08 TDF no time bonuses

[[email protected]]

So all the big sprints (after stage 1) will not put anybody in
yellow. The first stage sprint ought to be a battle royale since the
winner will likely keep the yellow for 4 days. The leader after the
first time trial will likely keep it until the mountains.

The lack of time bonuses in the mountains means the up hill sprinters
like Contador and Valverde will gain nothing.

 

[Dan Connelly]

[email protected] wrote:
> So all the big sprints (after stage 1) will not put anybody in
> yellow. The first stage sprint ought to be a battle royale since the
> winner will likely keep the yellow for 4 days. The leader after the
> first time trial will likely keep it until the mountains.

This isn't true. GC is, per 2006:

1. time
2. if tied, lower sum of placings
3. if still tied, who did better on last stage
4. if still tied, a full-contact track-standing competition is held prior to the awards ceremony.

The time bonuses were extended to mountain stages to combat the Indurain-giving-away-mountain-stage syndrome. I like them.

 

[[email protected]]

This is a welcome change. Hopefully this will help reduce some of the
crashes and other distractions in the TDF.

On Oct 26, 10:55 am, "[email protected]" <[email protected]>
wrote:
> So all the big sprints (after stage 1) will not put anybody in
> yellow. The first stage sprint ought to be a battle royale since the
> winner will likely keep the yellow for 4 days. The leader after the
> first time trial will likely keep it until the mountains.
>
> The lack of time bonuses in the mountains means the up hill sprinters
> like Contador and Valverde will gain nothing.

 

[Scott]

On Oct 26, 6:45 pm, "[email protected]" <[email protected]> wrote:
> This is a welcome change. Hopefully this will help reduce some of the
> crashes and other distractions in the TDF.
>
> - Show quoted text -

I have to disagree. For the most part, in the early stages there are
only two or three sprinters, at best, who have a chance to take over
the yellow jersey with bonus seconds. But, ALL the sprinters want the
stage win and many of them are concerned about the green jersey. The
sprints will be as hectic as ever.

 

[Tom Kunich]

"Scott" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> On Oct 26, 6:45 pm, "[email protected]" <[email protected]> wrote:
>> This is a welcome change. Hopefully this will help reduce some of the
>> crashes and other distractions in the TDF.
>>
>> - Show quoted text -
>
> I have to disagree. For the most part, in the early stages there are
> only two or three sprinters, at best, who have a chance to take over
> the yellow jersey with bonus seconds. But, ALL the sprinters want the
> stage win and many of them are concerned about the green jersey. The
> sprints will be as hectic as ever.

Indeed!

 

[[email protected]]

By using the placings on previous stages to break ties means every
place in every sprint becomes important, not just the top 20. The
contenders will have to sprint out every stage early on in the tdf.
No sitting up because they can't win like some often do. The stage 1
winner will have to sprint thru the pack even if he is 50 riders
back. Sounds like even more kaos in the final kilometers. Until
someone wins with a time gap, the yellow jersey will mostly reflect
the green. The real incentive will be to win with a time gap. Look
for many break attempts on the first few stages until it happens.

 

[Dan Connelly]

[email protected] wrote:
> By using the placings on previous stages to break ties means every
> place in every sprint becomes important, not just the top 20. The
> contenders will have to sprint out every stage early on in the tdf.
> No sitting up because they can't win like some often do. The stage 1
> winner will have to sprint thru the pack even if he is 50 riders
> back. Sounds like even more kaos in the final kilometers. Until
> someone wins with a time gap, the yellow jersey will mostly reflect
> the green. The real incentive will be to win with a time gap. Look
> for many break attempts on the first few stages until it happens.
>


The stage placings will matter only until the first time trial, which is early, at which point fractions of a second from the time trial will dominate.

So it'll be a "virtual green" jersey until the first time trial, then it'll be dominated by the time trail result until the first mountain split, at least for those riders who were able to finish in the lead pack each day.

Dan

 

[Kyle Legate]

[email protected] wrote:
> By using the placings on previous stages to break ties means every
> place in every sprint becomes important, not just the top 20. The
> contenders will have to sprint out every stage early on in the tdf.
>
I don't think the contenders are going to be too worried about the
possibility of a tie.

 

[[email protected]]

On Oct 30, 1:51 pm, Kyle Legate <[email protected]> wrote:
> [email protected] wrote:
> > By using the placings on previous stages to break ties means every
> > place in every sprint becomes important, not just the top 20. The
> > contenders will have to sprint out every stage early on in the tdf.
>
> I don't think the contenders are going to be too worried about the
> possibility of a tie.



Doh, I meant sprint contenders.

 

[Dan Connelly]

[email protected] wrote:
> On Oct 30, 1:51 pm, Kyle Legate <[email protected]> wrote:
>> [email protected] wrote:
>>> By using the placings on previous stages to break ties means every
>>> place in every sprint becomes important, not just the top 20. The
>>> contenders will have to sprint out every stage early on in the tdf.
>> I don't think the contenders are going to be too worried about the
>> possibility of a tie.
>
>
>
> Doh, I meant sprint contenders.
>
>

The green jersey is as it was before. So I don't understand your point.

If you're "sprinting from the back", you're already out of contention for a placings-based yellow jersey anyway, so don't bother.

The exception would be if there is a breakaway on, for example, stage 1, then for stage 2 the small number who were st on the stage 1 will want to maximize their placings on sprints up to the first time trial, even if that place is 20th. That could be an issue.

I like time bonuses. When they were added to hill-top finishes, the racing got better. What's "pure" about GC contenders giving away stages?

Dan

 

[Dan Connelly]

[email protected] wrote:
> On Oct 30, 1:51 pm, Kyle Legate <[email protected]> wrote:
>> [email protected] wrote:
>>> By using the placings on previous stages to break ties means every
>>> place in every sprint becomes important, not just the top 20. The
>>> contenders will have to sprint out every stage early on in the tdf.
>> I don't think the contenders are going to be too worried about the
>> possibility of a tie.
>
>
>
> Doh, I meant sprint contenders.
>
>

The green jersey is as it was before. So I don't understand your point.

If you're "sprinting from the back", you're already out of contention for a placings-based yellow jersey anyway, so don't bother.

The exception would be if there is a breakaway on, for example, stage 1, then for stage 2 the small number who were st on the stage 1 will want to maximize their placings on sprints up to the first time trial, even if that place is 20th. That could be an issue.

I like time bonuses. When they were added to hill-top finishes, the racing got better. What's "pure" about GC contenders giving away stages?

Dan