Re: Re:
No, I think both races should definitely be there. If a race is prestigious and many of the best classic riders ride it for the win there is no reason why the race shouldn't be considered as one of the most important ones. And honestly, I want Strade Bianche to become as prestigious as possible because that race just deserves it.Commoner said:El Pistolero said:The problem with the World Tour is that it tries to combine things that don't mix well... Classic races with stage races...
We need two different rankings: the old World Cup (+ jersey) and a new ranking based just on the stage races (no jersey as that could become confusing with all the leader jerseys in stage races). I still remember how classic specialists really cared about winning the World Cup, while right now almost no one cares about winning the UCI World Tour and it's always the same riders winning because the system heavily favours GC riders.
The World Cup should consist of the following races:
- Omloop het Nieuwsblad
- Strade Bianche
- Milan-San Remo
- E3 Harelbeke
- Gent-Wevelgem
- Ronde van Vlaanderen
- Paris-Roubaix
- Amstel Gold Race
- Flèche Wallonne
- Liège-Bastogne-Liège
- Clasica San Sebastian
- GP de Montreal
- GP de Quebec
- Paris-Tours
- Giro di Lombardia
Gilbert in his prime would have dominated this World Cup I propose: he won 9 out of 15 races on this list! Amazing.![]()
I have to agree with El Pistolero regarding the World Cup. That ranking brought something to the calendar that's quite absent these days. I'm fairly frustrated with the specialization taking place these days, though a few riders still ride diverse calendars. The problem is that there's no overarching reward system for that, and it promotes a further separation of one-day specialists and stage race riders. The World Cup also brought some suspense to the end of the season, whereas now Lombardia often feels like an afterthought for many, and Paris-Tours is... well you all know.
I might, however, nix Omloop and Strade Bianche from the World Cup El Pistolero proposes, but overall I think it's spot on.