

Now we've had a couple of days for it to sink in, how do you rate the Giro 2020?

For me, the GC didn't light up until Tao's late charge. We lost a lot of potential contenders to accident/covid and the old guard faded out with more of a whimper than a bang. There didn't seem to be much of a story in the fight for lesser jerseys. The rain shortening was a low point as well, whichever view you take of the decision.

On the positive side, Tao, the continued emergence of youth this season, some decent breakaway wins and it actually got to Milan.

8 for me, Tao and getting to the finish being worth a point each.

Pross

8 for me, lots of very good stages with few predictable wins plus the late changes in GC. Marked down a bit due to several favourites disappearing early but ultimately that probably made for the better race. I was tempted to drop it to a 7 for the shortened stage and re-routed Sestriere finish but in the end that didn't seem to negatively affect the racing. The organisers did a pretty good job in getting through some major challenges (still some typical Giro issues there though).

DeVlaeminck

Pross said:

8 for me, lots of very good stages with few predictable wins plus the late changes in GC. Marked down a bit due to several favourites disappearing early but ultimately that probably made for the better race. I was tempted to drop it to a 7 for the shortened stage and re-routed Sestriere finish but in the end that didn't seem to negatively affect the racing. The organisers did a pretty good job in getting through some major challenges (still some typical Giro issues there though).

Same here

andyp

A solid 7 for me, even with TGH winning (who I've known of since he was a youth rider at Herne Hill velodrome).

Some great individual performances, from the likes of Ganna, Demare, Hindley, Dennis, Almeida and the aforementioned TGH, and solid team work from the likes of Decuenick, FDJ, Ineos and Sunweb.

bobmcstuff

Need to think about it... Gut says 7 but heart says 8 for Tao's win. Plus the fact it actually finished seems pretty remarkable.

A few other good things about it: Almeida's ride was very gutsy - kept attacking right to the very end, Dowsett's breakaway win made me happy at least, Ganna's domination of the TTs was very impressive if not necessarily exciting (and his road stage win was a good watch too, with the bickering between De Gendt and Rubio). Probably some other stuff I forgot about.

Overall it was a very watchable edition.

No_Ta_Doctor

Pross said:

8 for me, lots of very good stages with few predictable wins plus the late changes in GC. Marked down a bit due to several favourites disappearing early but ultimately that probably made for the better race. I was tempted to drop it to a 7 for the shortened stage and re-routed Sestriere finish but in the end that didn't seem to negatively affect the racing. The organisers did a pretty good job in getting through some major challenges (still some typical Giro issues there though).

The few predictable wins is disputable - 4 sprint stages and 3 TTs that always looked like foregone conclusions.

bobmcstuff

Pross said:

8 for me, lots of very good stages with few predictable wins plus the late changes in GC. Marked down a bit due to several favourites disappearing early but ultimately that probably made for the better race. I was tempted to drop it to a 7 for the shortened stage and re-routed Sestriere finish but in the end that didn't seem to negatively affect the racing. The organisers did a pretty good job in getting through some major challenges (still some typical Giro issues there though).

For me the shortened stage actually added a lot of extra interest on what would have probably been a fairly dull day anyway - 253 pan flat km with a sprint finish would have been a bit of a non-event (I appreciate it may have affected the subsequent racing, but that's all hypothetical). Whereas the rider protest and so on generated a lot more in the way of drama and talking points...

TheBigBean

I think the average GT rating is 8. It always seems the most popular choice.

kingstongraham

No massive Ineos fan, but all of their wins were really impressive and good to watch. Plus Sagan's was a great stage, Demare just dominant, the Stelvio stage was beautiful and brutal, and a GC contest until the last ten minutes. It was a good parcours, and raced (mostly) the way you'd want to see.

Point off for losing the two big pre-race GC contenders and the curtailed stage 19.

bobmcstuff

TheBigBean said:

I think the average GT rating is 8. It always seems the most popular choice.

People on bike race forum like watching bike races... Shock.

mididoctors

Good race moments a plenty. Sagan's win , Rogan Dennis etc ...Base 6 .. +1 for cheering us up during Covid .... +1 for controversial stage 19 and covid controversy ...yes plus 1 ... It added to this tour meaning the drama is actually good this time round .. that's right you hear it straight .

Then plus 1 cos Tao is from my club .. and I have clung onto dowsetts wheel a fair few times ...feels personnel

Plus 1 for the never ending debate about hindley Vs wilco and what this giro means

So 10 ... Maybe 8/9 in reality without local bias glasses

mididoctors

bobmcstuff said:

Pross said:

8 for me, lots of very good stages with few predictable wins plus the late changes in GC. Marked down a bit due to several favourites disappearing early but ultimately that probably made for the better race. I was tempted to drop it to a 7 for the shortened stage and re-routed Sestriere finish but in the end that didn't seem to negatively affect the racing. The organisers did a pretty good job in getting through some major challenges (still some typical Giro issues there though).

For me the shortened stage actually added a lot of extra interest on what would have probably been a fairly dull day anyway - 253 pan flat km with a sprint finish would have been a bit of a non-event (I appreciate it may have affected the subsequent racing, but that's all hypothetical). Whereas the rider protest and so on generated a lot more in the way of drama and talking points...

Exactly this drama added to the debate

TheBigBean

bobmcstuff said:

TheBigBean said:

I think the average GT rating is 8. It always seems the most popular choice.

People on bike race forum like watching bike races... Shock.

Yes, but their enjoyment could vary depending on the quality of the GT.

No_Ta_Doctor

TheBigBean said:

bobmcstuff said:

TheBigBean said:

I think the average GT rating is 8. It always seems the most popular choice.

People on bike race forum like watching bike races... Shock.

Yes, but their enjoyment could vary depending on the quality of the GT.

