Suspense. It defines the thrill of watching a bike race. Johan Van Summeren, his deflated rear tire clanging over the last secteurs of cobblestones in Paris-Roubaix with Fabian Cancellara breathing down his back; Laurent Fignon snatching seconds from Greg LeMond on each mountaintop finish, as LeMond snatches those same seconds back in the time trials. From the spectators standpoint at least, suspense categorically defines good bike racing.
Bike racing is a monumentally difficult sport, with even the one-day races representing a magnificent display of endurance. Many one-day races are 200 or more kilometers over difficult terrain and in awful weather, where riders need to be fit, strong, and alert at all times during a competition that lasts upwards of six hours. Grand Tours distinguish themselves by aggregating the challenges from the one-day races into a three-week event; their sheer length cause riders to not only battle each other but themselves as fatigue creeps in, brought on by racing twenty days along windy coastal roads, over high mountains – in baking heat or torrential rain. Simply finishing a Grand Tour labels a rider as a “Giant of the Road”, the designation given to those few who were good enough and hard enough to endure this ultimate test of determination and stamina. Those who manage to win one will be defined by the accomplishment for the remainder of their career and, quite possibly, their lives. The V, brought to life and personified in each one of them.
Historically, one of the distinguishing factors of Grand Tour contenders has been their superiority over their rivals in one discipline or another, while typically being bested in another discipline. The Grimpeur who soars over the mountains shows weakness when they go contre la montre. The Rouleur who gains an advantage in the time trials struggles to limit their losses over the high passes. The route, the terrain, their weaknesses, and their ability to respond to the tactics of each stage characterizes the three-week struggle for domination. There is no other event on Earth like it.
The grimpeur versus the rouleur has been the Grand Tour’s great struggle, for what Merckx giveth in the Mountains, Merckx taketh away in the Time Trial. The emaciated body that the climber uses to float up the steepest gradients is little more than a waifish weather vane in the time trails where sheer strength and power are the keys to success. Conversely, the additional body mass required to generate time trial-winning power becomes an anchor when pointed uphill, allowing gravity and physics to do their cruel work.
Where in the past we’ve seen riders who could ride amongst the best in both the mountains as well as the time trials, these riders were never the dominant figure in either of both disciplines. Anquetil was strong in the time trials but struggled in the mountains – the same goes for Indurain. Hinault, LeMond, and Ullrich were strong in the time trails and, while good climbers, were always bested by others on the high passes. Fignon and Pantani could take time away from their rivals on the vicious slopes of the high mountains, but struggled to maintain their advantage in the time trials. It all came together to form a ferocious battle of riders pitting their strengths against their rivals’ weaknesses, and their rivals coming back to do the same another day when conditions were more in their favor.
Yet, in the last decade, we’ve seen an alarming shift in the qualities of some top Grand Tour contenders. With Lance Armstrong and Alberto Contador, we have seen a new class of rider who is the best climber in the world while also the best time trialist; while an awesome display of skill, it puts paid to the excitement of watching a Grand Tour unfold. Each of Armstrong’s wins came at the hands of devastating mountaintop wins coupled with domination in the Time Trials. Similarly, Contador’s 2009 record-setting VAM (Vertical Ascension in Meters) on the climb of Verbiér came alongside his defeat of World-Champion time trialist, Fabian Cancellara, his frail climber’s body managing to best the most powerful rider in the peloton.
Whatever lies at the root of this transformation, it seems these riders have found a way to abolish their weakness in these opposed disciplines, and can execute their race plans with surgical, three-week precision. With that precision comes the death of the Grand Tour; for it is the weakness of our heros that lends us the opportunity to revel in the thrill of their victories. Without that weakness, we have gained an impressive show of dominance, and lost the spectacle of suspense.
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Ahhh, Euro pro, Le Velo!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jn0FF1KwL4I
Great article Frank - I agree that the birth of the climber/TT hybrid definitely takes some of the drama out of Grand Tours, but July is still my favourite month of the year. I'm perhaps most excited to see how Gilbert fares in the stages that look like they'll finish in uphill group sprints or late solo attacks. Cav has already said he thinks Phil will win on July 5th since its birthday - its a done deal. Also, If he takes out Stage 1 and the maillot jaune, will he be breaking Rule #15 if he swaps out his white wristwatch with a yellow one?
@Pedale.Forchetta
Ah, welcome to the US of A! On next Monday, if you're still here, you have to eat grilled bratwurst, processed potato chips which may or may not actually contain potato, and dring "beer" that is little more than flavored water. These colors don't run, baby!
@ChrisO
It's a good point, but as @Souleur points out, there is a physics thing involved too. To be good - even very good - at both is normal, even required of a rider to be a GT contender. Evans is a great example of that; good in both disciplines, but not the best.
What's new in the equation is riders being the very best in both - Contador is the best climber AND the best TTer. It's a step beyond being competitive in the discipline to beat the specialists in both areas.
@ramenvelo
I had not noticed that. And Dan Martin isn't on the list? Man, what a bummer. I really like Dan Martin as a rider!
@harminator
Yeah, I am not sure why they are going away from 2 long ITT as well as mountain stages. I'm no historian, and could be completely wrong, but I seem to remember there always being at least 2 decent ITT back in the 70's-90's. Also, I do not think that there are that many more mountain stages than in the 70's-to-2000. I would lobby for at least 2 50k+ ITT and 5 mountain stages. But then again, nobody asked me!
@frank
Head north to Santa Barbara. 'Bout hourish drive. You can also head a bit SE of SB and hit Ojai ('tho you'll wish you had your bike. The Casitas Pass rd (150) is part of the TOC usually, and is a bitchen climb. The town is nice too, for a day trip. I spent a winter in Carpinteria riding and surfing (boy those were the days).
@frank
Now now Frank, you of all people (living in the PNW) should know that America has plenty of good beer these days. Portland has more breweries than Munich, FYI. I know you have major carbone for the Belgian ales, but it doesn't mean all we have is piss beer!
Now, I'm looking forward to the TdF and will probably buy Versus "all access" pass, as I no longer have cable TV and sometimes those free streams can be wonky... I was getting quite annoyed at some points during the Giro when those streams would choose to stop working properly - and not being able to find a good English-language stream that worked well was annoying.
However, I'll be sad if someone rolls right out of the gate to dominate early on, takes all the fun out of it as you put it so eloquently in the above article.
@frank
@mcsqueak
I'm going to be on vacation (sans even phone service) starting Friday. Hope that nothing bad happens while I'm in the woods.
Also, we should ship Frank a couple bottles of local stuff. I'm thinking Captured by Porches IPA, HUB IPA and Laurelwood Workingman.
In that regard, I'm not sure which part of Sea-town you live in Frank, but in Woodinville (or maybe it's Bellevue) theres a joint called Malt and Vine. Think they carry those brands there.
Now back to our regularly scheduled programming.