The Perfect Race

It’s been a great season so far with plenty of lively races supplying action, sport and drama. But what makes the perfect race for viewers? There seem to be several ingredients ranging from a tight contest to a satisfactory winner.

Obvious highlights of 2015 include the Omloop Het Nieuwsblad with Ian Stannard’s overwinning against Etixx-Quickstep, the storm-ravaged Gent-Wevelgem, the Mortirolo stage of the Giro, Vincenzo Nibali’s raid to Villard de Lans in the Critérium du Dauphiné or Chris Froome and Tejay van Garderen’s mano a mano struggle in the same race. These and other races often have the following:

Suspense : the result is rarely a forgone conclusion, take the Dauphiné where the overall result came down to the last moments of the last climb on the last stage, it keeps you watching to the end

: the result is rarely a forgone conclusion, take the Dauphiné where the overall result came down to the last moments of the last climb on the last stage, it keeps you watching to the end Direct Competition : take the same Dauphiné finish which gave us two riders fighting for the same goal in direct competition, a superior drama compared to a decisive time trial as seen in the recent Tour de Suisse

: take the same Dauphiné finish which gave us two riders fighting for the same goal in direct competition, a superior drama compared to a decisive time trial as seen in the recent Tour de Suisse Duration : there are memorable sprint finishes but ideally a gripping race should last for hours, take this year’s Gent-Wevelgem where Belgian TV ensures hours of coverage and the action was happening before the cameras were turned on

: there are memorable sprint finishes but ideally a gripping race should last for hours, take this year’s Gent-Wevelgem where Belgian TV ensures hours of coverage and the action was happening before the cameras were turned on Peripeteia : a Greek word for reversal of fortune and a dramatic technique exploited by storytellers for millennia. Rather than heading to an inevitable result a surprise or two can enliven the race. It’s here that Stannard’s early season win stands out for the way many assumed it was simply a question of which Etixx-Quickstep rider would win

: a Greek word for reversal of fortune and a dramatic technique exploited by storytellers for millennia. Rather than heading to an inevitable result a surprise or two can enliven the race. It’s here that Stannard’s early season win stands out for the way many assumed it was simply a question of which Etixx-Quickstep rider would win Heroes and villains: the old good vs. bad story. Take the Mortirolo stage where Astana appeared to accelerate once Alberto Contador had stopped for a wheel change. This saw Contador on a mission to get back to the front of the race where he duly caught and dropped Fabio Aru. Or we can view Ian Stannard as the underdog in the Omloop. Of course there’s the tale of clean riders vs dirty dopers too

We revel in past exploits such as Fausto Coppi leading stopping for a coffee in Milan-Sanremo or Eddy Merckx romping across the Pyrenees in his Luchon-Mourenx masterpiece to win the stage solo eight minutes ahead of the next rider.

But these solo rides don’t make great TV today. We’ve seen Fabian Cancellara and Tom Boonen in Paris Roubaix in 2010 and 2012 respectively. Storming rides that left no doubt who was the best and the boldest yet viewers were watching a fait accompli for an hour. A perfect ride but not the perfect viewing experience?

Drama can take many forms. Gent-Wevelgem is normally a more tame spring classic with a long run-in to the finish after the bergs. This year was exceptional with the wild weather. There are limits for viewers sat comfortably at home though while riders endure danger, to triumph against adversity should not mean Wacky Races style entertainment. Still a crash can be part of the drama, especially if a rider gets up and gets back.

Last year’s Tour de France showed why crashes can ruin the perfect race. Staying upright is part of the game but we were robbed of rivals to Vincenzo Nibali. Once he’d won on the Planche des Belle Filles the mountain stages were a series of repeat episodes.

The Perfect Winner

As well as the circumstances of how the race unfolds – the script if you like – there needs to be a hero. Every race has to have a winner but some results can be more triumphant than others. The manner of the win matters, being the strongest counts but there’s often more. Nairo Quintana’s grip on the maglia rosa in the 2014 Giro had an air of polemica until he stormed the Monte Grappa mountain TT to prove he was the best rather than just an opportunist who sneaked away over the Stelvio.

“This 50th Tour de France didn’t just deliver satisfaction of an athletic and aesthetic order, it finally brought us a moral comfort.”

– Antonine Blondin, L’Equipe, 15 July 1963

Blondin is describing Jacques Anquetil’s win in the 50th Tour de France after a close battle with Federico Bahamontes where the struggle helped define Anquetil’s win and bring him closer the French public. Blondin describes Anquetil as majestic, a prince but also one who eventually embraced his people. It’s one thing to win, but winning with public benediction is greater. When a lesser name wins is it a breakthrough or a less satisfying result from a second class rider who found themselves in a first class breakaway. There’s nuance here because the triumph of a lesser rider can be heroic too, think of Adam Hansen winning a stage of the Vuelta last year or a wildcard team rider escaping the clutches of wealthy World Tour teams. A triumph for an unrepentant ex-doper can be a let down just as a win for someone suspicious leaves many unsatisfied.

The Course

You’d think scenery helps. Think of the great Strade Bianche race or the scenic mountain passes. Yet Paris-Roubaix crosses some of the grimmest landscapes going yet provides for plenty of drama. Normally the Poggio is a small road bounded by ramshackle hothouses for 364 day of the year. The road matters but the backdrop less so when the racing is good. A flat course suggests a boring race but if the wind is blowing things liven up.

A local touch helps. Even for foreigners a Flemish classic finish with a local hero seems more authentic and gets the crowds going even more, the same when a Frenchman is doing well in the Tour de France. The jingoistic side can be off-putting and a rider’s nationality doesn’t make the sporting competition any better but it broadens the appeal of the race to a wider audience.

The crowd is an ingredient of the perfect race, a sea of humanity parting like a biblical scene is special and arguably winning a stage of the Tour de France in Yorkshire last July was just that bit better than a less well-attended sprint stage in France. Meanwhile Tour of Qatar can have intriguing sprints but they happen among a handful of lost immigrant construction workers on their day off. A larger crowd boosts the prestige.

On top of this you can add intrigue and politics. Cycling is a sophisticated sport, it can take a while to grasp how the yellow jersey is awarded but there’s all the hidden things such as which rider is moving to another team, which teams and riders have formed a temporary alliance. Gauging a performance against these hidden aspects can further add or detract to the day’s sport.

Finally there’s always personal preferences. I’ve tried to think of the more universal features rather than your rider, team or nationality or whether you’ve got a pot of money riding on one rider or another.

Conclusion

This season seems to have had plenty of “wow” races already with surprise results and action. You know it when you see it but the above lists some of the factors required. It’s a moveable feast and today’s definition of a great race is defined by television where a relative battle between riders makes for superior entertainment over the absolute performance of a champion going solo for the win with an hour to go. Yet there’s the paradox of wanting uncertainty and suspense yet craving the right winner and an indisputable hierarchy.

Perhaps we’d be better off watching a TV box set where professional script writers employ every trick in the book to craft suspense? Of course that’s artifice and fiction whereas you can stand by the roads of France this July or turn on your TV and see the drama happening live and unscripted.