Re:
RedheadDane said:
Chris Anker Sørensen mentioned during the Sprint that the Tour des Fjords wasn't exactly a good race to do because of the long - sailing - transfers.
And again; what's wrong with the riders having a little bit of fun every now and then?
The riders can have a bit of fun if they want. But if the riders are doing it for just a bit of fun, then that only emphasises further the fact that it is not an event that merits caring about, because if even the riders only do it for a laugh, it is not to be taken seriously. The fact that literally no conversation was had on it until after three days' worth of "racing" had taken place, and then we've had a 10 post disagreement about whether it's "worthless but ok for the riders" or "worthless, period" tells you how much the fanbase has taken this format to heart. Velon will continue to push it though - because it's the only thing they have in their power play.
And Sørensen whining about having to do transfers as a justification for replacing an actual race with a corporate branded Hammer SufferFest Of 200km In Three Days OMG You Have To See It To Believe It Hard Racing Superfast Yea! event just helps reinforce the impression of the current péloton as wanting to be mollycoddled. The overuse of the Extreme Weather Protocol, the progressive shortening of races and average stage length, the riders' refusal to take the time cut seriously at the Vuelta in 2016 (because of 'how hard the race has been' despite that it was 4 days after a rest day and 2 days after the bunch had rolled in half an hour behind the breakaway in a stage where the organizers had already removed half the climbs), and the popularity of an event which requires one normal stage's worth of distance in 3 days with the riders all continues to contribute to this interpretation.
I know somebody will come back with the "well, hard races just encourages doping" as a means to justify this dumbing down and simplifying, which is being paralleled in several sports too. But it's also patently not true. People dope to run 100m in a straight line. The rewards of victory and success are what cause people to dope, not the difficulty of the route it's on. The advantages of doping remain the same regardless of parcours.