Saturday 29 July 2017

Rider of the Tour de France 2017


Congratulations Froome, you made it!
The Impressionists have elected you as rider of the Tour de France 2017.
You can say what you want but how you can say he is not a champion? In the end he always win and this is what matters.
Poker of Tours and rider of the Tour 2017, what else do you need?

Monday 24 July 2017

Tour de France 2017 Finale


One of the most boring Tour de France I can remember, due also to the tracery of the organizers, finally came to an end.
The jurors tried to do everything to provide as much French victories as possible, disqualifying and penalizing foreign riders, but, in the end, as always, Froome won.
There is not a big winner of this Tour, Froome appeared to be more vulnerable than the previous editions but none of his opponents has been able to beat him, due also to his incredible team that controlled every single stage.
From this Tour de France comes out a big martyr, the strongest rider on the road, a man that could have easily won this edition of the Tour de France but he was in the wrong team. All our thoughts are for you Mikel Landa.
Here you can find my grades to the teams,  from 1 (very bad) to 10 (very good), you, dear Impressionists, will choose the rider of the Tour de France in the upcoming survey.

Team Sky - 9
They have won their 5th Tour in the last six years this says all. Nevertheless they are a dictatorial regime, there is no space left for unplanned exploits by other members of the team.

AG2R La Mondiale - 8
They tried in any way to win this Tour de France but, unfortunately, for Bardet, even a single kilometer against the clock is too much.

Movistar Team - 5
They lost Valverde during the first stage, the alternative to a Quintana still recovering from a really hard Giro.

Trek-Segafredo - 6
Contador has the heart of a lion but not the legs. They go home with a stage win, at the beginning of the Tour de France they had bigger plans.

BMC Racing Team - 5
They lost their best rider, they didn't have a second plan, they failed.

Astana Pro Team - 1
Is this a team? The strategy was to leave Aru alone as soon as possible? Still wondering...

UAE Team Emirates - 5
A top ten could not be enough for the team.

FDJ - 5.5
They sacrified half of the team with a rider. They won a stage.

Orica-Scott - 7
The white jersey was the main goal, they did it. They could have won a stage.

Dimension Data - 6.5
They lost their main sprinter, they had a second plan, they won a stage.

Quick-Step Floors - 8
They dominated every single sprint they took part. They were helped by a Tour de France with tons of flat stages.

Bora-Hansgrohe - 7.5
They lost their most representative rider after a questionable decision by the jurors. They won another stage.

Team Katusha-Alpecin - 5
They failed all their objectives.

Lotto Soudal - 5
They failed all their objectives.

Team Sunweb - 10
They won, they amused the crowd, they deserved two fantastic jerseys. Team of the year.

Cofidis, Solutions Crédits - 3.5
I discover they were at the Tour when Bouhanni punched another rider.  They disappeared again after that episode.

Team LottoNL-Jumbo - 8
Two great stage win, one of them on le Champs Elysdées, what else do you need?

Direct Energie - 7.5
A memorable stage win.

Cannondale-Drapac Pro Cycling Team - 9
Stage win and an unexpected second place in the general classification! What a Tour de France!!

Bahrain Merida Pro Cycling Team - 4
They failed all their mysterious objectives.

Wanty-Groupe Gobert - 5
Big breakaways but that's all.

Fortuneo - Oscaro - 5
Breakaways, that's all. I expected more.


Friday 14 July 2017

How Long Will This Charade Last?


The jurors continue taking shameful decisions trying to help French riders win at the Tour de France.
Bouhanni did something definitely worse than Sagan and he is still in the race, Bardet took a bottle just like Uran Uran, Bennet and Pauwels but the Jury "did not see".
My question is: is this a World Tour race or the aim of the organizers is just to have a ridiculous French parade?
The race, so far, make me leaning towards the second option.

Monday 10 July 2017

How Many Riders Will Arrive In Paris?


This is the question murmured on the roads of le Tour de France.
One of the most boring Tour de France I can remember is being sadly animated just by bad crashes.
Nevertheless, they are part of cycling, as mechanical problems.
That's why I think that the weeping Froome should not have complained with Aru about his attack.
Following the policy of Froome I don't understand why the Tour is continuing on Tuesday with another stage. We should suspend the Tour and wait 30 days 'til Porte is fully recovered and ready to battle again. Ridiculous.
I don't even understand why the other contenders did not help Aru in the only true attack of the day at the yellow jersey. They preferred to wait for Froome and to be humiliated by him.
Condator is a former champion that is facing his natural decline and Quintana is still recovering from one of the hardest Giro of all time.
They had a chance, they missed it.

Wednesday 5 July 2017

Is Still Worth Watching The Tour De France?


The answer is No.
The Tour de France is generally quite a boring race in itself, It is full of flat stages and the climbs are always the same five every year.
What makes the Tour de France a great race is that the most iconic champions are at the start of this Grand Tour and animate it with their talent and their class.
When Valverde is out due to a bad crash and the World Champion is out due to a more than questionable decision of an unprepared jury, why should We still watch this piddling race?

P.S. If organizers are happy just with French victories, they should just decide to turn the Tour de France into the new French national championship.

Monday 3 July 2017

Tour de France 2017 Pt. 1


The same old Tour is on and nothing seems to have changed.
Froome is again the big favourite and the other teams are already complaining about Team Sky's tactics and materials.
This time under investigation are the skinsuits used by the team during the opening Time Trial that, with their "vortex generator", seem to have provided the riders a notable time gain.
The saddest event is the crash of Valverde in the first stage, the Tour looses one of the most spectacular riders of the peloton. I really hope this won't be the end of the career of one of the last legend of this sport.
One of the most interesting riders to watch out during the first part of this Tour is Phinney, the American seems finally healed and in a good shape. No doubt about his talent, now I'm curious to see what he can do.
Until the stage arrival at la Planche des Belles Filles we can just enjoy watching Sagan that tries to win every stage.
Welcome back to the same old Tour de France.