One of the best things about watching such a European sport is to see the difference in how the sport is covered there as opposed to how it would be covered here. Can you imagine the insanity covering last year’s Vuelta with the whole Jumbo of it all — ESPN would explode. Or when the riders protest and suddenly a stage changes? So Euro.
But also your last paragraph brings it home. Primoz isn’t in this to be Great (cause he is) it’s to be the Best. This is an upper level conversation. Is he happy with all his titles? Sure. But even the Euros know immortality is in winning the Big One as arbitrary as that might be. I mean there’s so much luck to win any Grand Tour to just do it once is something.
But yeah man. Charles Barkley never won the big one and he’s not in the Conversation. Sports is still sports.
This is an excellent column.
One of the best things about watching such a European sport is to see the difference in how the sport is covered there as opposed to how it would be covered here. Can you imagine the insanity covering last year’s Vuelta with the whole Jumbo of it all — ESPN would explode. Or when the riders protest and suddenly a stage changes? So Euro.
But also your last paragraph brings it home. Primoz isn’t in this to be Great (cause he is) it’s to be the Best. This is an upper level conversation. Is he happy with all his titles? Sure. But even the Euros know immortality is in winning the Big One as arbitrary as that might be. I mean there’s so much luck to win any Grand Tour to just do it once is something.
But yeah man. Charles Barkley never won the big one and he’s not in the Conversation. Sports is still sports.