Giro or Tour of Cali?
05-06-10, 11:35 AM
#1
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Giro or Tour of Cali?
Which one would you rather follow and why?
I am personally interested in seeing what Lance's fitness will be like in Cali and if Levi can 4-peat with a stronger field, tougher course and later date.
I am personally interested in seeing what Lance's fitness will be like in Cali and if Levi can 4-peat with a stronger field, tougher course and later date.
05-06-10, 12:12 PM
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we gotta pick one?!?! between both running simultaneously, this will be the
best cycling month/period of the year.
living in california, i will likely watch 90-100% of the televised coverage combined
with attending the mountain stage from palmdale to big bear.
always try to catch as much giro coverage as possible but don't know this year's
broadcast schedule (how much or little, replays, etc) yet. more than any other race,
i watch the giro coverage for the rolling travelogue and scenery it provides just as much
as i watch it for the actual racing-especially in the dolomites-beautiful, beautiful
corner of the earth.
in both cases, just wanna see competitive, close races where one attack or bad moment
could make the difference between podium or not. the giro has provided better suspense
until/including the final day lately (2005, 2007, 2008 & 2009). think that the toc
will be (part) of a better tuneup for the tour de france than slogging through some of
the crazy weather and courses that the giro organizers always dream up.
despite much naysaying regarding the head to head aspect of both races, methinks
the toc did quite well with the quality of rider that will be in attendance the first year
of the giro/toc overlapping conflict. gotta feeling it will only improve. wonder if one
of the unintended consequences will be better rosters later at the vuelta
instead of it hosting the racing equivalent of the "loser's bracket" or summer school
that it now does (for the most part).
best cycling month/period of the year.
living in california, i will likely watch 90-100% of the televised coverage combined
with attending the mountain stage from palmdale to big bear.
always try to catch as much giro coverage as possible but don't know this year's
broadcast schedule (how much or little, replays, etc) yet. more than any other race,
i watch the giro coverage for the rolling travelogue and scenery it provides just as much
as i watch it for the actual racing-especially in the dolomites-beautiful, beautiful
corner of the earth.
in both cases, just wanna see competitive, close races where one attack or bad moment
could make the difference between podium or not. the giro has provided better suspense
until/including the final day lately (2005, 2007, 2008 & 2009). think that the toc
will be (part) of a better tuneup for the tour de france than slogging through some of
the crazy weather and courses that the giro organizers always dream up.
despite much naysaying regarding the head to head aspect of both races, methinks
the toc did quite well with the quality of rider that will be in attendance the first year
of the giro/toc overlapping conflict. gotta feeling it will only improve. wonder if one
of the unintended consequences will be better rosters later at the vuelta
instead of it hosting the racing equivalent of the "loser's bracket" or summer school
that it now does (for the most part).
Last edited by diphthong; 05-06-10 at 03:14 PM.
05-06-10, 12:23 PM
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^touché my friend. always seek the win-win...
05-06-10, 01:48 PM
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ToC Stage 1 will go right by the very window I'm looking through now. I think I'll be following this one a bit more closely.
05-06-10, 02:12 PM
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05-06-10, 03:15 PM
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Last edited by $ick3nin.vend3t; 05-11-10 at 01:30 PM.
05-07-10, 01:07 AM
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Je pose, donc je suis.
05-07-10, 01:34 PM
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“No one in this world, so far as I know — and I have searched the records for years, and employed agents to help me — has ever lost money by underestimating the intelligence of the great masses of the plain people. Nor has anyone ever lost public office thereby.”
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Syke
“No one in this world, so far as I know — and I have searched the records for years, and employed agents to help me — has ever lost money by underestimating the intelligence of the great masses of the plain people. Nor has anyone ever lost public office thereby.”
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05-07-10, 01:36 PM
#14
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Versus. There's a preview show at 1400 this Sunday, then every day coverage during the ToC.
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Syke
“No one in this world, so far as I know — and I have searched the records for years, and employed agents to help me — has ever lost money by underestimating the intelligence of the great masses of the plain people. Nor has anyone ever lost public office thereby.”
H.L. Mencken, (1926)
Syke
“No one in this world, so far as I know — and I have searched the records for years, and employed agents to help me — has ever lost money by underestimating the intelligence of the great masses of the plain people. Nor has anyone ever lost public office thereby.”
H.L. Mencken, (1926)
05-08-10, 01:34 PM
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05-08-10, 01:43 PM
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i'm from cali but the Giro is a world class race and in my opinion a better race than the tour. the rabid tifosi, make it even more exciting
05-08-10, 04:41 PM
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We had some riders from Team Type 1 and United Healthcare on the River Ride today. Let's just say that the pace was pretty brisk.
05-09-10, 10:44 PM
#19
Resident Alien
Long list of Dauphine winners who have failed at the TDF...
Only Levi, (maybe Zabriskie) and the domestic fodder are riding the TOC to win. It's a training race for the rest. Many teams like BMC and Liquigas are fielding "B' squads and Astana, Katusha and Sky aren't even showing up. Garmin, a US based team, sent their best stage winning hopeful (an American) to the Giro.
8 stages vs. 3 weeks. Bakersfield vs. Rome. Big Bear vs. the Gavia. Santa Rosa/Davis vs. the Stelvio. Face reality, the TOC isn't in the conversation with the Giro. I'll get up early to watch the live feed from Italy, and I might scan the results for the TOC.
05-09-10, 11:13 PM
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A blanket that's full of holes. Lots of riders have ridden the Giro as prep and won the Tour. A few have won both in the same year. No TOC winner has won the TDF once they've filled the cup after the race. For Menchov, the best prep for any race is a Basic Bike Handling 101 class at the local community college BTW.
Long list of Dauphine winners who have failed at the TDF...
Only Levi, (maybe Zabriskie) and the domestic fodder are riding the TOC to win. It's a training race for the rest. Many teams like BMC and Liquigas are fielding "B' squads and Astana, Katusha and Sky aren't even showing up. Garmin, a US based team, sent their best stage winning hopeful (an American) to the Giro.
8 stages vs. 3 weeks. Bakersfield vs. Rome. Big Bear vs. the Gavia. Santa Rosa/Davis vs. the Stelvio. Face reality, the TOC isn't in the conversation with the Giro. I'll get up early to watch the live feed from Italy, and I might scan the results for the TOC.
Long list of Dauphine winners who have failed at the TDF...
Only Levi, (maybe Zabriskie) and the domestic fodder are riding the TOC to win. It's a training race for the rest. Many teams like BMC and Liquigas are fielding "B' squads and Astana, Katusha and Sky aren't even showing up. Garmin, a US based team, sent their best stage winning hopeful (an American) to the Giro.
8 stages vs. 3 weeks. Bakersfield vs. Rome. Big Bear vs. the Gavia. Santa Rosa/Davis vs. the Stelvio. Face reality, the TOC isn't in the conversation with the Giro. I'll get up early to watch the live feed from Italy, and I might scan the results for the TOC.
05-10-10, 05:57 AM
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At any rate, they're both great races to watch.
05-10-10, 07:25 AM
#22
Resident Alien
And you were wrong. For the Americans it's easier logistically if they want to stay close to home or impress a new sponsor. For the Euros it's a long transatlantic flight with lost days on either end for a motorpacing session where they can deal with jet lag and a whole new raft of germs and viruses. Saxo sent big guns because they are desperately searching for a new sponsor and need/want exposure. Otherwise there's not a single non-american podium contender, while, if you hadn't noticed, there are a bunch racing the Giro including Sastre, who apparently thinks the Giro might not have been his problem last year.
