End of Tour Team grades + Team of the Tour

rick_chasey

andyp wrote:

Big Mig was powered by a bit more than his 80 kgs and salbutamol.

Massive lungs right?

No_Ta_Doctor

andyp wrote:

Big Mig was powered by a bit more than his 80 kgs and salbutamol.

While not wanting to anywhere near that particular conversation, there might be a possible argument that the lower weight of TTer-GCers nowadays is an indicator of a cleaner peloton. It's a sort of reverse of Lucho Herrera's 'When I started seeing riders with fat arses climbing like aeroplanes, I understood. I preferred to stop.'

DeadCalm

No tA Doctor wrote:

andyp wrote:

Big Mig was powered by a bit more than his 80 kgs and salbutamol.

While not wanting to anywhere near that particular conversation, there might be a possible argument that the lower weight of TTer-GCers nowadays is an indicator of a cleaner peloton. It's a sort of reverse of Lucho Herrera's 'When I started seeing riders with fat arses climbing like aeroplanes, I understood. I preferred to stop.'

So it's basic power-to-weight? Guys with a lot of power got skinny enough to beat the wee climbers.

Lanterne_Rogue

No tA Doctor wrote:

andyp wrote:

Big Mig was powered by a bit more than his 80 kgs and salbutamol.

While not wanting to anywhere near that particular conversation, there might be a possible argument that the lower weight of TTer-GCers nowadays is an indicator of a cleaner peloton. It's a sort of reverse of Lucho Herrera's 'When I started seeing riders with fat arses climbing like aeroplanes, I understood. I preferred to stop.'

Interesting thought. The changing designs of grand tours is a confounding factor though, I suppose. No point in having a massive TT engine and hanging on in the mountains if there's not enough time trialling to make that work.

m.r.m.

Doubt long(ish) TT's will ever make a big return. Maybe an occasional one. Unfortunately they just don't move the needle for TV.

knedlicky

M.R.M. wrote:

Doubt long(ish) TT's will ever make a big return. Maybe an occasional one. Unfortunately they just don't move the needle for TV.

You might be right about long(ish) TTs never managing a big return … and that they don't move the needle for TV.
I'm not a fan of ITTs myself either.
But it would be very interesting if ASO were to announce that a future Tour will include a 140 km ITT (a ITT distance which has been done in the past).
Given the potential gains/losses, (ITT-ers over 40 kms aren't the same as those over 140 kms) it would require a total re-think from some teams about their team selection. Which would be good in making everything more unpredictable.
And I'm sure for at least that year, that ITT would get a lot of TV coverage.
If I were Prudhomme, I've give such an idea a gamble.

Lanterne_Rogue

Go the whole hog. Longish TT as a first stage, then have honking great time bonuses on every finish (say 60 seconds). Can a properly big unit take enough time to hold on? Can a sprinter nick it through weight of sprints?

(this won't happen, and I wouldn't really be behind the notion if it did)

No_Ta_Doctor

How about an enormous mountain TT with two or three cols in it?
You'd want to have some properly steep stuff in it, not one of those 14km at a steady 6% climbs that TTers like. Say, take the last two cols from stage 17 this year. Start at Loudenvielle, 37.5km with a cat 1 and an HC to deal with. No faffing about with "shall I use the TT bike and swap?"

viewtopic.php?f=40002&t=13094114

That's got to be worth some novelty value at least. Obviously, Froome would smash it, so it'll never happen.