Vuelta 2017: Stage 16: Circuito de Navarra - Logroño 40.2kms ITT *Spoilers*

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  • rick_chasey
    rick_chasey Posts: 75,660
    TTs are absolutely necessary.
    _
  • larkim
    larkim Posts: 2,485
    If nothing else, it proves riders like Froome are not just in red because their team gets them there. After two weeks in the saddle, the guy in red also happens to be the most powerful over nearly an hour of individual riding. Sort of justifies his position in red really.
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  • dish_dash
    dish_dash Posts: 5,647
    Rick Chasey wrote:
    TTs are absolutely necessary.

    but boring
  • rick_chasey
    rick_chasey Posts: 75,660
    dish_dash wrote:
    Rick Chasey wrote:
    TTs are absolutely necessary.

    but boring

    Enhances the rest of the race.

    The middle 100km of most stages is pretty boring too most of the time, but you need to get it done to get a decent finale.
    _
  • RichN95.
    RichN95. Posts: 27,262
    edited September 2017
    dish_dash wrote:
    Rick Chasey wrote:
    TTs are absolutely necessary.

    but boring
    They can be very exciting at the end of a tight GC race.

    I enjoy the ebb and flow of the time differences as the riders ride to varying pacing.
    Twitter: @RichN95
  • philwint
    philwint Posts: 763
    Maybe because i do TTs and not road races, but I really enjoy watching both ITT and TTT stages in the big tours
    Phil

    www.philwinterbourne.co.uk
  • m.r.m.
    m.r.m. Posts: 3,486
    TT's are less interesting because currently there is no reliable competition for Froome outside of Dumoulin among GT riders.
    PTP Champion 2019, 2022 & 2023
  • larkim
    larkim Posts: 2,485
    That's only relevant though if all you care about is the winner. All races are about more than just the winner.
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  • Pross
    Pross Posts: 43,601
    bobmcstuff wrote:
    I might have made the TT a bit shorter but in general I don't mind having an ITT in a grand tour.

    I'd say 40km is a reasonable trade off against the amount of climbing at the Vuelta.

    A GT should be won by the best all-round cyclist, the problem is that many want them won by a climber they think of as 'exciting'. If a climber wants to win the GC in a major tour then they have to make more effort to capitalise on the terrain that suits them but they don't either because they are scared to try or they just aren't good enough to put time into the all-rounders.
  • burnthesheep
    burnthesheep Posts: 675
    larkim wrote:
    If nothing else, it proves riders like Froome are not just in red because their team gets them there. After two weeks in the saddle, the guy in red also happens to be the most powerful over nearly an hour of individual riding. Sort of justifies his position in red really.

    I'm newer to following the races and commentary, so my opinion is probably shyte.

    But........if he has such a strong team helping him that means he has to burn fewer matches along the way. Leaving more in the tank for efforts.

    Usain Bolt couldn't win the 4x100 alone. Froome, however strong, can't win GC alone. His TT strength is both his own AND the energy saved along the way of a good team.
  • mamil314
    mamil314 Posts: 1,103
    Interesting logic. This would, also, apply to all teams. If GT was a free for all (1 man per team), do you think Froome would fare poorly?
  • larkim
    larkim Posts: 2,485
    At the end of the day I think its important to keep in mind the help that the Sky train can give Froome.

    On the one hand, they ride to his instructions. If he wants sheltereing for 7.7km up a climb, that's what they do. He's the only one who can ask for this "service".

    OTOH, if they are riding (albeit to Froome's instructions) at the head of a peloton, either on the flat or on a climb, in terms of pure efficiency of riding if Nibali is following Froome's wheel all the way Nibali is getting exactly the same efficiency benefits that Froome is doing. It's only when he sticks his neck out up front that he loses this benefit.

    So in terms of matches burnt, if they both ride in the peloton, and then both solo to the finish side by side (not solo, but you know what I mean), then they have both burned the same physical matches, even if the "psychological" ones might be different.

    Just my thoughts - could be bollocks!
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  • bobmcstuff
    bobmcstuff Posts: 11,444
    Pross wrote:
    bobmcstuff wrote:
    I might have made the TT a bit shorter but in general I don't mind having an ITT in a grand tour.

    I'd say 40km is a reasonable trade off against the amount of climbing at the Vuelta.

    A GT should be won by the best all-round cyclist, the problem is that many want them won by a climber they think of as 'exciting'. If a climber wants to win the GC in a major tour then they have to make more effort to capitalise on the terrain that suits them but they don't either because they are scared to try or they just aren't good enough to put time into the all-rounders.

    Yeah, generally I agree. 1 minute is just quite a big margin it seems in current GT racing.

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