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Importance of Time Trials in Big Tours
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| Ian Butler |
Posted on 09-05-2012 15:19
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I sometimes hear that too much is decided in time trials for the big tours. Weaker climbers could still win TDF if their time trial would be good enough. What do you think? |
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| Alakagom |
Posted on 09-05-2012 15:23
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In recent years TTT are too short to make big difference imo between the best teams in the peleton.
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| kumazan |
Posted on 09-05-2012 15:23
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I think there are too few TT kms in GTs this days, except for this year's Tour de France, which, if anything, lacks another big +200km mountain stage. 32km of ITT? A freakin joke.
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| Ian Butler |
Posted on 09-05-2012 15:27
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I don't know. I kind of like it when the favorites battle it out in the mountains, rather than in TT. However, I'd love to see more TT on mountains. Like a TT on the Mont Ventoux, how great would that be?
You reckon the Schlecks would perform better at those? Because right now, the TT are just killing them (just like their tactics, but that's another story). |
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| kumazan |
Posted on 09-05-2012 15:30
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More ITT kms force the non TTers to battle it out more in the mountains, otherwise you get a 2011 Pyrenees like farce. I don't like MTT much to be honest, I like mountain stages to be road stages not TTs.
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| Ian Butler |
Posted on 09-05-2012 15:34
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@ Kumazan: You do have a point. TTs don't bother me, but I think they shouldn't put too many of them in the races. The main battle has to be in the mountains, not on the flat, imo.
Big fan of prologues, though. I think every big tour should start with that. That way every rider has their specific place at the start of the first race. |
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| kumazan |
Posted on 09-05-2012 15:36
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I don't want too many of them. Two ~50km ITT are enough. 
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| CountArach |
Posted on 09-05-2012 15:42
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kumazan wrote:
More ITT kms force the non TTers to battle it out more in the mountains, otherwise you get a 2011 Pyrenees like farce. I don't like MTT much to be honest, I like mountain stages to be road stages not TTs.
Spot on. If pure climbers want to win it they are forced to attack for it, rather than just grinding it out.
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| madzdaman |
Posted on 09-05-2012 15:43
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if you have all the TT's nearer the beginning of the tour then the climbers will be chasing a lot of time in the mountains and will attack more, and we wont get a repeat of the Pyrenees in 2011. it doesnt matter how many ITT's there are either: if Pinotti was the leader now in the giro then there would be more attacking in the mountains to reduce the lead. |
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| Ian Butler |
Posted on 09-05-2012 15:46
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So what would you like to see more: TT in the first week(s) or rather at the end? More in the beginning, right? Or maybe the uncertainty of a later TT would force them to take as much time as possible? |
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| kumazan |
Posted on 09-05-2012 15:48
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Experience says it's better to have a long ITT before each mountain range (supposing we're following the TdF model of flat -> 1st mountains -> transition -> 2nd mountains -> Paris).
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| cactus-jack |
Posted on 09-05-2012 15:49
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I would like to see two ITTs with a combined lenght of about 70-80km, one after 6-7 stages and the other one around the 20th.
There's a fine line between "psychotherapist" and "psycho the rapist"
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| Schleck96 |
Posted on 09-05-2012 15:53
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This year Tour is nice in TT km's but it lacks a great mountain stage so TT's will make a huge difference |
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| Ian Butler |
Posted on 09-05-2012 15:55
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cactus-jack wrote:
I would like to see two ITTs with a combined lenght of about 70-80km, one after 6-7 stages and the other one around the 20th.
I'd put the 2nd ITT a bit earlier. I'd certainly leave a couple of mountain stages after the final ITT.
But ending a GT with a (I)TT isn't something I'm a big fan of. I'm more of a fan of the Champs Elysee. That way, most of the time the yellow jersey will have an entire stage to enjoy it. |
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| madzdaman |
Posted on 09-05-2012 15:56
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more at the beginning, but not the 100 or so like in the tour. maybe 60? more if there's a team time trial.
I agree @kuzaman, it would be a better model. |
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| Ian Butler |
Posted on 09-05-2012 15:58
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Schleck96 wrote:
This year Tour is nice in TT km's but it lacks a great mountain stage so TT's will make a huge difference
That's too bad for Andy, of course. If he wants to win TDF, he's gonna have to race really well in the mountains.
TDF 2012 is probably for Evans. There's a lot of talk about Wiggings, but I'm not so sure, Evans is still stronger in the mountains, imo. |
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| Schleck96 |
Posted on 09-05-2012 16:00
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Ian Butler wrote:
Schleck96 wrote:
This year Tour is nice in TT km's but it lacks a great mountain stage so TT's will make a huge difference
That's too bad for Andy, of course. If he wants to win TDF, he's gonna have to race really well in the mountains.
TDF 2012 is probably for Evans. There's a lot of talk about Wiggings, but I'm not so sure, Evans is still stronger in the mountains, imo.
Evans will get this one im pretty sure |
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| Ian Butler |
Posted on 09-05-2012 16:06
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Schleck96 wrote:
Ian Butler wrote:
Schleck96 wrote:
This year Tour is nice in TT km's but it lacks a great mountain stage so TT's will make a huge difference
That's too bad for Andy, of course. If he wants to win TDF, he's gonna have to race really well in the mountains.
TDF 2012 is probably for Evans. There's a lot of talk about Wiggings, but I'm not so sure, Evans is still stronger in the mountains, imo.
Evans will get this one im pretty sure
That makes two in a row.
I really do hope Schleck (Andy) wins TDF once. Because I don't think it's that nice to have one a TDF the way he did. If I were him, I would want to win TDF in a fair way. Not that Schleck doesn't deserve the title (though Contador didn't deserve the disqualification), but Schleck deserves to wear the yellow jersey in Paris, not a couple of years later. |
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| Schleck96 |
Posted on 09-05-2012 16:21
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I think he will get next year if there's a Tour with very much Mountains because of 100th edition and all of that |
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| Ian Butler |
Posted on 09-05-2012 16:30
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Maybe, but Contador will be wanting revenge. Winning the 100th edition of TDF is really special, so there'll be a lot of candidates. But hopefully it'll be an epic battle between Contador and Schleck! |
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