TRIAL BALLOONS

February 24 ^th 2023 - 14:30

 THE LADIES CUT TO THE CHASE (III/VI)

In their dogged efforts to create the right conditions for thrilling battles and stretch out the suspense, the organisers of stage races have never shied away from tinkering with the parameters of time trials. This year, Paris–Nice is experimenting with a peculiar team time trial format in which each rider will be credited with his actual time in the stage. An individual time trial raced as a team is certainly a left-field idea, but the history of cycling is rife with exotic concepts for the race against the clock. This series reviews these attempts to push the envelope, some of which went down in history.  

In 2017, the cream of the crop of women's cycling went head to head in a two-stage edition of La Course by le Tour de France. The summit finish on the Izoard was followed by a pursuit stage held on the same course as the time trial of the Tour in Marseille