posted Jul 7, 2008

removal of prologue - not sure. i think they are a good thing (or a can be a great spectacle as you say - as all of us that were in london last year can testify to), and in many ways give the race some early direction and talking points.

removal of time bonuses - sure, why not, but as i have posted elsewhere why not create a level playing field with respect to all points/bonuses (e.g. for the green jersey in the mountain stages)

as for how your title relates to your own post, i think they are unrelated, as the key to the first 2 stages has been the difficult finish in both, with the lack of time time bonuses removing the charade of pure sprinters in the yellow jersey rather than having a material effect on the days racing.

so overall, no complaints so far.

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posted Jul 7, 2008

my only complaint is that i put an each way bet on Soler and he is one of the only riders to sustain an injury in the first day!!

i had rasmussen last year so ill let you know who i jinx next year incase anyone fancies a flutter

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posted Jul 8, 2008

Removing the Prologue was brilliant. Everyone has something to race for right from the off. It took me back to the 1960's and '70's.
The original TdF was an individual affair. IMHO, to maintain its quality in future, we need to move back toward that kind of ethos. Not having a TTT, bonus time, or a prologue will help this happen.
As I said in another thread. The original TdF was also more like today's "Race Across America". I do think that to celebrate the 100th TdF, that A.S.O. should run a parallel competition on precisely the same course as the 1903 race was run on and, with exactly the same rules. Then we'll see how tough yesterday's riders really were (a lot tougher than today's cosseted professionals I would suggest)!

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posted Jul 8, 2008

I think it's been a very refreshing change of emphasis from Christian Prudhomme, and it really does have the feel of a different kind of TdF so far, compared with previous years.

No Prologue - The full spectacle of the Grand Depart town en-fete, and the chance to see each rider clearly & cheer them individually as they set off was a slight loss for myself and the family this year compared with London, Dunkerque or Liege, but seeing all the leaders fight it out amongst themselves for the first stage win & yellow jersey on the Côte de Cadoual was a balancing gain for all of us, and I think Valverde was 100% worthy of wearing yellow after stage 1, as he won it fair and square against anyone else that was up for it with a superbly timed final 750m or so.

No Time Bonuses - Breakaways appear to have been allowed to get away early on in the stages, as there's nothing much to be gained along the route, and now the overall leader has changed following yesterdays miscalculation by the teams chasing down the breakaway, so there have been no sprinters in yellow, and the leader will almost certainly change again today following the first ITT.

However, while this is very refreshing and welcome, if the format remained unchanged again from now on, then this format would itself become stale.

Thankfully, next years Grand Depart in Monaco, will be a 15km prologue TT.

Having also been an F1 fan (since Graham Hill was winning...) for even longer than I've been a TdF fan (since Greg Lemond & Stephen Roche were winning...), I'm also thoroughly delighted that it will cover pretty much all of the F1 circuit over the two days next year. Never thought I'd see my TdF heroes race on the same roads as my F1 heroes do today! All I want now is for the next time the tour goes through Belgium, that it travels via the public roads of the Spa-Francorchamps F1 circuit too. I don't know if the tour has passed over the old Rouen or Reims Grand Prix circuit roads anyone?

So, how about clockwise years (Alps before Pyrenees) could be with the Prologue and Time Bonuses, and anticlockwise years (Pyrenees before Alps) could be without them?

Maybe the Team Time Trial could also make a return, perhaps 1 year in 4?
It does look truly superb if you've ever seen it, or even just seen it on TV. I appreciate it affects the times somewhat in an individuals race, but the teams are an integral part of assisting the individuals to do what they do day after day anyway, so I for one would like to see it back every few years.
Limiting the maximum team time difference relative to the fastest team did seem to help minimise the impact on the G.C, last time it featured in 2005...

Anyway, changing the format a little each year to add a little variety and keep us guessing a bit will always get my vote, and as this does indeed appear to be happening, all I can say now is "chapeau" to Christian Prudhomme.

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