This has probably been discussed before but I came up with what I thought was a fairly interesting thought experiment and I was wondering what people thought on it.
Imagine:
1. A new stage race open to all riders. It sits alone in the calendar and is easily the most sought after prize in pro cycling eclipsing the TDF, Worlds and Olympics. All the best riders will race it and prepare accordingly to peak for the race.
2. The race is raced over the course of a month with days in between each stage so that recovery isn't a problem for riders.
3. The race consists of an equal number of stages that demonstrate all the necessary skills for a pro racer: Flat sprints, hilly sprints, cobbled stages, hilly classic stages, flat and hilly time-trials, and hill and mountain top finishes.
4. The race is not decided on time but points for position finished. every rider in the race gets at least one point. So if there was a 200 strong peloton, on any one stage the winner of the stage would get 200 points, the last placed rider 1 point (for the sake of this thought experiment, there is no such thing as a crash or withdrawal).
5. There are no teams as such. Every rider races for himself.
I think this is a rational way to think about who the best all-round rider is. Contador might win the MTF's and do well in TT's and classic type races thus picking up a lot of points. However, he might come halfway down the field in the sprint stages. Likewise, Cancellara, Sagan and Gilbert would do well in their best disciplines but might not be in the top 100 on MTF's. What is needed is a rider who could potentially finish top 20 to 30 on every single "stage" whilst excelling at some stages.
My choice is not going to be very popular in some quarters hereabouts, but I do think that Bradley Wiggins fits the bill. He's not a bad guy for a flat sprint stage, his pace at the end yesterday suggests that a top twenty/thirty on flat sprint stages is not beyond him. TT's speak for themselves and he'd likely be top 10 to 15 on MTF's. He's not in the top echelon for classic type stages but again has the ability to not be too far down the order. The only type of racing I'm unsure of for him are the cobbles. This isn't just Wiggins fanboy-ism - I struggled to think of anyone else who could finish top 20-30 on every type of stage.
So am I wrong on Wiggins? Who am I missing?
And for what it's worth, I'm not suggesting that BW is the best rider in the real world peloton, just that his skillset is arguably the most diverse thus making him the best all-rounder.
Imagine:
1. A new stage race open to all riders. It sits alone in the calendar and is easily the most sought after prize in pro cycling eclipsing the TDF, Worlds and Olympics. All the best riders will race it and prepare accordingly to peak for the race.
2. The race is raced over the course of a month with days in between each stage so that recovery isn't a problem for riders.
3. The race consists of an equal number of stages that demonstrate all the necessary skills for a pro racer: Flat sprints, hilly sprints, cobbled stages, hilly classic stages, flat and hilly time-trials, and hill and mountain top finishes.
4. The race is not decided on time but points for position finished. every rider in the race gets at least one point. So if there was a 200 strong peloton, on any one stage the winner of the stage would get 200 points, the last placed rider 1 point (for the sake of this thought experiment, there is no such thing as a crash or withdrawal).
5. There are no teams as such. Every rider races for himself.
I think this is a rational way to think about who the best all-round rider is. Contador might win the MTF's and do well in TT's and classic type races thus picking up a lot of points. However, he might come halfway down the field in the sprint stages. Likewise, Cancellara, Sagan and Gilbert would do well in their best disciplines but might not be in the top 100 on MTF's. What is needed is a rider who could potentially finish top 20 to 30 on every single "stage" whilst excelling at some stages.
My choice is not going to be very popular in some quarters hereabouts, but I do think that Bradley Wiggins fits the bill. He's not a bad guy for a flat sprint stage, his pace at the end yesterday suggests that a top twenty/thirty on flat sprint stages is not beyond him. TT's speak for themselves and he'd likely be top 10 to 15 on MTF's. He's not in the top echelon for classic type stages but again has the ability to not be too far down the order. The only type of racing I'm unsure of for him are the cobbles. This isn't just Wiggins fanboy-ism - I struggled to think of anyone else who could finish top 20-30 on every type of stage.
So am I wrong on Wiggins? Who am I missing?
And for what it's worth, I'm not suggesting that BW is the best rider in the real world peloton, just that his skillset is arguably the most diverse thus making him the best all-rounder.
p)
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