Paris -Tours Sunday 12th October

[mondobongo]

Not much left of the big races now with Paris-Tours this Sunday Eurosport coverage live 2.00-4.00pm with a h/lights package at 00.30.

Flat as a pancake a day for the Sprinters, anyone want to hazard a guess at the winner. Been looking for a start list but not turned one up yet.

Some light relief from all the doping threads.

 

[Keith Oates]

I'll take a chance and say Boonen!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[girofan]

I'll take an even bigger chance and say Schumacher!

 

[Skip Madness]

I think Koldo Fernández will get his first really big classic win.

 

[mondobongo]

*****Spoiler*********









Nice bit of riding from Gilbert who timed his run for the line just right, as you saw the massed ranks of the sprinters bearing down on the group of 4.

Not the most exiting race but the weather looked lovely over there.

 

[rich p]

The trouble with these kind of races for me is that they're just the same as a first week stage in the TdF. A breakaway might succeed or it's a slugfest for the sprinters. I'm not sure it deserves the term 'classic'. i think much the same could have been said of the World Champs with the added difference being national not trade teams. Is Ballan the best in the world? Mind you, he bought a Ferrari as a present to himself afterwards! How much do they win for that event?

 

[Skip Madness]

The trouble with these kind of races for me is that they're just the same as a first week stage in the TdF. A breakaway might succeed or it's a slugfest for the sprinters. I'm not sure it deserves the term 'classic'.

Well with Paris-Tours it has traditionally been the length of the race which makes it harder, although this year's event was 250 km, which I suppose is just on the upper bound for Tour stages these days. Bear in mind as well that it is a classic as much through tradition as difficulty - it goes back to 1896. Saying that it is just the same as a Tour sprint stage is a very Tour-centric view of cycling - if you start to think like that then the Tour becomes the only thing on the calendar that matters. For me, the finish to Paris-Tours is usually much more tense than a Tour stage.

i think much the same could have been said of the World Champs with the added difference being national not trade teams. Is Ballan the best in the world?

Well this year's parcours certainly wasn't made for sprinters, and the World Championships seldom (although sometimes) are. That's what I like about them; some years we get a climbers' course, some years we get a sprinters' course, but usually we get one in the kind of Ardennes classic mould. As for whether or not Ballan is the best in the world, you could say the same about pretty much anything. Are New Zealand the best rugby union team in the world? Most of the time, yes, but when it matters they do not produce. The Italians and Ballan were the best when it mattered. If you care about best over the course of the year or suchlike, well that's what the ProTour or the old World Rankings were meant to be about.

 

[Keith Oates]

I also prefer races that include climbs but the flat races are also good. What is not so obvious to the fans (well me anyway) is the amount of tactical play tht goes on within and between teams and riders, I'm sure that plays a large part in deciding who crosses the line first!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[yello]

Not the most exiting race but the weather looked lovely over there.

The weather is gorgeous at the moment. It was a positively summer-ish 24c yesterday.

The last few hours of the race were live on terrestrial tv yesterday (France 3) but I only watched the last 30 minutes or so. An exciting finish I thought, I was expecting the peleton to reel in the breakaway but they went hell for leather in the last km.

Nice to see McEwan featuring in a sprint again. Now he's seemingly not the force he was, I seem to have warmed to the pugnacious little runt!

 

[rich p]

Well with Paris-Tours it has traditionally been the length of the race which makes it harder, although this year's event was 250 km, which I suppose is just on the upper bound for Tour stages these days. Bear in mind as well that it is a classic as much through tradition as difficulty - it goes back to 1896. Saying that it is just the same as a Tour sprint stage is a very Tour-centric view of cycling - if you start to think like that then the Tour becomes the only thing on the calendar that matters. For me, the finish to Paris-Tours is usually much more tense than a Tour stage.

Well this year's parcours certainly wasn't made for sprinters, and the World Championships seldom (although sometimes) are. That's what I like about them; some years we get a climbers' course, some years we get a sprinters' course, but usually we get one in the kind of Ardennes classic mould. As for whether or not Ballan is the best in the world, you could say the same about pretty much anything. Are New Zealand the best rugby union team in the world? Most of the time, yes, but when it matters they do not produce. The Italians and Ballan were the best when it mattered. If you care about best over the course of the year or suchlike, well that's what the ProTour or the old World Rankings were meant to be about.

The fact that it's a classic mainly through tradition sums it up. I wasn't including the early spring classics as they have other elements to them, namely a fascinating course, often a weather element and the interest in who's going to be on form after the winter lay off. The P_T was essentially flat, reminiscent of a first week stage of the Vuelta and an excercise in which riders could be arsed to put in the end of term effort. I don't see how that can be construed as tour-centric when I was criticising those stages too!

In truth, I don't feel very strongly about this but I was a bit disappointed in the event apart from the last couple of kms. I've also had an abcess in a tooth all weekend so I'm feeling a bit grumpy!

 

[TimDanaher]

Good grief, a P-T that was actually a bit interesting at the end. I was really rooting for the four-man break to stay away. At one stage, about 4k to go, they turned an 11s lead into a 23s lead -- all in the space of a few km.

Must admit, tho' I have no recollection of Gilbert getting over to them...

 

[Skip Madness]

I wasn't including the early spring classics as they have other elements to them, namely a fascinating course, often a weather element and the interest in who's going to be on form after the winter lay off. The P_T was essentially flat, reminiscent of a first week stage of the Vuelta and an excercise in which riders could be arsed to put in the end of term effort. I don't see how that can be construed as tour-centric when I was criticising those stages too!

The course of Paris-Tours is pretty similar to Milan-Sanremo - 250-300 km with a couple of little climbs at the back end. For me there is also an interest in the October classics as to who is going to be on form post World Championships. What I meant by saying your view is Tour-centric is that you may as well say that the Giro di Lombardia or the Züri-Metzgete (if the men's race ever returns) are basically like Tour medium mountain stages and not really classics. It is fair enough if you don't enjoy Paris-Tours, but to say it's not a classic because it is long and flat is a bit like saying sprinters can't have classics.

 

[rich p]

The course of Paris-Tours is pretty similar to Milan-Sanremo - 250-300 km with a couple of little climbs at the back end. For me there is also an interest in the October classics as to who is going to be on form post World Championships. What I meant by saying your view is Tour-centric is that you may as well say that the Giro di Lombardia or the Züri-Metzgete (if the men's race ever returns) are basically like Tour medium mountain stages and not really classics. It is fair enough if you don't enjoy Paris-Tours, but to say it's not a classic because it is long and flat is a bit like saying sprinters can't have classics.

Bien, chacon a son gout! I just think it needs a bit more to it to be a classic in my eyes, but I'll leave it there.