I'm going to say something controversial, for this site anyway, I missed the train.
It's true. The tour wasn't the same without the metronomic rhythm of Kiryienka or, and where was he by the way, Siutsou, tapping out an attack stifling pace. So let me explain why.
Firstly, I enjoy a good attack as much as the next man. Especially when it involves them being chased down followed by rapid counterattacks. But I have another side, a mathematical side, that can only be sated by the intermediate times on TT's and their relation to possible stage winners and GC changes and the prediction of what the train needs to do. In a GT where there was only one, I repeat, ONE Time Trial over a 23 day period and where the breaks usually never ventured far enough ahead to bring the will they won't they element of the catch into play, the train was an obvious omission from the proceedings.
It allows the numerically inclined to predict whether it will last long enough so the leader can launch the attack close enough to the end. How many left in the train? How far does each guy have to work at pace setting? How long do they need to continue? It's like a slow motion version of the sprinter trains. You know the type. Four kilometres to go and six in the train. TMart will do a k but Renshaw will only do 300 to 400 metres. With the sprint, that 4k often takes only a few minutes but on a mountain top finish, it's forty or more minutes, borrowing a Seanism, to do the calculations. It's not just the extra time, we get to see the pain on their faces. Ale Jet behind sunnies doing 350 metres at 60kph is just a blur. David Lopez pulling for 2k on a 7.5% gradient for nearly ten minutes in which time he takes off the glasses, unzips the jersey and takes a long swig from his bidon, is a High Definition cornucopia of facial expressions that make us feel like we're there with him.
No, you can have your Chris Horner attacks lasting one and half minutes or your 40 seconds of Rolland making a play for the win. I'd much rather be doing those calculations and watching everyone in the slowly depleting bunch strain to stay on the wheel always knowing that there'll come a time when only the leaders are left and it's all to play for.
Attacks all the time,
Addles your mind.
Stick with the train,
It's good for your brain.