the latest in Christian Prudhomme's quest to make this the most boring Tour ever...
According to VeloNews:A new rule for the 2008 Tour: Rider IDs on splits in the group are not announced until the gap(s) reaches 30 seconds.
Which makes it, um, hard to ID some of these riders.
Gee, ya think? Thank you so much, Christian Prudhomme. It's so much more fun to have NO IDEA WHAT'S GOING ON. Anything could be happening! But probably nothing is! It's so exciting!
In similar news, Fat Cyclist writes a letter to Christian Prudhomme and the ASO about the oh-so-awesome changes they've made to this year's Tour:I can see, Mr. Prudhomme, that you have been working overtime to bring us a Tour unlike anything we have ever seen before. A Tour that defines the premier road racing event on its own terms. A Tour that takes charge of the racers, rather than letting the racers take charge of the race. A Tour that clamps down on excess and eliminates rash behavior. A Tour with dignity above all.
A Tour, in short, that looks and feels as if it were produced by America’s Public Broadcasting System and moderated by Jim Lehrer.
[...]
Your zeal for reducing the unnecessary excitement that normally surrounds this race is admirable, Mr. Prudhomme, but I think there’s more that can be done to design a Tour de France that will - at long last - let the citizens of France (and other countries, though I do not necessarily approve of the TdF ever exiting France or even approaching its borders) be able to have some peace and quiet, even as the cyclists pedal by.
He then lists some of the things Prudhomme has done "right," including no prologue, no time bonuses ("In times past, I’ve seen racers duke it out at the top of a brutal climbing stage because finishing a quarter second ahead had a huge strategic benefit: a significant time bonus that could change race standings. Sure, it was exciting and a massive motivational tool to make contending racers really give it their all, but it sent the wrong message to the kids. You can’t give people time. Once a moment’s passed, it’s gone forever. Live with it."), shorter stages (clearly the only reason riders dope is because the stages are too long!), no team time trials, and fewer mountain stages ("I’ve always thought that mountain stages are too dramatic and disorderly. Plus, they’re not fair to people who don’t climb well. I’m glad to see that you’ve cut these stages back. Let’s keep the riders together. Nice and orderly please. Single-file when possible.").
Yes, thank you, Mr. Prudhomme, for doing so much to reduce the race to a boring travelogue of France.
Oh, and while I'm at it, SHUT UP, Craig Hummer. Thank you for your cooperation in this matter. (Really, I never believed Versus could produce an announcer who was more annoying than Bob Roll.)
Which makes it, um, hard to ID some of these riders.
Gee, ya think? Thank you so much, Christian Prudhomme. It's so much more fun to have NO IDEA WHAT'S GOING ON. Anything could be happening! But probably nothing is! It's so exciting!
In similar news, Fat Cyclist writes a letter to Christian Prudhomme and the ASO about the oh-so-awesome changes they've made to this year's Tour:I can see, Mr. Prudhomme, that you have been working overtime to bring us a Tour unlike anything we have ever seen before. A Tour that defines the premier road racing event on its own terms. A Tour that takes charge of the racers, rather than letting the racers take charge of the race. A Tour that clamps down on excess and eliminates rash behavior. A Tour with dignity above all.
A Tour, in short, that looks and feels as if it were produced by America’s Public Broadcasting System and moderated by Jim Lehrer.
[...]
Your zeal for reducing the unnecessary excitement that normally surrounds this race is admirable, Mr. Prudhomme, but I think there’s more that can be done to design a Tour de France that will - at long last - let the citizens of France (and other countries, though I do not necessarily approve of the TdF ever exiting France or even approaching its borders) be able to have some peace and quiet, even as the cyclists pedal by.
He then lists some of the things Prudhomme has done "right," including no prologue, no time bonuses ("In times past, I’ve seen racers duke it out at the top of a brutal climbing stage because finishing a quarter second ahead had a huge strategic benefit: a significant time bonus that could change race standings. Sure, it was exciting and a massive motivational tool to make contending racers really give it their all, but it sent the wrong message to the kids. You can’t give people time. Once a moment’s passed, it’s gone forever. Live with it."), shorter stages (clearly the only reason riders dope is because the stages are too long!), no team time trials, and fewer mountain stages ("I’ve always thought that mountain stages are too dramatic and disorderly. Plus, they’re not fair to people who don’t climb well. I’m glad to see that you’ve cut these stages back. Let’s keep the riders together. Nice and orderly please. Single-file when possible.").
Yes, thank you, Mr. Prudhomme, for doing so much to reduce the race to a boring travelogue of France.
Oh, and while I'm at it, SHUT UP, Craig Hummer. Thank you for your cooperation in this matter. (Really, I never believed Versus could produce an announcer who was more annoying than Bob Roll.)