TdF 2019 positives and negatives!

[rich p]

Positives...
Bernal at only 22
Thomas for his graciousness even it was hard to bear
Dylan Van Barle
Julian Alaphilippe
Thibaut Peanut
The parcours
Caleb Ewan
Sagan for being a beast

Negatives...

Bardet, Porte, Mollema, Porte, Quintana, Porte, Landa, Porte, Martin D,
Movistar's unfathomable tactics
The last 2 days weather
Twats booing Geraint
Lack of panache from Kruijswijk and Buchman

 

[Crackle]

I think all the people persuaded to invest in their own funeral plan would have been better off saving for a Viking River Cruise or rescuing Manu or one of his mates.

 

[nickyboy]

Positives
Full live coverage on ITV so I only have to put up with CK during the ad breaks
Full cognisnace of Viking River Cruises, Funeral Plans, Eqity Release schemes etc
JA making fun of President Macron
Thomas de Gendt's twitter feed where he posts that evening's food

Negatives
Sean Kelly's dyed hair
Me keeping on picking Viviani for the fantasy games, despite all evidence to suggest I shouldn't
Thibot Pinot's fragile body
Never heard "dish of the day", has that feature stopped?
Steve Cummings, I would have been about as effective as a pro cyclist

 

[mcshroom]

I think all the people persuaded to invest in their own funeral plan would have been better off saving for a Viking River Cruise or rescuing Manu or one of his mates.

At least we avoided the Watchfinder General this year

 

[rich p]

Adam has just reminded me that his namesake A Yates had a stinker

 

[Crackle]

The pointlessness of Di Data continues except as a retirement plan for formerly great riders. A kind of Chinese league for cyclists. Yates A, did indeed have a stinker. George Bennets inexplicable trip back to the cars just as the race was splitting into echelons but for that, the last week might have been quite different. Fuglsang making history as a Criterium winner who did nothing in the Tour.

I thought the bonus seconds on the penultimate climb were interesting. I think Van Aert is a future sensation who could challenge Sagan or even win the thing and I think we're seeing a changing of the guard in that respect. Mollema, Uran, Porte and a number of others looked to be fading. I though the onboard camera footage was the best ever this year. Some of the Velon highlights on Twitter were ace.

 

[Slick]

The only real negative for me was the weather over the past 2 days and the change of route. Would it have made a difference, probably not but the timing couldn't have been worse.

 

[alicat]

At least we avoided the Watchfinder General this year

Yep, that was the biggest positive for me too.

 

[ColinJ]

I was pretty impressed by Movistar's ingenious "Let's chase Quintana's great escape down to stop other teams doing it" plan!

I am amazed that nobody else noticed that Mitchelton-Scott kept swapping the Yates brothers' race numbers between stages... Do you actually believe that one brother was really good for the whole TdF, and the other was really bad? They were simply taking it in turns having extra rest days!

 

[Bonefish Blues]

A negative for Cav not having the chance this year, sadly.

 

[Flying_Monkey]

I would agree with most of what's been said already. I'm going to add the stage wins from S. Yates, Quintana, Van Aert and De Gendt as highlights.

As far as Dimension Data goes, I really wish they'd get back to their original mission of promoting African riders. I'd have much more respect for them as a genuine African team, rather than simply a team associated with an African charity. And the riders are still out there. DD is now letting them and African cycling down.

 

[Adam4868]

POSITIVES.
Bernal but I knew that anyway,and Geraint !
Allaphillipe..nuff said
Van Barle,De plus and Asgreen for services for their leaders.
(Feel mean putting Thomas in the above)
Pinot for being nearly there.
Bardet for coming back from the dead
Not forgetting Mike Woods who finished the Tour in admirable style with two broken ribs.(even though I had money on him at 300/1 to finish on the podium !)
NEGATIVES....
Not much,I didn't enjoy really...mmm
Go on then Movistar tactics were shite.

 

[dragon72]

+: Mother nature - what with the crosswinds and the mudslides, it added to the surprise and drama.
Julian Alaphilippe's TT
-: The needless expulsion of Rowe/Tony Martin.
Fewer and less funny tweets from @ukcyclingexpert than usual

 

[EltonFrog]

This a bit OT, but did I see a crash where a bike had broken in half?

I’ve enjoyed the whole tour, no negatives for me, I just love the whole excitement, frustration and danger of it all.

 

[roadrash]

Best tour for ages, I watched it all on itv 4 so didn't hear nob ed kirbys irritating voice once