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Giro d'Italia 2021 Giro d'Italia, Stage 2: Stupinigi - Novara 179km

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Which sprinter will start off his Giro the best?

  • Caleb Ewan

    Votes: 35 43.8%
  • Tim Merlier

    Votes: 19 23.8%
  • Dylan Groenewegen

    Votes: 10 12.5%
  • Peter Sagan

    Votes: 3 3.8%
  • Elia Viviani

    Votes: 2 2.5%
  • Fernando Gaviria

    Votes: 1 1.3%
  • Giacomo Nizzolo

    Votes: 6 7.5%
  • David Dekker

    Votes: 2 2.5%
  • Matteo Moschetti

    Votes: 0 0.0%
  • None of the above

    Votes: 2 2.5%

  • Total voters
    80
  • Poll closed .
Think the 1km to go rule dates back to the Merckx era

However, with transponders, why not take the actual time as the riders cross the line? If a rider loses a few seconds in a sprint, tell him to improve his sprinting so he won't lose time in the future
For fictive races, I've considered using that on stages where the 3 km rule is not in effect. That is, on uphill finishes.
 
That's exactly what they're trying to avoid; GC guys mixing it with the sprinters.

I suspect things would go back to the way they were pre 3km rule. You wouldn't see these 3 minute flat out sprint trains like we do now. Instead, sprints would be shorter (probably 30-60 seconds). Thus, safer.

Before we went to 3km to go, the only time I remember there was even speculation of an extended sprint train was if the final day of the 2003 tour came down to bonus seconds. Then Bianchi and USPS would lead things out from more than 1km. Normal sprint lead outs then started inside of 1km to go. Simply less time in the red, which led to far fewer crashes
 
I suspect things would go back to the way they were pre 3km rule. You wouldn't see these 3 minute flat out sprint trains like we do now. Instead, sprints would be shorter (probably 30-60 seconds). Thus, safer.

Before we went to 3km to go, the only time I remember there was even speculation of an extended sprint train was if the final day of the 2003 tour came down to bonus seconds. Then Bianchi and USPS would lead things out from more than 1km. Normal sprint lead outs then started inside of 1km to go. Simply less time in the red, which led to far fewer crashes

These days sprints without a big train stretching things out tend to be much more chaotic

.I don’t think that the development of the train as a tactic has anything much to do with the 3km rule either. Sprinter teams don’t care about time most of the time, so rules about timings have little relevance to them. A train is just a way to make sure your sprinter is in optimum position when he opens up,
.
 
I don't think there's anything political behind it. Just a creative way to state what he's here for. And we know a Giro stage win matters to him a little more than to most other riders.

That brings me to a question; what happens if he doesn't win a stage? Then he hasn't completely fulfilled his part of the deal.

(I think most people know what he's here for. Same for the rest of the peloton.)
 

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