Tour of California FAIL

iainf72
iainf72 Posts: 15,784
edited February 2010 in Pro race
Move to May - Yay. better weather and we can have a mountain top finish.

Except, no mountain top finish. Instead we get this

http://www.cyclingnews.com/news/tour-of ... ge-details

I'm sure it'll be a fine race but the lack of a proper mountain top finish is a bit lame.
Fckin' Quintana … that creep can roll, man.

Comments

  • afx237vi
    afx237vi Posts: 12,630
    Finish is in the town instead of on the summit. A shame, but money talks.
  • mididoctors
    mididoctors Posts: 16,903
    a strong team cresting the top with a split?
    "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
  • pottssteve
    pottssteve Posts: 4,069
    The wife's not going to be happy if Eurospoilsport are showing this and the Giro in May..... :lol:
    Head Hands Heart Lungs Legs
  • blazing_saddles
    blazing_saddles Posts: 21,828
    So they move another major race, which is able to host any number of MTFs, to late March, when it's not so easy. Cali could have had that spot, if they were going to trudge out the same old formula.

    The real point was to produce a much tougher, more competitive race, not something that still resembles a February, "get the miles under the belt", training race.
    "Science is a tool for cheaters". An anonymous French PE teacher.
  • pedro118118
    pedro118118 Posts: 1,102
    Why any non-American genuine stage-race contender would want to ride this ahead of the Giro is completely beyond me - aside from enourmous sponsor pressure.

    I can understand the likes of Garmin, Shack and BMC embracing the opportunity to whoop, holler, make cow-horn gestures with their hands and wear their baseball caps backwards etc, but really.................what a let down.
  • dulldave
    dulldave Posts: 949
    Blazing Saddles wrote:
    So they move another major race, which is able to host any number of MTFs, to late March, when it's not so easy. Cali could have had that spot, if they were going to trudge out the same old formula.

    The real point was to produce a much tougher, more competitive race, not something that still resembles a February, "get the miles under the belt", training race.

    I think the real point was not to show California as a rainy cold place, but the argument they may have used was to produce a better race. It doesn't look like they have, just dilutes the Giro a bit.
    Scottish and British...and a bit French
  • takethehighroad
    takethehighroad Posts: 6,652
    pedro118118 wrote:
    Why any non-American genuine stage-race contender would want to ride this ahead of the Giro is completely beyond me - aside from enourmous sponsor pressure.

    I can understand the likes of Garmin, Shack and BMC embracing the opportunity to whoop, holler, make cow-horn gestures with their hands and wear their baseball caps backwards etc, but really.................what a let down.

    Mega lolz
  • pedro118118
    pedro118118 Posts: 1,102
    Not really sure the Giro is diluted, as the Amercian teams/riders generally only use it for Tour prep in any event, so rarely challenge/animate the race or provide any kind of challenge to the highly motivated Italians.

    Recent exceptions to that rule I suppose are Menchov and Bertie, but Menchov has a long connection with Italy and Bertie was banned from the Tour the year he won, so had little choice.
  • dulldave
    dulldave Posts: 949
    pedro118118 wrote:
    Not really sure the Giro is diluted, as the Amercian teams/riders generally only use it for Tour prep in any event, so rarely challenge/animate the race or provide any kind of challenge to the highly motivated Italians.

    Recent exceptions to that rule I suppose are Menchov and Bertie, but Menchov has a long connection with Italy and Bertie was banned from the Tour the year he won, so had little choice.

    Cav versus Petacchi last year? Farrar also took a stage didn't he?
    Scottish and British...and a bit French
  • pedro118118
    pedro118118 Posts: 1,102
    Yeah, I suppose the sprints were pretty entertaining, actually - point taken.

    Overall though, there was little non-italian focus to shout about. I seem to recall Levi was hotly tipped to challenge, but ended up being towed up the mountains by Armstrong in the final week. Apart from the last two years, it's been all Italians on the GC since the early 90s hasn't it?

    Funniest of all was Cadel Evans saying that he wasn't riding the Giro (his goal was a top 25 finish at the Tour as it turned out) and then having the audacity to have a go at the organisers for using his name to promote the event?! Personally, can't imagine the Giro's profile being notably boosted by the inclusion of the 'limpet', but each to their own?!
  • DaveyL
    DaveyL Posts: 5,167
    He was a helluva limpet in Mendrisio.

