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Reputation:92
Level:All-Star
Since:Feb 8, 2008
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Unless they let in the winners from last year, let alone the top riders, Tour De France will become obsolete. It is what started the excitement of cycling to the US and the only thing that will keep the excitement going. Good luck to the Tour and hopefully they can include more top riders next year or they might as well just shut it down.
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Reputation:69
Level:Pro
Since:Oct 26, 2007
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I hardly doubt the tour will be obsolete. It may be more of a disappointment for that year.
If you've read Tour history, they've had their share of ups and downs... this is just one of those down times.
As for the US... I believe it takes a US contender to generate US interest in the general population.
Greg LeMond won and America went nuts.... and then it went away. Armstrong's wins brought attention back. I expect the same disinterest will happen until we have another strong American that is a contender.
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Reputation:73
Level:Pro
Since:Aug 15, 2007
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I completely agree. Levi is getting up there in age but has a good shot this year- unfortunately it is with Astana. Hopefully Slipstream can put something together, Understandably it would be a Cinderella victory, but they are looking like a decent option. It surely would generate some interest here in the US.
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Reputation:73
Level:Pro
Since:Aug 15, 2007
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Scratch Levi....I just remembered and pulled my head out. Go Slipstream!
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Reputation:99
Level:Superstar
Since:Aug 19, 2006
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This years Tour de France is going to be by far the worst I will experience. This season’s Giro di Italia and Vuelta a España are going to be far better. Maybe this years TDF is really competitive but we are not going to see any great climbing scenes, so that is kind of disappointing.
Let’s just hope next season will be better because the UCI is being unfair with some riders that have always played by the rules.
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Reputation:94
Level:All-Star
Since:Mar 3, 2007
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right you are. This year is mindboggling. Suspending a team that did nothing
wrong this year. Hmmm, makes no sense to me. Top riders grounded again. CUL
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Reputation:25
Level:Rookie
Since:Jul 5, 2008
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As has been the case for some time now, the race is about the challenges of the course. The news of the competitors has become a predictable disappointment, with all the extenuating circumstances.
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Reputation:95
Level:Superstar
Since:Jan 3, 2007
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One could argue that the Tour has become more fascinating now than ever. With an open field such as it is, maybe we'll see the emergence of the next Hinault, Armstrong, Indurain, or Merckx. Then again, it may be a bust. It seems that, regardless, the level of interest in America is constant amongst true cycling fans and a mere passing fancy for others so long as an American is in contention. I, for one, will watch as regularly as my schedule allows.
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Reputation:96
Level:Superstar
Since:Dec 1, 2006
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I respect the Tour for taking on cheaters. It is so difficult to prove, and I do not see it as the organisers' fault, but the actual cheater. Andrea Kloden was robbed, perhaps not of winning, but finishing well, because of Vinokourov, not because of the Tour De France. How much did all of the teammates know of the other riders' cheating?
I think in the long run, it will have every rider selecting their teams and teammates more carefully, and the cheaters will be excluded, which is all Tour fans really want. There were several riders who train hard year-round, and cannot come close to the times of some of these people....some are special, and some are not, and it is frustrating to see some riders "penalized" because they do not cheat.
The Tour will be the biggest event in cycling whether an American is in it or not. It is like a chess game, and I don't care what country good riders are from. I think it will be near impossible to beat Armstrong's record, or even win consecutive Tours now. He did more than win 7 tours, he (and those around him) changed a lot about the sport with regards to training and diet and science, and how the team operates in a complete Tour. Race fans have witnessed a new era of the Tour, and it will probably be a while before someone raises the bar like that again.
Perhaps only Gretzky may have shifted the way his sport is played moreso than Armstrong.
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