The Unofficial GC Standings (minus the TTT)

[Publicus]

I don't think it's realistic to just take the TTT out.

A more realistic comparison would be to take out the TTT... then add in another ITT.

The only person that would be helped by that switch would be Wiggins. Lance beat all the other GC top 10's not on Astana in the Annecy TT. He also beat all of them but Wiggins, Nibali and Kreuziger in the Monaco TT.


The TTT instead of an ITT actually HELPED the Schlecks. They would have lost much more time if they didn't have Cancellera towing their behinds in a TT.

The point was to demonstrate how much the TTT helped put Lance on the podium. You are correct however that the Schleck's would have lost more time in an ITT.

 

[red_flanders]

Contador would have been helped as well.

 

[kurtinsc]

The point was to demonstrate how much the TTT helped put Lance on the podium. You are correct however that the Schleck's would have lost more time in an ITT.

True, it did help him by giving Wiggins less ITT kilometers to build a cushion. But of the top 5 or 6 guys, the only one I thought Lance had a clear edge on in terms of climbing was Wiggins. Frank had a bad day on Ventoux, but overall was better in the mountains. So were Kloden, Andy and Contador. But Lance broke Wiggins once in the mountains and looked like he might have been capable of putting more time into him on Ventoux had he needed to.

We'll never know of course. But there weren't a lot of guys in the GC that were hurt by the TTT... if anything it made the races for the podium more competitive... not less. It brought Frank into the race for #3... instead of just being a contest between Armstrong, Kloden and Wiggins.