    I quite enjoyed the ToC last year - their live web coverage was excellent, albeit with a fair amount of promo bits and Amgen execs bro-mancing. I seem to recall some pretty good racing on a few stages as well. Will be interesting to see how different the race is this year with its new slot.
    Le Blaireau (1)
  • Abdoujaparov
    Abdoujaparov Posts: 642
    I reckon the course should be quite exciting. Ok, you're not going to get any true 'sorting out' of the GC contenders with no mountain top finishes, but the Bakersfield stage sounds interesting with that ten per center that can be used to launch attacks and the Big Bear stage should give us a frantic finish. A couple of the GC contender climbers will have to attack on the last climb and the non-climbers going for GC will face a torturous last 10k to reel them in. Could come down to the last few hundred metres...
  • PauloBets
    PauloBets Posts: 108
    T of California as an event will force the giro managers to shape up, stop the silly stages of 2008-2009. Competition is good.
  • pedro118118
    pedro118118 Posts: 1,102
    "Shape up" - the Giro has been by far the most innovative and excting GT parcour for the last few years - short summit finishes, mountain TTs, gravel roads, 70 km TTs, TTT prologues etc. Somes riders have moaned about certain stages being too extreme?!
  • The Prodigy
    The Prodigy Posts: 832
    I would agree that I don't really think the Giro needs to shape up, you could argue that it is consistently the better of the GT's
  • teagar
    teagar Posts: 2,100
    The Prodigy wrote:
    I would agree that I don't really think the Giro needs to shape up, you could argue that it is consistently the better of the GT's

    It'd be better if the cream of the world class GC riders took it more seriously, like an older Andy Schleck and Contador when he's allowed into the Tour, rather than the 2nd rung GC riders like Menchov, who seem to take the Giro as much because they know they can't win the tour than anything else.
    Note: the above post is an opinion and not fact. It might be a lie.
  • blazing_saddles
    blazing_saddles Posts: 21,828
    PauloBets wrote:
    T of California as an event will force the giro managers to shape up, stop the silly stages of 2008-2009. Competition is good.

    Which stages are you referring to? :?
    As Pedro says, the Giro has set the most innovative and testing routes of all, during the past decade.

    As for the T of Cali, how is only beefing up one stage, but leave the rest looking just like the February event, innovative?
    The Tour of Georgia manged a MTF, in April.
    Instead of going down the Giro/Catalunya route, California seems to be heading in the direction of all the other May stage races: Dunkerque, Picardie and Belgium. :oops:

    So much for Bob Stapleton's 4th Grand Tour fantasy hype.
    "Science is a tool for cheaters". An anonymous French PE teacher.
  • DaveyL
    DaveyL Posts: 5,167
    Blazing Saddles wrote:
    PauloBets wrote:
    T of California as an event will force the giro managers to shape up, stop the silly stages of 2008-2009. Competition is good.

    Which stages are you referring to? :?
    As Pedro says, the Giro has set the most innovative and testing routes of all, during the past decade.

    Perhaps referring to all of last year's route? I seem to recall certain forum members decreed it to be a flat chipper...
    Le Blaireau (1)
  • blazing_saddles
    blazing_saddles Posts: 21,828
    DaveyL wrote:

    Perhaps referring to all of last year's route? I seem to recall certain forum members decreed it to be a flat chipper...

    Ah yes, my memory fails.
    Still, those landslides and RAI tv were more to blame than the bosses.

    Not sure that Cali can have any excuses, given that they were handed such a prime slot and have only changed 1 stage and have no uphill finish.
    "Science is a tool for cheaters". An anonymous French PE teacher.
  • DaveyL
    DaveyL Posts: 5,167
    Surely by that time of the year the riders are wanting a harder course - especially those who are riding the Tour. Oh well, maybe we'll get some good racing anyway.
    Le Blaireau (1)
  • iainf72
    iainf72 Posts: 15,784
    DaveyL wrote:
    Surely by that time of the year the riders are wanting a harder course - especially those who are riding the Tour. Oh well, maybe we'll get some good racing anyway.

    I have no interest in that American Freedom Fryer. If nothing else, at least the Italians will have random shots of any hotties the camera man happens to see.
    Fckin' Quintana … that creep can roll, man.
  • dennisn
    dennisn Posts: 10,601
    iainf72 wrote:
    DaveyL wrote:
    Surely by that time of the year the riders are wanting a harder course - especially those who are riding the Tour. Oh well, maybe we'll get some good racing anyway.

    I have no interest in that American Freedom Fryer. If nothing else, at least the Italians will have random shots of any hotties the camera man happens to see.

    Sounds like you're getting a little jaded about cycling. Keep repeating to yourself over and over - It's only a bike race - It's only a bike race - It's only......
  • iainf72
    iainf72 Posts: 15,784
    dennisn wrote:
    Sounds like you're getting a little jaded about cycling. Keep repeating to yourself over and over - It's only a bike race - It's only a bike race - It's only......

    I keep having flash backs to when cycling was cool...

    http://i38.tinypic.com/2nauteg.gif

    On a seriously note, I'm looking forward to both the Giro and California. It's a pity they didn't put a summit finish in as they're hard to beat. 10 miles along a flat road towards the finish ain't as inspiring.
    Fckin' Quintana … that creep can roll, man.
  • dennisn
    dennisn Posts: 10,601
    iainf72 wrote:
    dennisn wrote:
    Sounds like you're getting a little jaded about cycling. Keep repeating to yourself over and over - It's only a bike race - It's only a bike race - It's only......

    I keep having flash backs to when cycling was cool...

    http://i38.tinypic.com/2nauteg.gif

    C'mon, cycling is still cool. You probably just did too many drugs in the 60's :D:D

    Great dogs eye view.

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