The trouble with cycling suddenly being popular in the UK is...

On 03/08/2012 22:37, Uncle Dave wrote:
On 03/08/2012 17:06, atriage wrote:
On 03/08/2012 15:40, Uncle Dave wrote:
This year certainly
wasn't - overwhelming favourite's team squeezed the life out of it
from Day 1.
In the old days... ah, the old days... sigh It *is* a great
spectacle and each
stage is a race in its own right, again, some worth watching others
not. But it
is only one race in the calendar, albeit a long one.


It's *the* race in the calender.

By what criteria? Media attention I assume because it certainly isn't for the
racing. Three weeks long but only warrants double the points of a one day race?
Strange to see the UCI getting it right for once...


By the criterium of it being the race all riders would like to win most. Quote
from a well known DS .. "It all goes off much faster in the TdF".

--

On 03/08/2012 11:00 PM, atriage wrote:
On 03/08/2012 22:37, Uncle Dave wrote:
On 03/08/2012 17:06, atriage wrote:
On 03/08/2012 15:40, Uncle Dave wrote:
This year certainly
wasn't - overwhelming favourite's team squeezed the life out of it
from Day 1.
In the old days... ah, the old days... sigh It *is* a great
spectacle and each
stage is a race in its own right, again, some worth watching others
not. But it
is only one race in the calendar, albeit a long one.


It's *the* race in the calender.

By what criteria? Media attention I assume because it certainly isn't
for the
racing. Three weeks long but only warrants double the points of a one
day race?
Strange to see the UCI getting it right for once...


By the criterium of it being the race all riders would like to win most.
Quote from a well known DS .. "It all goes off much faster in the TdF".

Totally agree.

--
Chris

'Fashion is a form of ugliness so intolerable that we have to alter it
every six months.'

(Oscar Wilde.)

On 03/08/2012 23:00, atriage wrote:
On 03/08/2012 22:37, Uncle Dave wrote:
On 03/08/2012 17:06, atriage wrote:
On 03/08/2012 15:40, Uncle Dave wrote:
This year certainly
wasn't - overwhelming favourite's team squeezed the life out of it
from Day 1.
In the old days... ah, the old days... sigh It *is* a great
spectacle and each
stage is a race in its own right, again, some worth watching others
not. But it
is only one race in the calendar, albeit a long one.


It's *the* race in the calender.

By what criteria? Media attention I assume because it certainly isn't
for the
racing. Three weeks long but only warrants double the points of a one
day race?
Strange to see the UCI getting it right for once...


By the criterium of it being the race all riders would like to win most.
Quote from a well known DS .. "It all goes off much faster in the TdF".

Yeah well, I expect if you asked them they'd like a lot of things but
the fact is they know - and the racing reflects it - that only a handful
ever stand a chance of winning. Surely you're not going to tell me this
year's race was go-all-the-way excitement?!

Pah! And double pah!

UD

On 04/08/2012 17:41, Uncle Dave wrote:
On 03/08/2012 23:00, atriage wrote:
On 03/08/2012 22:37, Uncle Dave wrote:
On 03/08/2012 17:06, atriage wrote:
On 03/08/2012 15:40, Uncle Dave wrote:
This year certainly
wasn't - overwhelming favourite's team squeezed the life out of it
from Day 1.
In the old days... ah, the old days... sigh It *is* a great
spectacle and each
stage is a race in its own right, again, some worth watching others
not. But it
is only one race in the calendar, albeit a long one.


It's *the* race in the calender.

By what criteria? Media attention I assume because it certainly isn't
for the
racing. Three weeks long but only warrants double the points of a one
day race?
Strange to see the UCI getting it right for once...


By the criterium of it being the race all riders would like to win most.
Quote from a well known DS .. "It all goes off much faster in the TdF".

Yeah well, I expect if you asked them they'd like a lot of things but the fact
is they know - and the racing reflects it - that only a handful ever stand a
chance of winning.

