I don't always look at the Lesser known Race Results thread, but this summer it has been the only place on this forum to find anything on at least three WT one day races (London-Surrey Classic, Euroeyes (Vattenfalls) Classic and Bretagne Ouest France (Plouay)). Now we are a few hours before the Quebec race, and there has been not a whisper here. That would not have happened even a year or two ago?
If we, the geeks and obsessives of the sport, have lost interest in these races so quickly, is there a real problem with the drop in profile of the World Tour?
Is it a sense that these races are not priorities for the teams, and so not of great interest?
Has high/late summer become the time of the season when only stage races can be considered important?
Has the expansion of the WT events list (done in a panic induced by fear of losing the ASO races) diminished our interest in the races that were already listed?
It might be an issue on the board itself (Have we lost some of those who would start these threads?) but I get the same impression in other forums and sites.
I have not been a fan of the calendar re-arrangement proposals, but maybe there is a real need for something if the profile of such races is to be preserved (if it merits preservation).
If we, the geeks and obsessives of the sport, have lost interest in these races so quickly, is there a real problem with the drop in profile of the World Tour?
Is it a sense that these races are not priorities for the teams, and so not of great interest?
Has high/late summer become the time of the season when only stage races can be considered important?
Has the expansion of the WT events list (done in a panic induced by fear of losing the ASO races) diminished our interest in the races that were already listed?
It might be an issue on the board itself (Have we lost some of those who would start these threads?) but I get the same impression in other forums and sites.
I have not been a fan of the calendar re-arrangement proposals, but maybe there is a real need for something if the profile of such races is to be preserved (if it merits preservation).