I see TTT as a noble discipline that no-one has created a current market for, so no-one prioritises it in training, so it does not (at present) deserve a place in stage racing, but stages short enough to be a showplace without having an undue effect on GC is tolerable.
There is a
previous discussion on the matter.
This is only particularly true ,in first training camps teams practice structured chasing.. Practice for catastrophe like crash, broken bike and they send riders back to practice pacing back to the peloton, not the whole team likely but taking pace from each other is a developed skill..From what I have been told that 5,10,20,30 minute threshold tests are done using individual starts , not in TTT format, but as you said, the time and distance creates only slight risk reward ratio.. If it was a 40-60k TTT that would be awesome!
And it's a trick for lots of teams for top riders not to drop slower guys, guys like Politt, Milan, Pogacar, Remco need to peek through their armpit to see if their teammates are still on their wheel.
I sort have wondered why Alpecin doesn't factor more..I also think that Quickstep has strong overall makeup for such a short flat race..today is going to be a semi rest day for lots of guys,
That was cool to see Lotto rider completely blown.. I would have thought a different tactic..