There used to be many more dead flat stages in the grand tours of the 1960s and 1970s of much greater length with the peloton trundling along taking it easy, but these longueurs weren't on TV,. Now, with coverage from the start of the race, we have some boring days now and then, but the peloton can't race flat out all the time. The solution to encourage breakaways is very simple - hand out UCI points for a couple of intermediate sprints along the way on every stage. This would mean the minor teams would always want to get out there, and would actually compete for the sprint points, rather than rolling over for a hundred euros here or there.
Yes, you're right about the TV coverage, although my point isn't so much about whether the full stages are boring or entertaining, but rather the fact that we don’t even see breakaways on days like these — something that would have been unthinkable in cycling during the '90s or 2000s.
What you suggest about intermediate sprints is interesting; in the link I included in the post I wrote with Raúl Banqueri it’s actually one of the potential improvements we propose for the UCI points system. All the best!
I agree that with one eye on the UCI points the riders that are being "developed" are not getting the full experience. Not being able to go up the road is a skill that the majority of the young talent is going to need in order to have a long and successful career in cycling. They need reps and unfortunately it sounds like they aren't getting them because the teams would rather sit back and shoot for a top 10.
Absolutely. We're also seeing fewer domestiques and a more inexperienced peloton, as most World Tour teams are going after young talents who are still yet to be developed.
There used to be many more dead flat stages in the grand tours of the 1960s and 1970s of much greater length with the peloton trundling along taking it easy, but these longueurs weren't on TV,. Now, with coverage from the start of the race, we have some boring days now and then, but the peloton can't race flat out all the time. The solution to encourage breakaways is very simple - hand out UCI points for a couple of intermediate sprints along the way on every stage. This would mean the minor teams would always want to get out there, and would actually compete for the sprint points, rather than rolling over for a hundred euros here or there.
Hi Nick, thanks so much for your comment.
Yes, you're right about the TV coverage, although my point isn't so much about whether the full stages are boring or entertaining, but rather the fact that we don’t even see breakaways on days like these — something that would have been unthinkable in cycling during the '90s or 2000s.
What you suggest about intermediate sprints is interesting; in the link I included in the post I wrote with Raúl Banqueri it’s actually one of the potential improvements we propose for the UCI points system. All the best!
I agree that with one eye on the UCI points the riders that are being "developed" are not getting the full experience. Not being able to go up the road is a skill that the majority of the young talent is going to need in order to have a long and successful career in cycling. They need reps and unfortunately it sounds like they aren't getting them because the teams would rather sit back and shoot for a top 10.
Absolutely. We're also seeing fewer domestiques and a more inexperienced peloton, as most World Tour teams are going after young talents who are still yet to be developed.