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  1. #41
    Join Date
    Sep 2007
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    Undisclosed
    Quote Originally Posted by DukieInKansas View Post
    Is Sagan planning on riding either the Vuelta or Giro? I would like to see him try again - hopefully with stronger legs.

    I figure if one is doping, many more are probably doping. I don't like it but it is probably an even playing field.

    I felt bad for Lukas Pöstlberger - bee sting on Friday caused him to have to drop out. (Reminded me of Jonathan Vaughters not being allowed to have a cortisone injection to reduce the swelling on a wasp sting so he could see.)
    Forgot about the Vaughters incident. Tough sport.

    No idea about Sagan, I like him and hope he is not spent.

  2. #42
    Re puns, perhaps a prior needless posting sanction is still chapping my hide. I've always loved Sagan. The substitute British motorcycle commentator (and former Sagan teammate) doing a voice impersonation was hysterical. I wonder if what they say about Sagan showing up unprepared and relying purely on raw talent and reaction finally caught up with him. He couldn't match the sprinters (any many of the best were absent this year) at the line. Maybe he'll reassess and come back better next year. Or maybe he had an undisclosed nagging injury, who knows. He was still good, just not super-human.

  3. #43
    I missed Jens Voight this year.

  4. #44
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    Sep 2007
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    Undisclosed
    Quote Originally Posted by DukieInKansas View Post
    I missed Jens Voight this year.
    And Paul Sherwin. #StillSad

  5. #45
    Join Date
    Feb 2007
    Location
    Boston area, OK, Newton, right by Heartbreak Hill
    Quote Originally Posted by OldPhiKap View Post
    For my money, the potential passing of the Peter Sagan era is the story of the Tour.

    And yes, the doping issues always give me pause on many fronts.

    (not sure puns are needless, but that’s a matter of personal taste I guess. It is certainly a DBR staple for better and worse).
    On my first read, I thought this said "not sure puns are needles".

  6. #46
    Join Date
    Feb 2007
    Location
    Boston area, OK, Newton, right by Heartbreak Hill
    Sam Bennett, y'all! What's all this talk about Peter Sagan? He finished second in the points race to a former teammate who hadn't gotten to ride the Tour as often because he was Sagan's teammate, so, he knew how to beat him! Sagan would have still had the points jersey if it wasn't for Bennett. This wasn't about Sagan losing it, it was about somebody knowing how to dethrone him! All the credit to Bennett. All of it.

  7. #47
    Join Date
    Sep 2007
    Location
    Undisclosed
    Quote Originally Posted by Bostondevil View Post
    Sam Bennett, y'all! What's all this talk about Peter Sagan? He finished second in the points race to a former teammate who hadn't gotten to ride the Tour as often because he was Sagan's teammate, so, he knew how to beat him! Sagan would have still had the points jersey if it wasn't for Bennett. This wasn't about Sagan losing it, it was about somebody knowing how to dethrone him! All the credit to Bennett. All of it.
    As an Irish-American, glad to see Bennett win.

  8. #48
    Join Date
    Feb 2007
    Location
    Boston area, OK, Newton, right by Heartbreak Hill
    I went looking for Egan Bernal's age and found this https://www.theguardian.com/sport/20...doping-at-tour

    I had remembered incorrectly that Quintana is a former winner. He's finished as high as second but not first. Anyway, doping aside, I'm worried that the Tour de France might become like the women's Olympic figure skating gold medal, repeatedly won by an upstart youngster who never does much of anything again in the sport. We'll need a few more years of data to see if this is really becoming a trend. Two in a row white/yellow combo winners could just be a fluke.

    Women's Olympic figure skating gold medals have been won by teenagers since 1996 with the lone exception of 2006 when long time competitor Shizuka Arakawa (25 at the time) won and then retired from the sport. For the rest of them, only Kim Yuna, the 2010 champion, has ever made it back to the Olympics to defend her title. She won the silver in her second Olympics (in Sochi behind a 17 year old Russian whose name I do not remember and I'm a huge fan of figure skating, she was that obscure.) Zagitova, the 2018 champion, didn't win the World title in 2018 but did manage to win the World title in 2019. Just prior to the pandemic, she announced that she had lost her motivation to compete and was not planning to participate in the 2020 World Championships (which wound up being cancelled.) It is unlikely she would have made the Russian team anyway although they might have given her a courtesy spot since she was (still is) the reigning world champ. So, she managed to make it in the sport one more year after winning gold. Only Yuna and Zagitova have ever managed to even medal at the Worlds or Olympics post their gold medal performances. The sport is suffering for it.
    Last edited by Bostondevil; 09-22-2020 at 08:17 AM.

