And for that reason alone, the ASO has tried different parcourses for the TdF in recent years. The era of Zabel, Jaja, Cipo, Steels, Abdou, Blijlevens, where the first 10 stages all resulted in a bunch sprint, became so terribly, painstakingly boring that any fan, even newcomers, was totally put off by it.
The Tdf, which has slowly but surely turned into 'the greatest race in the world that really matters' over the past decade, has raised the stakes for anyone involved. Teams, riders, their DS' and the team directors and managers, all want to do well during those 3 weeks in France. Especially the established teams need control of the race, with radios, TVs, better bikes, better medical treatment etc, to safeguard their aspirations. That's what happens when the sport becomes more professional. Because of the high stakes, teams have become overly cautious. Nobody wants to lose the tour, that's the adage.
Compare that to Merckx - the cannibal. He approached every stage in a stage race, as if it were a spring classic. Every day he wanted to win, as evidenced by his ridiculous number of wins in any stage race. He attacked, that was his adage.
And this, it seems, is being confused by many, although the results were often predictable,
the development of the race itself, was far from it. That, to me, is cycling, the unpredictable way the race unfolds. The excitement about another attack that stands a chance and the interpersonal competition between GC contenders, where either seems to have the upper hand. That's also what some of the wildcard teams (SKL this year) bring to the race, they are animators, they have nothing to lose, only to gain. They feel they can win a stage, every day, they approach the TdF the Merckx way, they attack.
The only way the organisers can break with this pattern, which it really is, and without lowering the stakes and revenue, is to play around with the parcours. That's why ASO includes early stages where wind and waaiers/abanicos play an important role. That's why last year's opening stage to Plumelec had a 'Valverde' finish. That's why mountains come much earlier in the race this year, as well as last year (the great stage 6 to Superbesse). This year's Giro even had a mountain top finish in stage 4.
At least Miguel rode up a hill with only 1-3 others, instead fo arriving in the grupetto with 35 riders. That means at least someone made it so hard that only few riders, including big mig, could follow.
Now, due to the parcours in the Pyrenees and the wind on Arcalis, as well as the Tdf stakes, no one could or would launch an attack. Afraid of blowing oneself up due to the wind is obviously a good reason to not risk anything. But then, there was nothing were other so called contenders could even try and make a difference in the 2 stages that followed. The tourmalet 70K before the finish, calling it a mountain stage? Verbier is left, and that one top is shallower than Arcalis, a 1 cat climb. Mont Ventoux will probably have the same fate as Arcalis, too much wind to create a real gap.
Not trying to be confrontational, but how can anyone defend races/racing that has nothing to offer, are boring and lack excitement. Some are even regulated as if run by a computer in that teams 'allow 4-5 men' to escape and know how fast they need to go to catch them within the 3k mark. As I said before, that has nothing to do with cycling. I doubt ASO shares your view, and I think I can back that up because they have been altering the terrain since the 10-consecutive-stages-ending-in-bunch-sprints became normal.
If you were to introduce cycling to a newcomer, I doubt you would pull out a video of stage 2,10,11 - sprint stages with no chance for an escape group, or 7,8,9 as 'important mountain stages for the GC'. They followed the pattern of a computer model.
Fans judge and criticise, but both are only possible in relation to what they perceive as superior racing to what they witness now. So much more excitement could have been, but only 'mediocre' racing, stages unfolding in a predictable way and none of it involved GC contenders battling it out, followed. I hope it will change, better today, but I am afraid it'll only be on friday that something happens.
If I had to introduce a newby to cycling, I know what I would show from 2009. Perhaps you missed the Giro, Paris-Nice and the Dauphine. The stakes are lower and the parcours a lot more selective and varied with as a result, excitement
Enjoy the remainder of the TdF