Pro-Cyclists Looking to Improve Racing

pelevin

With this year's Tour particularly being a drag to watch with the mountain stages consisting of Sky trains negating everything - in fairness coupled obviously with a below-par Quintana - and also in the light of the Olympics road race which was a classic and showing the benefits of smaller teams, interesting to see prominent riders echoing oft-mentioned sentiments here like obviously smaller teams and also that power meters shouldn't be racing tools. At Cycling News I just saw Van Avermaet wishing Grand Tours be reduced from 9 to 7 man teams which sems right to me; and Quintana is wishing power meters be banned from racing.

"They take away a lot of spectacle and make you race more cautiously," Quintana said. "I'd be the first in line to say they should be banned." Valverde added, "I think they’re really useful for training, but they take out a lot of drama from the sport. In competition you should be racing on feelings."

Seems so obvious to me, and people saying they wouldn't make such big differences is to me totally besides the point. Whatever the differences, this riding on feeling should absolutely be intrinsic to the sport. Why would any spectator not want them removed, if as such prominent racers claim, it lessens the nature and spectacle of racing? Anything to make it less formulaic - and not just the likes of the grand tours with Sky being the easily pointed at bad guys. Races like Liege Baston Liege seriously need shaking up in being less team-dominated and controlled also.

terrydel

pelevin wrote: »

With particularly being a drag to watch with the mountain stages consisting of Sky trains negating everything - in fairness coupled obviously with a below-par Quintana - and also in the light of the Olympics road race which was a classic and showing the benefits of smaller teams, interesting to see prominent riders echoing oft-mentioned sentiments here like obviously smaller teams and also that power meters shouldn't be racing tools. At Cycling News I just saw Van Avermaet wishing Grand Tours be reduced from 9 to 7 man teams which sems right to me; and Quintana is wishing power meters be banned from racing.

"They take away a lot of spectacle and make you race more cautiously," Quintana said. "I'd be the first in line to say they should be banned." Valverde added, "I think they’re really useful for training, but they take out a lot of drama from the sport. In competition you should be racing on feelings."

Seems so obvious to me, and people saying they wouldn't make such big differences is to me totally besides the point. Whatever the differences, this riding on feeling should absolutely be intrinsic to the sport. Why would any spectator not want them removed, if as such prominent racers claim, it lessens the nature and spectacle of racing? Anything to make it less formulaic - and not just the likes of the grand tours with Sky being the easily pointed at bad guys. Races like Liege Baston Liege seriously need shaking up in being less team-dominated and controlled also.

Up until 2 days ago, there was a lot of irony in Quintana complaining about cautious riding :P

magicbastarder

http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2057641518

C3PO

pelevin wrote: »

Whatever the differences, this riding on feeling should absolutely be intrinsic to the sport.

Why? Should heart rate monitors be banned too?

pelevin

terrydel wrote: »

Up until 2 days ago, there was a lot of irony in Quintana complaining about cautious riding :P

Though whatever about other years, this year's Tour talk about him being cautious was clearly unfair imo. He obviousy didn't have the legs as shown on the odd occasion he did try to get away from the Sky train in the mountains and got nowhere, achieving nothing except weakening himself further in relation to the others.

pelevin

C3PO wrote: »

Why? Should heart rate monitors be banned too?

Why not? Let them be training tools fine. I'd certainly not feel I'd suffer as a spectator if such aids were removed in races. Though perhaps you like the racing being more formulaic and robotic. To each their own.

pelevin

magicbastarder wrote: »

http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2057641518

Sorry, didn't see it.

C3PO

pelevin wrote: »

Though perhaps you like the racing being more formulaic and robotic. To each their own.

I don't find it "formulaic or robotic" ... to me it's scientifically planned and executed! I genuinely believe that this idea is much more about Froome and Sky bashing than anything else!

pelevin

I think its more about not wanting cycling to be so sterile. Is mentioning how dull LBL has become for the most part also about Sky bashing?

ragazzo

pelevin wrote: »

I think its more about not wanting cycling to be so sterile. Is mentioning how dull LBL has become for the most part also about Sky bashing?

Some people might say yes as Wout Poels won it this year as a Team Sky rider.🀔🀓

One is permitted to disagree with the tactics of Sky and find that their mode of racing is boring and predictable. Don't let the Sky fanboys dissuade you from stating the truth.

Recent editions of the Tour and other races have been quite boring when Sky have controlled them and rode in their trademark manner. Sky team and fans are undoubtedly delighted but it makes for poor viewing for cycling fans.

Hopefully Froome doesn't make another miraculous recovery in the Vuelta and drop the field to win by minutes.
I haven't seen todays stage so maybe it has happened already. Yawn!

secman

Smaller teams , and no radios would definitely make for more interesting races
The tours would be less predictable and more exciting.

Melodeon

With the expansion of the World Tour to 37 events (LINKY) and the current obligation on the World Tour teams to enter them all, smaller teams is looking to be quite a likely prospect.
Especially in the Grand Tours, a reduction from 9 team members to 8 or 7 would make it more difficult for a single team to impose their will on the peloton, and it would also open the event up to an extra 2 or 3 teams.
These extra teams would by default be Pro-Conti or lower, and they would add a bit of unpredictability and 'chaos' to the equation.