Ban Team Time Trials ?

[Libertine Seguros]

The TTT relay race. Each rider rides an equal distance and needs to pass the team bidon on to the next teammate [rolling starts] and so on until the last rider (The GC one) takes it to the finish. All riders on the team get the same finish time.

The closest we've got to this was the 1975 Peace Race, which opened up with a relay race in Berlin, with a 7km course being done as a relay by each of the team's six riders. Can't tell if it was done as a shuttle (like the luge team races) or as a genuine relay, with hand slings or whatever to tag people in, but it was kind of weird, as riders would be given their individual leg times but the stage win was based on the team, so although the Italian team won, Hungary's István Szlipcsevics wore the leader's jersey on stage 2 for setting the fastest lap and the GC was set as though it had been a prologue.

 

[lemon cheese cake]

I'm not a fan of TTTs in terms of how they can effect the GC standings, however they are still a part of cycling whether they are long, short, whole teams, split teams, in a stage race or a standalone evebt. If the riders in the team aren't performing well in the TTT, then maybe they should look at how they can improve their ability at it. Even if it's to limit their losses, due to not being as financially strong as one that can spend hours in a windtunnel, rather than going to win.

 

[rallybanana]

I would like to see a new format where the time is taken individually (at the very least for GC), so it doesn't matter if a team ends up with two, four or seven riders together at the end.

I think it was like that in Tour Méditerranéen in 2004.

I wonder if the Paris-Nice organizers read this thread and liked this post

 

[Netserk]

I certainly think it's a far superior format, and it really delivered last year. It also allows for a more demanding route, like in the example of Mont Faron.

 

[Izzyeviel]

Every stage/race should be a team trial. Although I would mix it up a bit by having some of them all start at the same time.

 

[Cookster15]

I like TTTs but only early in grand tours. Not in one week stage races.