Flat stages are boring (non-TT)

"Norm T" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
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Quoted message said:

I admit I am not a die-hard cycling fan, only really following cycling closely around TdF time.
But you cannot tell me that these flat stages have any kind of excitement to them. Unless there
are crashes and such. No one really remembers these solo stage winners, the only memories are of
yellow jersey winners and contenders for that yellow jersey.

And the flat stages have very little relevance to those outcomes, barring major crashes, which
don't affect the main contenders very often since they usually ride near the front.

I mean when I think about memories of the Tour I have, they involve moves that the big boys make
in the mountains or the blowaway performances in the ITT.

I know you need to give the little guys a chance and put in these flat stages but they just aren't
very exciting to watch.

But, there is some interest in seeing if the day's early break can stay away. Too bad Durand is out
this year. And if Super Mario were riding, it would be much more interesting in the finale. The Tour
needs the best to be there.

There is a 'HUGE' difference between being a "die-hard cycling fan" and 'racing'.

In the mountains they work one set of gears; but, on the flats, its entirely another ball game.

At 73 I can only hit 72kph going down the mountains, these guys sometimes hit it on the flats;
that's pretty mind boggling to me.

Go do a ten or twenty minute TT sprint and it may change your attitude about the flats.

Tom

Tom

"Norm T" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
"]news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

I admit I am not a die-hard cycling fan, only really following cycling closely around TdF time.
But you cannot tell me that these flat stages have any kind of excitement to them. Unless there
are crashes and such.

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[email hidden] (Norm T) wrote in news:a4ac3c9.0307100406.3c72e2c3 @posting.google.com:

Quoted message said:

I admit I am not a die-hard cycling fan, only really following cycling

If you aren't a die-hard fan, then why should we respect your opinion?

Quoted message said:

closely around TdF time. But you cannot tell me that these flat stages have any kind of excitement
to them. Unless there are crashes and such. No one really remembers these solo stage winners, the
only memories are of yellow jersey winners and contenders for that yellow jersey.

You mean *you* don't remember the flat stages. Can you speak for mine or others memories? Also, solo
breaks on flat stages rarely work. So, there are very few solo winners to actually remember. When it
does work this early in the race, the winner usually takes the yellow jersey, ala. Cedric Vassuer a
few years ago. See, I do remember :p

Quoted message said:

And the flat stages have very little relevance to those outcomes, barring major crashes, which
don't affect the main contenders very often since they usually ride near the front.

You're right, we should go over to France and build mountains in the parts of the country where they
hold the flat stages.

Quoted message said:

I mean when I think about memories of the Tour I have, they involve moves that the big boys make
in the mountains or the blowaway performances in the ITT.

I know you need to give the little guys a chance and put in these flat stages but they just aren't
very exciting to watch.

Then don't watch it. Go back to watching Nascar. Watching those guys taking left hand turns all day
is *way* more exciting.

- Boyd S.

"B. Lafferty" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
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Quoted message said:

"Norm T" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
"]news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

I admit I am not a die-hard cycling fan, only really following cycling closely around TdF time.
But you cannot tell me that these flat stages have any kind of excitement to them. Unless there
are crashes and such. No one really remembers these solo stage winners, the only memories are of
yellow jersey winners and contenders for that yellow jersey.

And the flat stages have very little relevance to those outcomes, barring major crashes, which
don't affect the main contenders very often since they usually ride near the front.

I mean when I think about memories of the Tour I have, they involve moves that the big boys make
in the mountains or the blowaway performances in the ITT.

I know you need to give the little guys a chance and put in these flat stages but they just
aren't very exciting to watch.

But, there is some interest in seeing if the day's early break can stay away. Too bad Durand is
out this year. And if Super Mario were riding,

it

Quoted message said:

would be much more interesting in the finale. The Tour needs the best to

be

Quoted message said:

there.

The Lion Queen isn't the best anymore. It's Petacchi now. He showed in in the Giro vs. The Lion
Queen and he's showing it in Le Tour.

"Kurgan Gringioni" <[email hidden]> skrev i en meddelelse
"]news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

The Lion Queen isn't the best anymore. It's Petacchi now. He showed in in the Giro vs. The Lion
Queen and he's showing it in Le Tour.

Mario beat Petacchi twice in the giro... May not be the fastest, but he's one of the top contenders.
And a lot more than Zabel.

Norm T said:

I admit I am not a die-hard cycling fan, only really following cycling closely around TdF time.
But you cannot tell me that these flat stages have any kind of excitement to them. Unless there
are crashes and such. No one really remembers these solo stage winners, the only memories are of
yellow jersey winners and contenders for that yellow jersey.

And the flat stages have very little relevance to those outcomes, barring major crashes, which
don't affect the main contenders very often since they usually ride near the front.

I mean when I think about memories of the Tour I have, they involve moves that the big boys make
in the mountains or the blowaway performances in the ITT.

I know you need to give the little guys a chance and put in these flat stages but they just aren't
very exciting to watch.

It's about as exciting was watching golf, baseball or soccer. If you let yourself get a little bit
into the heads of the escapers, it helps. See how hard those poor suckers are working. Consider the
by-no-means easy feat of merely riding 100+ miles every day. Enjoy the videography.