While it may be the usual most popular choice (I've not checked) that doesn't mean the same people are voting the same way (though I think I gave the TdF a 8 too)

flite

9
I am nowhere near as knowledgeable as you lot, but I thought the race was really absorbing. Never knew from one day to the next what would happen. Rushed to switch on to watch every day - s4c - I don't speak Welsh, but I could understand the commentators more than the few occassions I have tried to listen to Kelly!
So happy for Dowsett!

mrb123

8 from me.

A thrilling GC battle throughout after the disappointment of the early exits for G and Yates. Loved the final two mountain stages

A mark off for the lack of real competition for Demare in the sprints - the Tour sprint stages were definitely more closely fought this year.

Ganna an absolute joy to behold in the TTs and a wonderful stage win too.

The Sagan stage was great although possibly not the race of the century Rob.

mrfpb

I've only watched since 2018, so have to compare across GTs as a whole. This was a great GT, far less predictable than most.

I did ask on the stage 21 thread (but no one replied) if there is a record for different riders wearing the jersey in the last week. Four riders in 5 days must be unusual. And the winner donning it for the first time after the finish must be rare too.

Bad - The riders strike on stage 19 - I think they were in the right, and the organisers should have had a good faith negotiation rather than bad mouthing the peleton on the TV. No one looked dignified by the time racing started.

Coronavirus taking out two key teams.

The early sunset putting the starts so early that it was all over before my work day finished.

One hour of poor quality highlights on Quest (30ish minutes of actual race coverage) vs. 2 hours of highlights with Welsh commentary on S4C (Freeview - iPlayer). S4C won out for the third week.


Good - the aforementioned last week game of pass the Pink.

Almeida's fightback after losing Pink was inspiring - I wish he'd got on the podium instead of Kelderman

Ganna - it's easy to say three TT wins was predictable, but his ability to pull it off was remarkable. Adding in a road stage was just showing off!

Even more young riders challenging for GC.

The top two riders on the same time after stager 20. The end result wasn't close but it added excitement to the start of the final day.

blazing_saddles

I see that the Cyclingnews forum poll had the vast majority voting for 7 or 8.
Here it's 8 or 9.
I was interested to see how having a UK winner would boost things here.

bobmcstuff

blazing_saddles said:

I see that the Cyclingnews forum poll had the vast majority voting for 7 or 8.
Here it's 8 or 9.
I was interested to see how having a UK winner would boost things here.

I think 7 or 8 is fair... I'll probably go for 8. 9 seems a bit OTT but that's just my opinion.

Isn't CN largely UK?

No_Ta_Doctor

Eagerly awaiting @iainf72's input, we need the definitive answer.

phreak

The uncertainty was a definite plus point, with the race open right to the very end. While the calendar plus crashes/covid weakened the field, it nonetheless meant the race was contested by largely new faces at this level, which was refreshing.

In all honesty though, the race was made by the Stelvio. It's an incredibly beautiful mountain and provided the epicness that the Tour route lacked. That the race was blown open on its lower slopes with a long way to go made it a truly memorable stage.

Lanterne_Rogue

A proper GT should have some interesting stuff happening at the front end, a bit of whinging about pointless sprint stages, then a slow turning of the screw as the race and narrative cranks into gear. Felt like this one delivered on that and the pay off at the end was totally worth it. Give it a couple of years and the only thing people will remember is stages 18. 20 and 21 and it'll be thought of as a classic.

m.r.m.

I really didn't like it. Most true contenders crashed out (crash or Covid), Almeida wore the jersey for 2 weeks with not much of a challenge. The eventual podium pretty much just followed wheels, with minor attacks at the very end.

To me it didn't feel like Tao announced himself on the grand stage in a massive way like Bernal or Pogacar or even Roglic in the past. He was more like the best of the remaining rest.

exlaser

After the first week I would have given it a 6 . I thought it going to be was a tour fought over by old stagers and nearly men But the sheer unpredictablity of the of the the last couple of weeks and never knowing if jai or TGH could go the whole distance I have given it a 9

andyp

m.r.m. said:

I really didn't like it. Most true contenders crashed out (crash or Covid), Almeida wore the jersey for 2 weeks with not much of a challenge. The eventual podium pretty much just followed wheels, with minor attacks at the very end.

To me it didn't feel like Tao announced himself on the grand stage in a massive way like Bernal or Pogacar or even Roglic in the past. He was more like the best of the remaining rest.

Who pi$$ed on your chips?

kingstongraham

Stages 5, 10 and 18 on their own justify more than a 3, even if the GC didn't excite you.

bobmcstuff

blazing_saddles said:

I see that the Cyclingnews forum poll had the vast majority voting for 7 or 8.
Here it's 8 or 9.
I was interested to see how having a UK winner would boost things here.

Here it is solidly 8 with an even split between 7 and 9, actually...

m.r.m.

andyp said:

m.r.m. said:

I really didn't like it. Most true contenders crashed out (crash or Covid), Almeida wore the jersey for 2 weeks with not much of a challenge. The eventual podium pretty much just followed wheels, with minor attacks at the very end.

To me it didn't feel like Tao announced himself on the grand stage in a massive way like Bernal or Pogacar or even Roglic in the past. He was more like the best of the remaining rest.

Who pi$$ed on your chips?

Nobody. I think I have given out comparatively high marks on the last few GT's. Just didn't think this one was as good. To me it seems like plenty are influenced by who won instead of how it happened.

Lanterne_Rogue

Sounded fair to me, even if I disagree with you.

jam1e

1 bonus point for TGH winning.
1 bonus point for RD turning out to be the new Kiriyenka but even better/worse depending on your point of view.
1 bonus point for the fact that Majka, Fuglsang etc didn't inherit a win.