Historical time bonuses

[CheckMyPecs]

I just read that a one-minute time bonus used to be awarded to stage winners in the Tour de France in the 1960s. For example, Anquetil won the 1964 Tour thanks to such a bonus he grabbed in Monaco.

Were organisers mad?

 

[Vesica]

Yes they were. And they still are. Time bonuses are one of most ridiculous things in cycling.

 

[roundabout]

I just read that a one-minute time bonus used to be awarded to stage winners in the Tour de France in the 1960s. For example, Anquetil won the 1964 Tour thanks to such a bonus he grabbed in Monaco.

Were organisers mad?

He would have won with a 30 seconds bonus for second on the stage as well.

Interestingly, there didn't seem to be a bonus for third place on the stage in that edition.

 

[roundabout]

Probably the best bonification system was in the 1934 Tour

The bonification system from the 1933 Tour de France was slightly reduced: now the winner of a stage received 90 seconds bonification, and the second cyclist 45 seconds. In addition to this, the winner of the stage received a bonification equal to the difference between him and the second-placed cyclists, with a maximum of two minutes. This same bonification system was applied on mountain summits that counted for the mountains classification

 

[CheckMyPecs]

No wonder time bonuses were reduced in 1934. The previous year, the "real" winner ended up in third place due to time bonuses.

 

[sir fly]

Interesting topic.
Maybe ASO should try with separate bonification for each stage.
And a super bonification pan flat stage - two hours, an hour and 45 minutes, hour and a half... to see how high the sprinters can finish in the GC. Sagan could have a fair chance of winning.

 

[CheckMyPecs]

Re:

Interesting topic.
Maybe ASO should try with separate bonification for each stage.
And a super bonification pan flat stage - two hours, an hour and 45 minutes, hour and a half... to see how high the sprinters can finish in the GC. Sagan could have a fair chance of winning.

Bala approves. With this method, he would have won 3 Vueltas and a Tour, including a double in 2008.

 

[rghysens]

In the1932 tour de france there was a time bonus of 4, 2 and 1 minutes for the first three in each stage, and an additional bonus of 3 minutes for the stage winner if the second placed rider of that stage finished more than 3 minutes back.
The winner of that Tour, André Leducq, who was a very good sprinter, collected 26 bonification minutes more than the second, Kurt Stöpel. The difference in the final GC was 26'03''.

 

[jmdirt]

Re:

Yes they were. And they still are. Time bonuses are one of most ridiculous things in cycling.

I've never been a fan of time bonuses either. The argument is that they "liven" up the transition stages, but that's what a good points system should address. The GC should be based on time. <period

When looking at time bonuses from a historical standpoint remember that races went from dusk til dawn, riders welded their own forks, picked (from a tree or field) their own lunch, and time gaps tended to be bigger, hours sometimes.

EDIT: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Tour_de_France_general_classification_winners

 

[Red Rick]

I think it would be way cooler if they'd placed big bonification sprints on some hill tops, a decent distance from the finish. Would be more exciting.

 

[Tonton]

Bonifications are heresy. Give as much money as you want, but time is priceless. Let the best (aggregate time) man win.

 

[vedrafjord]

On the other hand, without bonus seconds, Sean Kelly wouldn't have won the 1988 Vuelta, nor would he be able to wrap his rural Waterford-South Tipp accent around the word 'bonifications' all the time. Bonus seconds have given us a bit more action in the final stretches of mountain stages where guys would otherwise be content to limp home following wheels (this year's Dauphiné was a good example), but they also gave us Simon Gerrans, 2016 Tour Down Under winner. Hmmm.

 

[yaco]

Re:

On the other hand, without bonus seconds, Sean Kelly wouldn't have won the 1988 Vuelta, nor would he be able to wrap his rural Waterford-South Tipp accent around the word 'bonifications' all the time. Bonus seconds have given us a bit more action in the final stretches of mountain stages where guys would otherwise be content to limp home following wheels (this year's Dauphiné was a good example), but they also gave us Simon Gerrans, 2016 Tour Down Under winner. Hmmm.

Time bonuses are either good or bad - One rider winning a stage doesn't make it good or bad - And Gerrans has won more than one TDU.

 

[Son of Amsterhammer]

I'm torn on them. They do liven up finishes in the mountains though, no question.