Was a GT ever thus....

[yello]

...or musings on the TdF.

There have been many comments, here and elsewhere, about boring dull stages. Isn't that in the order of things with a GT? Some stages are going to offer different things. Riders will obviously looking at the big picture, looking at which stages they'll need to be at their best, stages were they'll look to win points or time, and equally stages were they can take it easy. That's to be expected isn't it?

Or is this the modern era of robotic and controlled riding. Maybe the panache has gone?? I don't know. I read the misty-eyed history but nostalgia can be a crock of faeces.

Look at Millar's daring do into Barcelona. The talk of bravado, of panache... but where did it get him? Buggered him up in the GC and he's now out of it. All for one day of rip-shoot-or-bust. He says himself it was heart not head riding.

But isn't all of it what a GT, especially the TdF, is all about? The grande mélange of it all. The spectacle of a thousand contributions?

 

[rich p]

Yes, you're right but I really think this was panning out as a really good one with lots of different elements but I think the organisers have just missed a trick not having a couple of more stages to throw the GC into a bit of confusion earlier.
Tourmalet for one as has been well argued already!

 

[SheilaH]

I think it has been good so far and is about to explode. The real fight will be for third spot on the podium.

The cynic in mean thinks Contador will be exposed and isolated without much support, but will win nevertheless.

 

[Jonathan M]

It seems possible that the key (most exciting stage??) will be the second to last up Ventoux - certainly the pundits on Eurosport don't seem overly fussed about the alpine stages.

If the top of the GC remains so close, then there will surely be a day where the favourites all have to go for it.

I hope it isn't settled on the remaining TT, simply becuase for us stuck watching on Eurosport, that is n't always the most stunning viewing in the world.

 

[Skip Madness]

Yes, you're right but I really think this was panning out as a really good one with lots of different elements but I think the organisers have just missed a trick not having a couple of more stages to throw the GC into a bit of confusion earlier.
Tourmalet for one as has been well argued already!

One possibility would have been to replace one of those two fairly pointless Pyrenean stages with one of the easier mountain-top finishes in the region like Gestiès - far too short and easy to lose any serious time but just enough for some lively attacking.

 

[MacB]

One possibility would have been to replace one of those two fairly pointless Pyrenean stages with one of the easier mountain-top finishes in the region like Gestiès - far too short and easy to lose any serious time but just enough for some lively attacking.

I know it wasn't your intent but I do love it when the commentators refer to any of the TdF as being easy. I know they're pros and all that but it's still bloody impressive the speeds they tool along at.

 

[Skip Madness]

Sure, but Gestiès really wouldn't be that hard for anyone who cycles seriously - it's a lesser average grade than the Tourmalet and only about 1/6 of the length. You'll find tougher climbs in the Mendips.

 

[yello]

...and panache? Are we only to expect that from stage victories? From breakaways? That is, non GC contenders? Is the GC only about defence, loss limitation and control?

 

[Skip Madness]

...and panache? Are we only to expect that from stage victories? From breakaways? That is, non GC contenders? Is the GC only about defence, loss limitation and control?

I'm not quite sure what you're driving at. Alberto Contador is the favourite to win the GC and he's already attacked with style. Carlos Sastre won last year's Tour in pretty much the coolest way it is possible to do so. And the reason I suggested a small mountain-top finish is precisely because it supplies a springboard for attacks and excitement among the favourites while still retaining close gaps until late in the race, which is obviously the desire of ASO.

 

[Noodley]

I reckon Levi not being there any more might just make it a bit more interesting. One less rider loyal to St Lance, and opportunity for others (including his own team mate) to have a go in the Alps.

 

[yello]

Musings SM, nothing concrete. Certainly nothing critical.

Contandor's mini-attack was sort of my drift. That is, against team orders. Ok, not specifically, more NOT team orders than against them. Either way, it wasn't part of the control.

I agree about mountain top finishes, as I've said before, because it encourages the attacks. Good time can be made to stick there.

I guess my musings are motivated by recent comments of dull stages against a backdrop of stories about brave solo attacks, lone breakaway, hours out front - like Wiggins last year. It seems there is a romantic notion about the nobility (and panache, sorry, that word again) of such rides that is squarely against the reality of a GT.

I guess, if you want a concrete question, it's along the lines of 'Shouldn't we expect dull stages?'

 

[Haitch]

Bring back two stages in a day, 80k time trial in the morning, up an Alp in the afternoon.

 

[yello]

Attrition, yes. That's a good word. Definitely part of a GT.

 

[Skip Madness]

Bring back two stages in a day, 80k time trial in the morning, up an Alp in the afternoon.

ASO couldn't do that alone - currently the UCI rules forbid half-stages in World Calendar events.

As for the rest of it, we definitely should expect dull stages from time to time. The race hasn't been very lively this side of the rest day, but to an extent them's the breaks with a three week race. Having said that, this year's race seems to have been virtually devoid of one-man breakaway efforts.

It's my firm belief that organisers shouldn't be afraid to experiment. I have made the case in the past for shorter stages, and I think that if a couple of the past four days had been 110-130km there would definitely have been more lively racing. The problem with the Tour - or more, with France - is that these types of mini-malaises are hard to avoid with France's sharply contrasting geography. Spain and Italy have the advantages of being able to run either flat or mountainous stages in most parts of the country, whereas in France these stretches of continuous flat days are inevitable. In the Vuelta a few years ago, I think they had stages five, seven and nine all as mountain-top finishes with flat days in between. That's an excellent way of providing excitement in the overall classification while giving the non-climbers an opportunity to relish the flat stages while they can.

 

[yello]

It's my firm belief that organisers shouldn't be afraid to experiment.

It's certainly in the tradition of the tour to 'experiment'!

I agree with the point of the geography of France... there is a large flat bit in the middle! Maybe we also have to consider the business nature of it and the logistics of combining, in a semi sensible sequence, the towns that have successfully bid for a stage. That's not necessarily conducive to interesting stages and racing.

Tours have been, crudely speaking, a sweeping arc through the central massif, the alps and the pyranees (in one direction or the other) and attached out and back legs. This year's tour is very disjointed in comparison and in future it could well become more so as foreign cities get in on the business aspect of it.

How's about a tour of 3 segments? Like three 7 day tours. The winner & place getters of each get bonus points/time to carry into the next segment. Slate wiped clean at the start of each segment. Could that encourage more competitive quiet stages within each segment?