Good point. If you want to go back further (and I know exactly who Hinault is) we should perhaps talk about Bartali, Coppi and the derailleur as well. But my point wasn't that no technology has changed the Tour anyway, but maybe that wasn't clear. My point was that the playing field is generally level and the race isn't won or lost because of technology, particularly in the modern era. The exception I was mentioning was Lemond starting the final time trial in 1989 sitting 50 seconds behind Fignon in GC and then winning by 8 seconds, probably because of his time trial bars.
June 9, 2017, 12:28 p.m. - Cam McRae
Good point. If you want to go back further (and I know exactly who Hinault is) we should perhaps talk about Bartali, Coppi and the derailleur as well. But my point wasn't that no technology has changed the Tour anyway, but maybe that wasn't clear. My point was that the playing field is generally level and the race isn't won or lost because of technology, particularly in the modern era. The exception I was mentioning was Lemond starting the final time trial in 1989 sitting 50 seconds behind Fignon in GC and then winning by 8 seconds, probably because of his time trial bars.