About the Opening Ceremony: I obviously loved the big Voldemort, the bike riders/doves, the music (Arctic Monkeys, Muse, Sir Paul McCartney, Queen, Sex Pistols, Who, Rolling Stones), the queen acting as Bond-girl, the amazing scenes related to the Industrial Revolution. I adored the team parade (some athletes wore exceptional typical clothes), Mohammed Ali's presence, Mr. Bean's show, the way they lit up the Olympic flame. On the other hand, I was very angry at Rogge for refusing to mention the dramatic Olympic Games of 1972. However, all in all, a very pleasant and funny ceremony.
Olimpic road race: Sky tried to control the race just like it tried to control the Tour, but this time things didn't go as planned. Cavendish didn't seem in great shape and the Germans, the Australians and the Belgians didn't really help the British team in the chase of the breakaways. The first breakaway was formed by interesting guys like Menchov or Pinotti, then Nibali attacked with a lot of kms to go and a big breakaway was formed. Great Britain seemed to believe that they could catch this breakaway again, but it didn't happen. Perhaps Wiggo & Co. overestimated their strength. Some riders (Nibali, Fuglsang, Van Garderen...) and some teams (Great Britain, Switzerland) put in some great performances, but in the end the victory went to one of the most intelligent guys in the peloton, aka Vinokourov. He and Uran attacked with 7 kms to go and then the Khazakhstan rider outsprinted the Colombian (slightly naive) climber in the final meters. 3rd was a good Kristoff (apropos, has anyone understood why Nordhaug attacked with about 20 kms to go?), 4th Phinney. Poor Cancellara crashed with a few kms to go and crossed the finish-line in tears.
During this race the riders couldn't use radios and therefore we could witness a few embarassing race strategies (Spain, I'm talking about you). Moreover, I got very angry when Eisel started helping Great Britain - as if Nibali had helped Sagan because they ride for the same team. Bleah!
Imo Great Britain made a mistake in letting so many riders go away. Also Germany however made a huge mistake by thinking the British could do everything on their own. Talking about Germany, I was surprised by the absence of Jens Voigt. How can you leave him home for such an important race?
Last but not least, a few words about Phinney: the boy ended in 4th (a good result), but perhaps he could have tried to launch an attack in the last kms of race. Still, Taylor is young and I'm sure he'll get a great result in the TT competition.
So, that's all for the moment - AAVL, it's party time!!! :D :D
I totally agree with everything you said! :D The opening ceremony was magnificent.. Danny Boyle did a great job with British history, culture, music; it was all there! So lovely! Haha, yes, the Queen and James Bond. Apparently she was very proud of her performance as a Bond Girl ;)
RispondiEliminaAnd then Vino.. wow.. it's so amazing!!! Some people think he 'bought' the victory from Uran, which I think is totally ridiculous.. Uran just looked behind him to see where the group was. I don't think there was more to it, 'cause Uran would never let go of gold, that'd be stupid. And today Marianne Vos won GOLD!!! She showed that when you are THE favorite it is possible to win ;) The other Dutch girls were also so happy for her, so cool.. they're all so humble, very deserved win for Holland :D And Lizzie 2nd, she's also a class rider. I really hope this will generate more interest for women cycling, because it was a very exciting race to watch! :-)
I love watching the Olympics.. all these different sports and great performances :-)
Fede, we miss your posts! ;)
RispondiElimina