The TdF is too predictable
Year in and year out, the Tour (at least in regards to the GC) is the most predictable sporting event on the planet. We always know which team is going to win, and it's generally one, maybe two, riders on that team that, barring absolute catastrophe, are going to win. But beyond that, the high mountain stages make one of the world's premier sporting events one that could only be feasibly won by a very small handful of very lightweight riders in the field of 176. We have stars like Sagan, Cavendish, Kittel, etc. who have absolutely zero chance.
I get that the high mountain stages are a part of Tour tradition, but wouldn't a race that virtually any rider in the field could win not make it more exciting? A race where every stage truly matters in the GC and a breakaway on even a flat stage could decide the yellow jersey, and not just one or two mountaintop finishes?
Stage 8 of this year's Tour was arguably the most exciting that I've witnessed in my few short years of watching this race, and it was exactly what bike racing ought to be: tough enough to challenge everyone, but not so difficult that a non-climber can't stun the field and a good sprinter can't hang on and have a shot to win.
Over the years, they've added the climbers jersey, the sprint jersey, now the in-route time bonuses all in an effort to increase excitement, without addressing the real reason the race isn't an epic all-out affair every day.
Imagine if another form of sport rigged its game to where 98% of the players/teams genetically had no chance -- who would bother watching?
I get that the high mountain stages are a part of Tour tradition, but wouldn't a race that virtually any rider in the field could win not make it more exciting? A race where every stage truly matters in the GC and a breakaway on even a flat stage could decide the yellow jersey, and not just one or two mountaintop finishes?
Stage 8 of this year's Tour was arguably the most exciting that I've witnessed in my few short years of watching this race, and it was exactly what bike racing ought to be: tough enough to challenge everyone, but not so difficult that a non-climber can't stun the field and a good sprinter can't hang on and have a shot to win.
Over the years, they've added the climbers jersey, the sprint jersey, now the in-route time bonuses all in an effort to increase excitement, without addressing the real reason the race isn't an epic all-out affair every day.
Imagine if another form of sport rigged its game to where 98% of the players/teams genetically had no chance -- who would bother watching?