  9. #49
    Quote Originally Posted by Bostondevil View Post
    The sport is suffering for it.
    The flip side could be men's golf where one guy props up the whole sport, as far as I can tell (not a watcher or player). When Tiger plays well it's all Tiger all the time, and when he plays poorly ESPN still leads with Tiger. And to a lesser extent tennis where, when the big names are eliminated there tends to be less interest in tournament finals. Having new, young, blood injected into individual sports seems like a good thing. The bright star burnout in skating is an interesting phenomenon. I haven't dug into why exactly Bernal withdrew -- tweaked his back is all I recall. He could very well come back strong next year.

    Ditto re missing Jens and especially Paul Sherwin.

  10. #50
    Quote Originally Posted by jimmymax View Post
    The flip side could be men's golf where one guy props up the whole sport, as far as I can tell (not a watcher or player). When Tiger plays well it's all Tiger all the time, and when he plays poorly ESPN still leads with Tiger. And to a lesser extent tennis where, when the big names are eliminated there tends to be less interest in tournament finals. Having new, young, blood injected into individual sports seems like a good thing. The bright star burnout in skating is an interesting phenomenon. I haven't dug into why exactly Bernal withdrew -- tweaked his back is all I recall. He could very well come back strong next year.

    Ditto re missing Jens and especially Paul Sherwin.

    Feel the same on the bolded. Bob Roll is actually growing on me.

  11. #51
    Quote Originally Posted by Bostondevil View Post
    I went looking for Egan Bernal's age and found this https://www.theguardian.com/sport/20...doping-at-tour

    I had remembered incorrectly that Quintana is a former winner. He's finished as high as second but not first. Anyway, doping aside, I'm worried that the Tour de France might become like the women's Olympic figure skating gold medal, repeatedly won by an upstart youngster who never does much of anything again in the sport. We'll need a few more years of data to see if this is really becoming a trend. Two in a row white/yellow combo winners could just be a fluke.

    Women's Olympic figure skating gold medals have been won by teenagers since 1996 with the lone exception of 2006 when long time competitor Shizuka Arakawa (25 at the time) won and then retired from the sport. For the rest of them, only Kim Yuna, the 2010 champion, has ever made it back to the Olympics to defend her title. She won the silver in her second Olympics (in Sochi behind a 17 year old Russian whose name I do not remember and I'm a huge fan of figure skating, she was that obscure.) Zagitova, the 2018 champion, didn't win the World title in 2018 but did manage to win the World title in 2019. Just prior to the pandemic, she announced that she had lost her motivation to compete and was not planning to participate in the 2020 World Championships (which wound up being cancelled.) It is unlikely she would have made the Russian team anyway although they might have given her a courtesy spot since she was (still is) the reigning world champ. So, she managed to make it in the sport one more year after winning gold. Only Yuna and Zagitova have ever managed to even medal at the Worlds or Olympics post their gold medal performances. The sport is suffering for it.
    I wouldn't worry about Le Tour being dominated by a new teenager or someone in his young 20s each year perpetually. The career of a Tour contender can be pretty long. At 40, Valverde is just a year or 2 removed from being a GC contender. Porte finished on the podium at 35, and Froome and Thomas have won in their 30s recently. Major marathons have seen winners ranging from 21 or so to 40 or so. 40 may be tough with the raw power needed for cycling, but someone can win well into his 30s. I think we are seeing quite a new wave of young talent that should compete for the GC jersey for a number of years to come. Some riders were not primed for this year because the pandemic disrupted and threatened their season. That may have had a role in Bernal's cracking, plus a lingering injury or illness can ruin a tour. I would assume he'll be back as a major contender again next year.

    Tough new on Quintana. I have enjoyed watching and cheered for him. Say it ain't so, but it's probably so.

