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In my opinion the riders in TDF should be made to complete the tour on one bike. Yes change tyres, gear ratios, chains etc, but I feel the frame should be the same for the duration.
Discuss
Do you work for the UCI?
And repair their own frames at the blacksmiths like the old days I assume?
The race should be about the riders skills/strengths on a bike not their mechanical skills off it.
Crap idea.
I have 6 bikes. Why on earth would a world class professional cyclist have the use of only one bike!
6 bikes, presumably not 6 road bikes. All the stages are on roads, F1 drivers don;t swap cars half way through a race.
6 road bikes - now that would be silly. Only 3 of them are road bikes. 🙂
F1 races don't go on for three weeks
WOW F1 anaologies already!
I don't understand. Is this because you shouldn't be allowed a special time trial bike or because bikes should be reliable?
Couldn't you nobble the opposition by getting a domestique to keep riding into Lance until his frame brakes
I don't think it'll work
OP - Please choose one of your bikes (assuming you have more than one) on which you would like to ride a stage over the cobbles of Arenberg, a climb up the Tourmalet, a long time trial and a blast in to Paris. Oh, and make sure it's as fast as it can be over each of those days.
Troll
breakages ?? what about a serious non frame mechanical fail, would you expect the bike to be fixed at the side of the road... so that would get in the way of the racing. I don't see what it would add other than making the racing more about the machine rather than the rider
Do you know anything about road-racing?
I suppose the OPs question is an interesting one, if you think of the TDF as an endurance event (in some respects) testing the endurance and ability of riders to physically adapt to different conditions and types of riding then I suppose it is fair to at least consider the equipments durability...
however the bikes are subject to a fair few regulations, minimum weight, limits for geometry and obviously wheel dimensions, so the differences between their various bikes is still within finite limits...
I think what you're describing is a Yet another different event, perhaps worth trying out, but I doubt many top riders would be keen on the format...
Well done to the op for finishing his cse's.
Are you riding the tour this year?