Didn't watch the Tour

[Michael Maddox]

This has been the first year in recent memory that I did NOT follow the Tour. Granted, I paid a little attention to online stories and threads, and even saw a few highlights from the early stages, but when Froome took the lead and seemed destined to keep it, I just didn't tune in.

I don't KNOW that Froome is a doper. I don't know that any of them are, but there is something about grand-tour pelotons these days that simply doesn't excite me. Or...rather...it's something that actually REPELS me.

I haven't given up on pro cycling; you'll find me in front of 'cross and classic footage all the time, but the grand tours? Not a chance.

Has anyone else experienced this growing pessimism with this part of pro cycling? Or is it just my crotchety, old-man attitude?

[Mikej]

Nah, I'm more worried about the rich people getting all the money...

[guido]

The performance of certain teams certainly sucked a lot of my interest out...

[Seramount]

I enjoy the pageantry of the Tour...it's colorful, has cool scenery, and inspires me to ride.

I have more pressing concerns than being personally sucked into the whole doping drama. pro sports are simply part of the entertainment industry...

[shovelhd]

Do you think cross has less drugs than road?

[kramnnim]

Originally Posted by Michael Maddox

Or is it just my crotchety, old-man attitude?

Yes, it is.

[Mr. Pink]

Nothing beats the scenery most of the time. Although it would be cool to have the Giro on my big screen to compare.

[christian]

I didn't make any particular effort to avoid it, but I watched approximately 15 minutes of your coverage this year. Last year, I watched more than 30 hours. I don't know why, but certainly a fundamental disbelief in Sky/Froome is part of it.

[Anarchist]

I watched about an hour this year.

The GT's interest me not at all any more. They have sucked all of the interest out of it for me.

I love watching track, maybe some classics but I have to admit that the desire to watch the GT's is just gone. Flat out gone.

[bikinchris]

I know this sounds pessimistic, but all sport is nothing but theater to me. I believe nearly every sport is equally guilty of having dopers throughout. A least pro sports. To a lesser extent, college sports. I watch it for entertainment nowadays, not inspiration. That doesn't mean I wasn't rooting for Quintana to get another minute and a half.

[paredown]

Even with the potential boredom (get the lead and defend it style), and all the chatter about Team Sky, I watched a fair amount this year. Typically I will turn on the streaming, get caught up and then try to time a few sit-downs for key moments. (I was watching the Eurosport stream because I can no longer stand the inundation of commercials on NBC)

I agree with the comments about just enjoying the scenery--every year I swear that one day I will go to France, take my bike and rent a car just to drive the Tour route and revel in the countryside.

And the bonus was there was some good racing this year--some great (small) dramas, some heroic rides, surprises and crashes (like every year).

Really--it is about the only sporting event I do watch, other than tuning in for Olympic coverage.

[tiretrax]

Originally Posted by paredown

Even with the potential boredom (get the lead and defend it style), and all the chatter about Team Sky, I watched a fair amount this year. Typically I will turn on the streaming, get caught up and then try to time a few sit-downs for key moments. (I was watching the Eurosport stream because I can no longer stand the inundation of commercials on NBC)

I agree with the comments about just enjoying the scenery--every year I swear that one day I will go to France, take my bike and rent a car just to drive the Tour route and revel in the countryside.

And the bonus was there was some good racing this year--some great (small) dramas, some heroic rides, surprises and crashes (like every year).

Really--it is about the only sporting event I do watch, other than tuning in for Olympic coverage.

Same here. It's just entertainment. Like any other sport. But, cycling is one of the few that have bewitched me since I was a tike.

See you at the rental car counter - too bad Europcar is no longer going to sponsor a team.

[choke]

I haven't watched the Tour in years. Some years I might read the reports, most of the time I don't even bother with that. I do pay a little more attention to the Giro and Vuelta though.

I follow women's cycling much more than the men's side, I find it more entertaining by far. I thought it was rather ironic that after the women raced full gas in La Course this morning (and with lots of crashes on the slick roads) that the men rode the final circuit with the GC neutralized.

[dpk501]

It's entertainment but I can't take any of it seriously. When Teejay got sick my first thought was "did he not learn from PDM's intralipid affair?" followed by "bad blood bag." I guess that's what happens when LA motorpaces you...conspiracy charges?

I guess I'm a jaded old fart...

[Louis]

Originally Posted by paredown

Even with the potential boredom (get the lead and defend it style), .

I'm sure this has been discussed before, but what if they tweaked the GC classifications by making it more valuable to win stages? For example, what if stage winners got a -60 sec (or whatever) time bonus for each stage win? For the first few stages the sprinters would dominate, but in general they seem to stink in the mountains, so as long as there weren't a lot more flat stages than mountain that might even out.

The bottom line is that one stage win wouldn't be enough to put a Froome over the top, you'd need several, and it might keep things interesting for longer.

Just an idea to try to reward riders that excel over a wider range of conditions.

Edit: It just occurred to me that if they were to do this the peleton would be less likely to allow breakaways, which would eliminate one of the more exciting parts of the current setup.