Winning a stage in the TdF in something riders would rather do than the winning
the GC in other stage races. There was lots exciting in this years race,
Voeckler's KoM efforts were outstanding, Sagan's first tour was exceptional,
Nibbles's attempts on the mountains were very good, Cav's win at Brive was
simply spiffing. There's much more to the TdF than who won simply because it's
*the* bicycle race, all other races comparatively speaking are utterly
insignificant.


--

On 04/08/2012 18:00, atriage wrote:
On 04/08/2012 17:41, Uncle Dave wrote:
On 03/08/2012 23:00, atriage wrote:
On 03/08/2012 22:37, Uncle Dave wrote:
On 03/08/2012 17:06, atriage wrote:
On 03/08/2012 15:40, Uncle Dave wrote:
This year certainly
wasn't - overwhelming favourite's team squeezed the life out of it
from Day 1.
In the old days... ah, the old days... sigh It *is* a great
spectacle and each
stage is a race in its own right, again, some worth watching others
not. But it
is only one race in the calendar, albeit a long one.


It's *the* race in the calender.

By what criteria? Media attention I assume because it certainly isn't
for the
racing. Three weeks long but only warrants double the points of a one
day race?
Strange to see the UCI getting it right for once...


By the criterium of it being the race all riders would like to win most.
Quote from a well known DS .. "It all goes off much faster in the TdF".

Yeah well, I expect if you asked them they'd like a lot of things but the fact
is they know - and the racing reflects it - that only a handful ever stand a
chance of winning.

Winning a stage in the TdF in something riders would rather do than the winning
the GC in other stage races. There was lots exciting in this years race,
Voeckler's KoM efforts were outstanding, Sagan's first tour was exceptional,
Nibbles's attempts on the mountains were very good, Cav's win at Brive was
simply spiffing. There's much more to the TdF than who won simply because it's
*the* bicycle race, all other races comparatively speaking are utterly
insignificant.


Except of course for the elimination race which is just about my
favourite...allez allez Ed.

--

On 04/08/2012 18:39, atriage wrote:

Except of course for the elimination race which is just about my
favourite...allez allez Ed.

Towards the end there I though I was watching Willi Debosscher. I half
expected him to turn around and start gong in the opposite direction.
Track racing has never been the same since they dumbed it down for the
hoi polloi. Seeing Daniel Morelon holding up a French rider the oher
day I was reminded of a time when men were men and cycling was a proper
sport and nobody in this country had heard of it. Ah, halcyon days when
bike fans could get tickets to cycling events! Listen, despite your
swallowing of the media hype, the Tour is just another race. A special
one in many ways and I don't dispute some stages are contested but the
overall rarely is. Certainly not this year's funereal procession and
that makes it dull. Dull dull dull.

Dull!

UD

On 04/08/2012 19:22, Uncle Dave wrote:
On 04/08/2012 18:39, atriage wrote:

Except of course for the elimination race which is just about my
favourite...allez allez Ed.

Towards the end there I though I was watching Willi Debosscher. I half expected
him to turn around and start gong in the opposite direction. Track racing has
never been the same since they dumbed it down for the hoi polloi. Seeing Daniel
Morelon holding up a French rider the oher day I was reminded of a time when men
were men and cycling was a proper sport and nobody in this country had heard of
it. Ah, halcyon days when bike fans could get tickets to cycling events!

Not much chance of getting a last minute Pringle ticket (unless your names
McCartney).

Listen despite your swallowing of the media hype,

I don't do swallowing media hype old bean.

the Tour is just another race.

Rubbish!

A special one in many ways and I don't dispute some stages are contested but the
overall rarely is. Certainly not this year's funereal procession and that makes
it dull. Dull dull dull.


You have to learn to love Brailsford's tactics and I think you're dissing
Nibbles's efforts in the mountains without understanding what he was having to
do, it's easy to sit in a chair and say it's dull but I don't suppose the riders
who were trying to live with the Brailsford machine thought it was dull at all
and I certainly didn't.