  12. #52
    Join Date
    Feb 2007
    Location
    Boston area, OK, Newton, right by Heartbreak Hill
    Quote Originally Posted by jimmymax View Post
    The flip side could be men's golf where one guy props up the whole sport, as far as I can tell (not a watcher or player). When Tiger plays well it's all Tiger all the time, and when he plays poorly ESPN still leads with Tiger. And to a lesser extent tennis where, when the big names are eliminated there tends to be less interest in tournament finals. Having new, young, blood injected into individual sports seems like a good thing. The bright star burnout in skating is an interesting phenomenon. I haven't dug into why exactly Bernal withdrew -- tweaked his back is all I recall. He could very well come back strong next year.

    Ditto re missing Jens and especially Paul Sherwin.
    I promise after this no more figure skating talk, but there is a big difference between a bright new star and a flash in the pan. For figure skating, the Olympics are the biggest stage, and, let's face it, figure skating is one of very few sports where the biggest stars are the women. For 20 years now, the sport has regularly awarded its highest honor to flashes in the pan. Viewership and interest are down. I very much believe the two are related.

    Aside on golf: Millennials and even more, the next generation after them, Gen Z/Zoomers (I think we're at least 5 years away from a nickname that sticks), don't play golf at the same rates as Boomers/Gen X did/does.

    I hope Bernal comes back strong next year. Podecar too. I'll be rooting for Roglic though. And Sam Bennett.

  13. #53
    I'm still looking for a new favorite. I was glad to Richie Porte make the podium - he may start to become a favorite. Stuart O'Grady, Jens Voight, Erik Zabel, and Chris Horner are some of my favorites from past years. Really looking forward to watching Sepp Kuss and Nielson Powless and how their careers progress.

  14. #54
    Join Date
    Feb 2007
    Location
    Boston area, OK, Newton, right by Heartbreak Hill
    Quote Originally Posted by DukieInKansas View Post
    I'm still looking for a new favorite. I was glad to Richie Porte make the podium - he may start to become a favorite. Stuart O'Grady, Jens Voight, Erik Zabel, and Chris Horner are some of my favorites from past years. Really looking forward to watching Sepp Kuss and Nielson Powless and how their careers progress.
    Love Richie Porte! But he announced this was his last Tour as a team leader. He'll probably be back, but in a helper role. So happy he made the podium!

  15. #55
    I believe it was mentioned that Porte has signed with Ineos, likely not as the main man. Powless and especially Kuss will be fun to watch progress. I've been on board with Bobke. He's upped his game since stepping into co-pilot role. And I've warmed up to Horner now, but it took most of last year's race. As far as new favorites, I love Wout van Aert's all around game. And for some reason I like Team Sunweb. They're young and a few guys had moments this year: Hirschi, Pedersen, Benoot, Bol.

  16. #56
    Join Date
    Feb 2007
    Location
    Boston area, OK, Newton, right by Heartbreak Hill
    Quote Originally Posted by jimmymax View Post
    I believe it was mentioned that Porte has signed with Ineos, likely not as the main man. Powless and especially Kuss will be fun to watch progress. I've been on board with Bobke. He's upped his game since stepping into co-pilot role. And I've warmed up to Horner now, but it took most of last year's race. As far as new favorites, I love Wout van Aert's all around game. And for some reason I like Team Sunweb. They're young and a few guys had moments this year: Hirschi, Pedersen, Benoot, Bol.
    Yes to both points!

    It was nice to see a team other than Ineos up at the front this year. And when Ineos finally got a stage win it was Michal Kwiatkowski! How awesome was that!

  17. #57
    Join Date
    Sep 2007
    Location
    Undisclosed
    CNBC for some reason is reshowing stage 15 — a big mountain stage. I find this so relaxing and engaging, for reasons I cannot articulate. Ahhhhhh....

  18. #58
    Join Date
    Feb 2007
    Location
    Santa Cruz CA
    Quote Originally Posted by OldPhiKap View Post
    CNBC for some reason is reshowing stage 15 — a big mountain stage. I find this so relaxing and engaging, for reasons I cannot articulate. Ahhhhhh...
    The Paris-Nice stage race is running this week. Have it on my DVR 11PM PST each night on the NBC sports channel I think. It's condensed to a one hour show each day.

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