Bicycle Racing Discriminates Against the Stronger Riders
 

One sees it all the time - a lesser quality rider winning a grand tour.

This is a disgrace. Using team tactics, a weaker rider prevails. A
team nurses some sprinter goon along which goon never takes a
pull and reserves his energy for a ten-second sprint. Big deal! Or
a GC rider is only worked halfway or three-quarters of the way up
a mountain after the team pulls him to that point. Or a team or two
runs down a break away of several strong riders.

It means NOTHING. It's a sorry state of affairs when a relatively
untalented rider can win a grand tour because a team makes up
for his shortcomings. Bicycle racing shouldn't be about a team.
Bicycle racing should be about an individual.

That's why I applaud the Tour de Suisse having an individual time
trials for the final stage. I wish the Tour de France would do the same.
All the grand tours should do it.

What good is watching cyclists *race* the last stage when we all
know it's a farce of a show where the leader has a cake walk home.
This cannot be tolerated any longer. We need to get serious and
have at least three individual time trials and at least one team time
trials in every grand tour. And, all final stages need to be an
individual time trials. But cut the climbing crap, please. Let's
make a real ITT - not something favoring a climber. Climbers
have the mountain stages, for Pete's sake. A real ITT is relatively
flat and is run on an in-and-out course. It should be 20-40
kilometers in length. It should be primarily about brute force
combined with advanced technique and equipment.

Let's stop allowing the weak to win. Let's put the premium on the
manly men and not the sissy men. Individual time trials even the
score and give the strong the recognition they deserve. Down
with the gay boys who probably suck the team dick in order
to get a relatively free ride.

--
Sir Gregory