Race of the year 2020

No_Ta_Doctor said:

Pross said:

ddraver said:

Hmmm, struggling to pick an absolute standout...

Lots of B+ days but no obvious A*

Tough crowd! We had two rides of the century in two days at the Giro (according to Hatch).

Lots of unpredictable racing in the post lockdown season.

Totally agree. Well, not with the "ride of the century" hype, Sagan's win was good but it was only a Giro stage win. The Stelvio stage was far bigger, completely exploded the GC. The Tour TT will be talked about in 50 years time. It's up there with Lemond/Fignon.

They were all interesting because of the situation or the history though. None of the races were Epic because they were Epic races.


The Tour TT being the best example. No TT can be great on its own, it's a TT! Borefest Central.

I'm sure it is blasphemy to say it on here, (and it should be noted i watched the stage well after the fact in Welsh which i don't understand), but the Stelvio stage would have been much more exciting if we had a bit more track record to go on for the main protagonists.

As such, it was two relative unknowns bursting out of seemingly nowhere to go for it.

It wasn't the "OMG IT'S THE HEAVYWEIGHTS GOING HARD AT EM" vibe, and so that definitely tamed my excitement for it.

I mean, were either of them even going for GC until after the stage?

Maybe if they both continue the trajectory we'll see it differently in hindsight.

rick_chasey said:

I'm sure it is blasphemy to say it on here, (and it should be noted i watched the stage well after the fact in Welsh which i don't understand), but the Stelvio stage would have been much more exciting if we had a bit more track record to go on for the main protagonists.

As such, it was two relative unknowns bursting out of seemingly nowhere to go for it.

It wasn't the "OMG IT'S THE HEAVYWEIGHTS GOING HARD AT EM" vibe, and so that definitely tamed my excitement for it.

I mean, were either of them even going for GC until after the stage?

Maybe if they both continue the trajectory we'll see it differently in hindsight.

I can't remember what happened, so presumably that means I agree with you.

mrb123 said:

TheBigBean said:

rick_chasey said:

I'm sure it is blasphemy to say it on here, (and it should be noted i watched the stage well after the fact in Welsh which i don't understand), but the Stelvio stage would have been much more exciting if we had a bit more track record to go on for the main protagonists.

As such, it was two relative unknowns bursting out of seemingly nowhere to go for it.

It wasn't the "OMG IT'S THE HEAVYWEIGHTS GOING HARD AT EM" vibe, and so that definitely tamed my excitement for it.

I mean, were either of them even going for GC until after the stage?

Maybe if they both continue the trajectory we'll see it differently in hindsight.

I can't remember what happened, so presumably that means I agree with you.

A man tried to put a jacket on for quite some time.

But I watched that David Millar documentary, and that happened there too! Too many races in too short a time for my memory.

TheBigBean said:

I've gone back to remind myself. It was the "should Hindley have waited for Kelderman stage". Anyway, it doesn't get my vote.

I really liked the main contenders in the tour racing the classics. That was the highlight for me this year.

No, it was the "Dennis blows the field apart on the beautiful mountain" stage.

RichN95. said:

rick_chasey said:

RichN95. said:

mrb123 said:

Pross said:

ddraver said:

Hmmm, struggling to pick an absolute standout...

Lots of B+ days but no obvious A*

Tough crowd! We had two rides of the century in two days at the Giro (according to Hatch).

Lots of unpredictable racing in the post lockdown season.

Hatch's two rides of the century weren't even the two rides of the Giro!

I proclaimed Dennis's Stelvio effort as one of the greatest domestique performances of modern times, and I stand by it. Although he matched it, maybe even surpassed it soon after.

I guess I want to remind you of your nibali argument and suggest the field was unusually weak which might have flattered him?

Well, he dropped Nibali

Yeah great, quips aside you know what I mean.

Think the Stelvio stage gains a lot more in context with the stage a couple of days later that saw the TGH / Hindley battle renew itself (dare I say the racing was better on the second half of that pair?), but it was visually stunning.

Mountain stages are often a bit underwhelming in terms of spectacle - the footage is generally pinned close to the riders with a tunnel of idiots waving flags and beer (and admittedly the odd piece of unexplained taxidermy), so to see the race out in the open was a real treat.

If people are naming the decisive ITT of the Tour as a great stage despite the only interesting bit happening in the last few minutes, I'd put Stage 3 of the Giro Rosa as being up there. Absolutely boring for the whole stage, and then a brutal 600m climb at the end saw pretty much the best female riders in the world lined up shoulder to shoulder across the road as they broke free and tried to thug their way up it.