Solutions to make classics less boring

[benpounder]

The key is having smaller teams.

So smaller fields?

If not, smaller teams might just have the opposite effect. PR had 25 eight man squads (200 riders). Dropping to six riders per team drops the field size 25% or to 150 riders. If the organizers wanted to maintain the same field size, that means eight more teams or a total of at least fifteen continental or special invites. Now there are several darn good conti teams, but by denying the top teams from bring their top riders the talent in the peloton is necessarily diluted. This may result in more cocksure rookies taking out the talent with stupid moves at critical junctures. At PR, only two of the top twenty and eight of the top fifty riders were from non-pro teams (and from only three of the non-pro teams).

 

[benpounder]

I was thinking and I got some crazy heretic idea. Riders should start with gaps, which they take from previous year (like pursiut race in biathlon)

Or Nordic Combined. On the day before, have a flat 5km ITT in the morning and an uphill 2km ITT in the afternoon - combined time gaps determine next day's start order. Heck why not time how long one can hold a stall on either cobbles or a hill and use that.