One of the strongest memories of a bike race I have is Stage 8 from 2001. A flat stage, most notable
for the cold wet weather and the 30 minute time gap. But I remember it most because of Aitor
Gonzalez' vain but epic effort to win the stage. It was much more impressive than Finot's work of a
couple days ago.

--
--
Lynn Wallace xmission.com~lawallOpen ↗ "I'm not proud. We really haven't done everything we
could to protect our customers. Our products just aren't engineered for security." --Microsoft VP in
charge of Windows OS Development, Brian Valentine.

"Raptor" <[email hidden]> a écrit dans le message de "]news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Norm T wrote:

Quoted message said:

It's about as exciting was watching golf, baseball or soccer. If you let yourself get a little bit
into the heads of the escapers, it helps.

I don't recall any baseball player or golfer dying from exhaustion during a game

goulot said:

I don't recall any baseball player or golfer dying from exhaustion during a game

Baltimore Orioles pitcher Steve Bechler died of heat stroke during spring training, Feb 17. His
death is believed to be caused by the use of ephedra.

--Bill Davidson

Norm T said:

And the flat stages have very little relevance to those outcomes,

I got it! 20 *minute* time bonuses 🙂

Quoted post said:

Originally posted by Sindbad
"Kurgan Gringioni" <[email hidden]> skrev i en meddelelse
"]news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

The Lion Queen isn't the best anymore. It's Petacchi now. He showed in in the Giro vs. The Lion
Queen and he's showing it in Le Tour.

Mario beat Petacchi twice in the giro... May not be the fastest, but he's one of the top contenders.
And a lot more than Zabel.

Cipo was definatley improving before his giro crash (not his fault). I wouldn;t have been suprised if Cipo won 4 stages in the giro had he been healthy. Pettachi is a great sprinter and I think he is the fastest man now, but a healthy Cipo is certainly a challenger. Regardless of how good Cipo is I would argue that the zebra train makes a flat stage far more exciting.

Quoted post said:

Originally posted by Goulot
"Raptor" <[email hidden]> a écrit dans le message de "]news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Norm T wrote:

Quoted message said:

It's about as exciting was watching golf, baseball or soccer. If you let yourself get a little bit
into the heads of the escapers, it helps.

I don't recall any baseball player or golfer dying from exhaustion during a game

A baseball player on the orioles I think died during spring taining this year. Yeah he was on ephedrine but Tom Simpson was playing with his chemistry set as well...but that point seems to support this threads thesis (flat stages are boring) because the riders are truely stressed in the mountains.

Anyone think that eliminating riders radios might make events more exciting?

Quoted message said:

I don't recall any baseball player or golfer dying from exhaustion during a game

I don't recall a cyclist dying from exhaustion during a bike race! Maybe Simpson, but then again
that was drug induced.

Heat exhaustion/stroke seems to be particularly bad for ephedra-stoked fat ass football
players though.

Bill Davidson <[email hidden]> wrote in message news:<5LiPa.1976$_s.874@fed1read03>...

Quoted message said:

goulot said:

I don't recall any baseball player or golfer dying from exhaustion during a game

Baltimore Orioles pitcher Steve Bechler died of heat stroke during spring training, Feb 17. His
death is believed to be caused by the use of ephedra.

--Bill Davidson

I seem to recall he also had an undiagnosed heart abnormality.

goulot wrote in message ...

Quoted message said:

"Raptor" <[email hidden]> a écrit dans le message de "]news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Norm T wrote:

Quoted message said:

It's about as exciting was watching golf, baseball or soccer. If you let yourself get a little
bit into the heads of the escapers, it helps.

I don't recall any baseball player or golfer dying from exhaustion during a game

Lee Trevino has been hit by lightning a few times.

Edward Waffle said:

goulot wrote in message ...

Quoted message said:

"Raptor" <[email hidden]> a écrit dans le message de "]news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Norm T wrote:

Quoted message said:

It's about as exciting was watching golf, baseball or soccer. If you let yourself get a little
bit into the heads of the escapers, it helps.

I don't recall any baseball player or golfer dying from exhaustion during a game

Lee Trevino has been hit by lightning a few times.

To clarify, I was not trying to draw a comparison between games like golf and baseball, and a sport
like bike racing. The flat stages are just not all that exciting.

--
--
Lynn Wallace xmission.com~lawallOpen ↗ "I'm not proud. We really haven't done everything we
could to protect our customers. Our products just aren't engineered for security." --Microsoft VP in
charge of Windows OS Development, Brian Valentine.

Tom said:

There is a 'HUGE' difference between being a "die-hard cycling fan" and 'racing'.

In the mountains they work one set of gears; but, on the flats, its entirely another ball game.

At 73 I can only hit 72kph going down the mountains, these guys sometimes hit it on the flats;
that's pretty mind boggling to me.

Go do a ten or twenty minute TT sprint and it may change your attitude about the flats.

Or try a flat race in a strong cross wind on a badly surfaced narrow road. Us lightweight climber
types suffer a bit in those conditions
:-)