There is a theory that the Tour de France would be greatly improved by much shorter stages. It would be more exciting to watch. It would prompt more interesting tactics, more open racing and less reliance on the team. That sort of thing.
Well, I’m here to tell you this has already happened. It’s happened many times. The Tour de France is a shadow of what it once was. It’s only 60% of the length it was in the 1910s. As if that wasn’t enough, there are now 30% more stages. Or try it this way – the average stage in 1919 was 370 km, and that year’s longest stage was 480 km. The winner of that one took 19 hours to get from Les Sables-d’Olonne to Bayonne.