--

On 04/08/2012 19:43, atriage wrote:
On 04/08/2012 19:22, Uncle Dave wrote:
On 04/08/2012 18:39, atriage wrote:

Except of course for the elimination race which is just about my
favourite...allez allez Ed.

Towards the end there I though I was watching Willi Debosscher. I half
expected
him to turn around and start gong in the opposite direction. Track
racing has
never been the same since they dumbed it down for the hoi polloi.
Seeing Daniel
Morelon holding up a French rider the oher day I was reminded of a
time when men
were men and cycling was a proper sport and nobody in this country had
heard of
it. Ah, halcyon days when bike fans could get tickets to cycling events!

Not much chance of getting a last minute Pringle ticket (unless your
names McCartney).

Listen despite your swallowing of the media hype,

I don't do swallowing media hype old bean.

the Tour is just another race.

Rubbish!

A special one in many ways and I don't dispute some stages are
contested but the
overall rarely is. Certainly not this year's funereal procession and
that makes
it dull. Dull dull dull.


You have to learn to love Brailsford's tactics and I think you're
dissing Nibbles's efforts in the mountains without understanding what he
was having to do, it's easy to sit in a chair and say it's dull but I
don't suppose the riders who were trying to live with the Brailsford
machine thought it was dull at all and I certainly didn't.

Have you slept through the last twenty years of Ts de F?! Brailsford
has simply carried on a tradition that goes back to Indurain. The GC
became boring with Indurain and the coming of the Tour specialists and
their trained monkeys. With a handful of exceptions, the Tour has been
boring ever since. I'm surprised you can't see it, hence the media hype
comment. Still, good for you if you can find enjoyment in
predictability, enjoy!

I mostly watch for the chateaux nowadays...

UD

On 04/08/2012 22:41, Uncle Dave wrote:
On 04/08/2012 19:43, atriage wrote:
On 04/08/2012 19:22, Uncle Dave wrote:
On 04/08/2012 18:39, atriage wrote:

Except of course for the elimination race which is just about my
favourite...allez allez Ed.

Towards the end there I though I was watching Willi Debosscher. I half
expected
him to turn around and start gong in the opposite direction. Track
racing has
never been the same since they dumbed it down for the hoi polloi.
Seeing Daniel
Morelon holding up a French rider the oher day I was reminded of a
time when men
were men and cycling was a proper sport and nobody in this country had
heard of
it. Ah, halcyon days when bike fans could get tickets to cycling events!

Not much chance of getting a last minute Pringle ticket (unless your
names McCartney).

Listen despite your swallowing of the media hype,

I don't do swallowing media hype old bean.

the Tour is just another race.

Rubbish!

A special one in many ways and I don't dispute some stages are
contested but the
overall rarely is. Certainly not this year's funereal procession and
that makes
it dull. Dull dull dull.


You have to learn to love Brailsford's tactics and I think you're
dissing Nibbles's efforts in the mountains without understanding what he
was having to do, it's easy to sit in a chair and say it's dull but I
don't suppose the riders who were trying to live with the Brailsford
machine thought it was dull at all and I certainly didn't.

Have you slept through the last twenty years of Ts de F?! Brailsford has simply
carried on a tradition that goes back to Indurain. The GC became boring with
Indurain and the coming of the Tour specialists and their trained monkeys. With
a handful of exceptions, the Tour has been boring ever since. I'm surprised you
can't see it, hence the media hype comment. Still, good for you if you can find
enjoyment in predictability, enjoy!

I mostly watch for the chateaux nowadays...


Do you actually like any kind of current cycle racing?...time to take up golf
perhaps.



--

Uncle Dave a écrit profondement:

| Dull!

+1

--
Davey Crockett
Flying the Flag of the English
The Flag of Hengest and Horsa