Was reading something about this type of comparison yesterday actually, and the Giro looks to be the more exciting, and consequently, harder race this year. The Vuelta is, and always will be something for the Spainards to beat each other down over, not too many other people care about it aside from them, I think it's becoming a 3rd class citizen as far as GTs go, and sort of agree with some folks who have said, they should cut it back to a 2 week race. Although, the Vuelta has provided some interesting racing as of the last few years.
This year's Giro though is going to be jewel for grand tours, at least in excitement and hardness. 7 mountaintop finishes, and some of them coming near the end of the race, which means guys will be battling it out tooth and nail almost to the end of the race, whereas in the Tour it'll get sorted out about a week before the end of the race, and then it's just long breakaway stages, and maybe a catch, and then a sprint. It's formulaic and boring. The problem with France is its geography. If they would start at a different point in the country, it would make it easier to hit the mountains earlier, but I don't think they'll change that. It's always what? 5-7 days before they hit the Alps or the Pyrenees usually? That stinks. It needs to be shaken up before that, so then there might be more attacking, and more action. Also, was reading about one climb they have in the Giro this year, 5k of a dirt road at the top of some lone mountain in the Dolomites. Can't remember the name of the climb, but according to Simoni, it's going to make the Finestre look like a cake walk. This new climb has gradients on the dirt of around 24-25% in some sports, and climbs at a consistent 12% once it hits the dirt. He rode it, and said that near the top, he had to switch to a mountain bike to make it to the summit, and Simoni ain't no slouch in the climbing category if you know what I mean. He also mentioned that guys will definitely need either a triple, or a compact crankset to get up this thing, and if the weather is bad, there will be lots of walking that last 5k. He comared it to the Angrilu in Spain, and pronounced it much much harder. So that's something to look forward to. Also, there are some climbs and finishes in the Giro this year that harken back to old Giros and their finishes, so it's sort of a "best of" mountain top finishes. It's going to be great, except, no coverage in the US.
The Tour this year, in contrast, is going to be sprinters the first week, some hills, and then long TTs, where Der Kaiser will smash people into submission. Interestingly enough, there are still some huge climbs in the Tour, but the promoters have placed them at the start of stages, which will probably see someone, or a small group breakaway on the early climbs, and the others riding tempo up said early hills, and catch the break later on down the road. The only interesting thing that could come out of something like this is a contender gets away on one of the early climbs, and then we have a desperate chase from the other guys and teams. That could make it good, but still placing climbs early in the stage, like the Col d'Izoard is just pure folly. No Ventoux either. I mean, come on, these are almost mystical places for le Tour, and they just avoid them like the plague.
Ah well, it's still going to be a good year for racing.
