TDF Team Time Trial

Am I trolling? Maybe but what do you think about the TTT back this year. The TTT almost seems an Armstrong staple and when he not around neither is the TTT, at least in recent years.
I personally like the TTT and hope it continues to be included each year. It is a thing of precision and beauty when executed properly.

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Dope,when training and talent just aren't enough.

The stage takes place in and around Montpellier, capital of the Languedoc-Roussillon region, and the length is 39 kilometers. Only the last twelve kilometers are more or less flat and suits the style of a normal team time trial.

The start is in the centre of town on the Place de la Comédie, which is left by the teams after eight kilometers in a north-westerly direction. Two kilometers onwards, in Grabels, is the first intermediate time-check and we'll know what teams did the best across the roundabouts and crossings. That's also when a short climb (1km at 4%) commences on a narrow road, obviously not suited well for a TTT.

The riders enter the woods and cross more hills when they reach Murviel-lès-Montpellier halfway into the stage, where the next time-check is situated. This will give some indication to the teamleader if a higher gear needs to be shifted on the way to Cournonterral. From there the D5 is taken, through Pignan and the third time-check, back to Montpellier. This is where the last twelve flat kilometers start.

The finish is near the Stade Yves-du-Manoir, the new Montpellier rugby-stadium which was especially built for the 2007 World Cup. The teams leave the podium every seven minutes, while the first team takes off at two-thirty, the last team a good two hours later. The stage should take about forty-five minutes for the teams to know how much damage has been done. In earlier years there was a maximum time-loss, but that rule has changed. The time differences are recorded in real-time at the finish, so it's very important to not lose your team mates.

I like the TTT, it's always a good to see a well drill team working together.
The only catch with it, it tends to favour only a few teams and as we've seen over the years with it's exclusion how much closer the GC race is.
It does tend to favour only few teams and those GC riders on the smaller/weaker teams suffer for it.
At least this year it's a much shorter TT so hopefully the time losses won 't be to much.

So as much as I enjoy watching the TTT the whole tour has been better without it.

I must admit I do enjoy the team time trial as well, but it is a disadvantage to some riders is some teams who dont have as much support. Could be another team Columbia vs team sliptream hitout, although Astana should be strong

With the mountains being so easy compared to other years in this Tour de France whoever takes yellow after the TTT could well hold it all the way to the alps unless a long breakaway gets given time. I think most of the main contenders this year have good teams though so no one is going to get massively disadvantaged. Course is great for the TT specialists and I wouldn't be surprised to see Astana put in a massiver performance.

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"Hope is the first step on the road to dissapointment."

I would prefer it if they headed north and had a road stage finish on that climb out of Millau to Causse Noir. Hilltop finishes > TTT's

TTT together with 40km ITT and finish at Mont Ventoux are the most important stages of Tour de France 2009. The significance of TTT in 2009 will be higher than in 2005 because the real time will be taken into an account. I hope that Tour de France will stick to shorter TTTs with real time rather than 60+ km TTT with limited time losses. However, I would prefer prolouge TTT.
I think this tour suits time trialist with strong team to climbers because Arcalis and Verbier aren't hard mountaintop finishes and they are the only climbs of the stage while ITTs plus TTT makes 104km in total which is more than in 2008. Mountain stages of Tour de France 08 were harder also.

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Why am I still a fan of dopers sport?

Usually it is not possible to get significant time in medium mountains. Time gaps of Superbesse in 2008 were tiny; ITTs or TTTs are more testing than finishes at second category climbs. However, it is always interesting to watch finishes at medium mountains. This year we have second category climbs 20km before finish in stages 13 and 19 respectively. I would say that 2 long ITTs and one long TTT is a bit too much while one long ITT and one long TTT is ok.

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Why am I still a fan of dopers sport?

I would only disagree slightly on what you wrote. TTT's are generally a lot of work and pain for very little gain.

Medium mountain stages with an uphill finish are farkin excellent to watch and are something the Tour does not have enough of. I don't care if the gaps are huge. I just want to watch the hitters smash the **** out of one another.

Columbia

They are a well drilled TTT team. They should win it.

Although the course suits Astana.

But TTT's are usually won by teams who specialize in them. Columbia and Garmin specialize in them.

I think that most people enjoy the spectacle while nevertheless recognizing that a team element in a competition for individual prizes is both absurd and unfair.

Let's return to real racing and let every man ride for himself. There would be no drafting, no team cars, no team mechanics, no radios. Each rider will have to carry his own food, tubes, and water. If they want to save weight they can drink out of the creeks etc. I agree with a team (including all the team support let's keep it real) element in a competition for induvidual prizes is both absurd and unfair. Let the best man win!

..............and they must do all of the above.
Riding unicycles!

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.."But finally the last thing I’ll say to the people who don’t believe in cycling, the cynics and the sceptics. I'm sorry for you. I’m sorry that you can’t dream big. [I]I'm sorry you don't believe in miracles. You should believe in these athletes, and you should believe in these people. I'll be a fan of the Tour de France for as long as I live. And there are no secrets - this is a hard sporting event and hard work wins it" - Armstrong 2005 TDF
morelike hypocrisy.

...backwards, while playing the violin.

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...with only one testicle.

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Dope,when training and talent just aren't enough.