Team Time trials in Grand Tours

[LaFlorecita]

At least next yearr there'll be a 40km TTT. A step in the right direction.

Is that a joke? I hope so.

 

[Netserk]

TTT would be *much* better if it was decided by the time of the first rider to cross the line. 100% individual timing.

 

[del1962]

TTT would be *much* better if it was decided by the time of the first rider to cross the line. 100% individual timing.

Thats how they did it originally, a stage with teams setting of 4 minutes apart.

 

[Dutchsmurf]

Personally, I find them tedious to watch. The final result is interesting but once you've seen one team riding in formation you've seen them all. On TV it's difficult to see who is doing what within the team because the coverage naturally jumps around from team to team

I agree with this. They are quite boring to watch, which also shows in the amount of people watching ITT and TTT stages always being a lot lower. Even lower than the sprint stages which can be quite boring too. They also don't serve much purpose except for giving stronger teams a bigger advantages than they already have. TTTs are perfectly fine as a separated event and the world championship for it is a great idea, but they don't belong in a GT.

 

[Catwhoorg]

I think they have their place, just as prologues do (and I'm not a huge fan of ~4k ITT on the road).

Some shorter ones like today, for logistical reasons. Some longer ones. Just like the dirt roads in the Giro. Nothing should be 'must have' every year, but variety is everything.

 

[RedheadDane]

TTT would be *much* better if it was decided by the time of the first rider to cross the line. 100% individual timing.

But wouldn't that elimate the team part of the Team Time Trial? Then a guy like Tony Martin could just go "bye bye" and leave everyone else behind...

 

[Bumeington]

TTT would be *much* better if it was decided by the time of the first rider to cross the line. 100% individual timing.

Agreed. This would be so much more fun, how long do you try and keep things together and when do you unleash you're fastest guy(s)?

 

[Bumeington]

But wouldn't that elimate the team part of the Team Time Trial? Then a guy like Tony Martin could just go "bye bye" and leave everyone else behind...

Who do you think would win, Tony over 10km or Tony lead out by Cav for 1k then the other 9k himself, extrapolate this...

 

[Carlo Algatrensig]

Agreed. This would be so much more fun, how long do you try and keep things together and when do you unleash you're fastest guy(s)?

I'm in favour of this aswell. I really enjoyed the Team/Individual/Mountain Time Trial at the Tour of the Med a few years back

 

[puffin]

This is a great format for furtive following and constant refreshing at work.

 

[Bavarianrider]

Is that a joke? I hope so.

No, it's a fact.

2014 team time trial to end in Ypres?

The 2014 Tour de France “will in all probability” hold a team time trial from Mons-en-Baroeul, in northern France, to Ypres, Belgium. The Belgian newspaper Het Nieuwsblad reports that the stage will finish “amidst the battlefields and cemeteries of the first World War.”

The time trial would be roughly 40 km, significantly longer than this year's 25km TTT.

http://www.cyclingnews.com/news/tour-de-france-shorts-on-the-lookout-for-riis-and-contador

 

[rzombie1988]

Nope. The thing I don't like about Time Trials is that they count for the GC and therefore put certain people in the hole and out of the hole, when it isn't simply due to them. This isn't being a fanboy either, but it's true. Cadel is 26 down, Andy and JRod are already 28 seconds down, Pinot is 40 seconds down and Rolland/Vockeler are 1:13 down. While it's not impossible for these guys to win it now, they are already in the hole and they are going to have to do something big to get back in. It eliminates people unnecessarily early.

 

[Wrecktangle]

IMO, every grand tour should have a TTT every year. As cycling is a team sport, everyone needs to get their sh*t together and ride together.

You work as a team, you should trial as a team...

...period.

 

[SeriousSam]

IMO, every grand tour should have a TTT every year. As cycling is a team sport, everyone needs to get their sh*t together and ride together.

You work as a team, you should trial as a team...

...period.

but cycling really isn't a team sport though it's true that sacrifice by others is required for one individual to get all the glory.

 

[Hayabusa]

I enjoy the TTTs but I think they should be longer than today's offering so that there can actually be some significant gains made.

 

[LaFlorecita]

No, it's a fact.

2014 team time trial to end in Ypres?

The 2014 Tour de France “will in all probability” hold a team time trial from Mons-en-Baroeul, in northern France, to Ypres, Belgium. The Belgian newspaper Het Nieuwsblad reports that the stage will finish “amidst the battlefields and cemeteries of the first World War.”

The time trial would be roughly 40 km, significantly longer than this year's 25km TTT.

http://www.cyclingnews.com/news/tour-de-france-shorts-on-the-lookout-for-riis-and-contador

****, that sucks

 

[VeloCity]

Torn on this one: love watching TTTs, hate that they go toward GC. I'd be fine with them going toward the Team Classification but not any other category, esp not GC. Maybe that's the way to get around it.

 

[Finn84]

I'm fine with them as long as they are short enough like today. Think about 2003 Tour, when Euskaltel lost almost three and half minutes to USPS. That was about half of the gap Zubeldia had to Armstrong at the end.

When they had those fixed gaps it could screw the gaps between the riders from different teams further away from the stage winner.

 

[Libertine Seguros]

Michele Scarponi lost more time in 32km in the 2010 Giro TTT than he lost in the other 3000+km combined.

If the 2009 Tour couldn't kill off the TTT, sadly nothing will. If it was a once-every-few-years change of pace, like cobbles at the Tour, it might have appeal. But now it seems every GT's got to have one, and often at the expense of the ITT, which achieves everything a TTT can only with none of the drawbacks.

 

[Netserk]

Libertine what would you think of a TTT with individual timing? Would still benefit the strong teams ofc, but wouldn't force someone to wait for a weaker team mate.

 

[The Hitch]

Libertine what would you think of a TTT with individual timing? Would still benefit the strong teams ofc, but wouldn't force someone to wait for a weaker team mate.

Im not libertine, but i would consider it a slight improvement in that it would take away one of the negatives of ttts, but it would still be a bad thing.

 

[phanatic]

I think the worst option is to have the ITT as a sort of bonus round that doesn't count for the overall. You might as well force them to jump off their bikes and do jumping jacks it's such a pointless waste of energy.

I would, however, love to see it as a qualifying pre-Tour race. You can have a 60 km circuit on which 30 teams start two km apart but simultaneously. The top 20 teams make the tour, and on each team the top 7-9 riders of that team can ride. The official time is taken from the first rider, but then the next six to eight have to finish within one minute of their team's first finisher.

 

[King of the Mountains]

TTT's are absolutely unfair to GC contenders on the smaller budget teams

guys like Jean Christophe Peraud and Pierre Rolland are already a minute back because their teams cant afford to get the best time trialists

 

[element]

The winners went at 58kph today. That's pretty cool. It's quite nice as a crap amateur racer to see what pros are capable of when they ride flat out and work together with no tactical messing about. I know that's not the most convincing argument for TTTs, but I enjoyed watching today.

 

[Afrank]

I would, however, love to see it as a qualifying pre-Tour race. You can have a 60 km circuit on which 30 teams start two km apart but simultaneously. The top 20 teams make the tour, and on each team the top 7-9 riders of that team can ride. The official time is taken from the first rider, but then the next six to eight have to finish within one minute of their team's first finisher.

Interesting idea, but then you run the risk of the more climber friendly teams (FDJ, Euskaltel, Ag2R and others) not even getting to race the Tour. Which would be a shame IMO.