{"id":3093,"date":"2025-07-10T12:43:44","date_gmt":"2025-07-10T10:43:44","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/franceletour.com\/?p=3093"},"modified":"2025-07-10T12:43:45","modified_gmt":"2025-07-10T10:43:45","slug":"monster-time-trials-debate","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/franceletour.com\/fr\/monster-time-trials-debate\/","title":{"rendered":"1947\u2019s 139 km Vannes\u2013Saint-Brieuc ITT resurfaces in commentary \u2014 and it\u2019s got fans fired up."},"content":{"rendered":"

As modern riders smashed their way through Stage 5\u2019s high-speed time trial, the Tour de France commentary dropped a gem of cycling folklore:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The longest individual time trial in Tour history \u2014 139 km from Vannes to Saint-Brieuc in 1947.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

In today\u2019s era of 22 km openers and 32 km mid-race TTs<\/strong>, that\u2019s a monstrous relic from a wilder, crueler time in pro cycling. And naturally, it\u2019s sparked the inevitable question:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Should modern Tours bring back the monster time trial?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n\n\n\n

What Was That 1947 Epic, Exactly?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

On July 10, 1947<\/strong>, amid war-scarred France\u2019s first post-WWII Tour, the peloton faced a brutal 139 km individual time trial<\/strong> along Brittany\u2019s windswept coast. No aero helmets, no skin suits, no power meters.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Camille Danguillaume won it in 4 hours, 24 minutes.<\/strong>
To put that in perspective: today\u2019s 30 km ITTs are wrapped up in under 40 minutes at 53\u201355 km\/h<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

That day, average speeds barely cracked 31 km\/h<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n\n\n\n

The Case for Bringing Them Back<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Fans and old-school purists argue that a 120\u2013140 km ITT would strip modern cycling back to its essence<\/strong>: raw, lonely suffering. No drafting, no teamwork, no bluffing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Just you, your bike, the clock, and 3+ hours of hell.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

It would:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    \n
  • Force GC contenders to manage energy like grand tourists, not punchy specialists.<\/strong><\/li>\n\n\n\n
  • Create epic time gaps<\/strong> that would blow open the standings.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  • Test the new generation\u2019s true limits, especially as today\u2019s superlight aero bikes and hydration systems could support longer solo efforts.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n

    \u201cCan Pogacar or Evenepoel hold 5.7 w\/kg for three hours solo?\u201d<\/strong> one ex-pro quipped on X today.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    \n\n\n\n

    Why It\u2019ll Never Happen<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

    Race organizers prize TV-friendly, sub-1-hour events<\/strong>. Logistics, road closures, and sponsor needs favor shorter formats.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    And frankly \u2014 a 130 km TT could turn a Tour into a one-man show, killing GC suspense early.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    The modern Tour is built for tension, not massacre.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

    But that won\u2019t stop fans from dreaming.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    \n\n\n\n

    Audience Angle: Is It Time for a Comeback?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

    What if the Tour dropped a 100 km time trial once a decade \u2014 a throwback stage to test the legends?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Would it:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

      \n
    • Reshape how we rate champions?<\/li>\n\n\n\n
    • Force an evolution in bike design?<\/li>\n\n\n\n
    • Bring back the survivalist mystique cycling\u2019s lost?<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n

      You tell us.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

      Drop your thoughts in the comments or on X \u2014 should the monster TT return?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

      \n\n\n\n

      \ud83d\udeb4\u200d\u2642\ufe0f Quick History Hit<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
        \n
      • Longest Tour TT:<\/strong> 139 km (1947 Vannes\u2013Saint-Brieuc)<\/li>\n\n\n\n
      • Fastest Tour ITT:<\/strong> 55.5 km\/h (Rohan Dennis, Utrecht 2015, 13.8 km)<\/li>\n\n\n\n
      • Last ITT over 70 km:<\/strong> 1989 Tour (73 km Versailles\u2013Paris final TT, Lemond v. Fignon)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n
        \n\n\n\n

        \ud83d\udcca Reader Poll<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

        Would you want a 100+ km ITT in the modern Tour?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

        \u2705 Yes \u2014 bring it back
        \u274c No \u2014 keep it modern<\/p>\n\n\n\n

        \n\n\n\n
        \n\n\n\n

        Cycling\u2019s history is filled with mythical stages.<\/strong>
        Maybe it\u2019s time for the modern peloton to taste a little of that beautiful madness again.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

        As modern riders smashed their way through Stage 5\u2019s high-speed time trial, the Tour de France commentary dropped a gem of cycling folklore: The longest individual time trial in Tour history \u2014 139 km from Vannes to Saint-Brieuc in 1947. In today\u2019s era of 22 km openers and 32 km mid-race TTs, that\u2019s a monstrous…<\/p>","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":3094,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_kad_blocks_custom_css":"","_kad_blocks_head_custom_js":"","_kad_blocks_body_custom_js":"","_kad_blocks_footer_custom_js":"","_kad_post_transparent":"","_kad_post_title":"","_kad_post_layout":"","_kad_post_sidebar_id":"","_kad_post_content_style":"","_kad_post_vertical_padding":"","_kad_post_feature":"show","_kad_post_feature_position":"above","_kad_post_header":false,"_kad_post_footer":false,"_kad_post_classname":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[32],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3093","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-tour-de-france-2025"],"taxonomy_info":{"category":[{"value":32,"label":"Tour de France 2025"}]},"featured_image_src_large":["https:\/\/franceletour.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/tour-de-france-monster-time-trials-1024x536.jpg",1024,536,true],"author_info":{"display_name":"Evan Pembroke","author_link":"https:\/\/franceletour.com\/fr\/author\/evan-pembroke\/"},"comment_info":0,"category_info":[{"term_id":32,"name":"Tour de France 2025","slug":"tour-de-france-2025","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":32,"taxonomy":"category","description":"Full battle coverage of the Tour de France 2025, Stage guides, live results & route maps. Track every climb, sprint, and yellow jersey battle.","parent":0,"count":76,"filter":"raw","cat_ID":32,"category_count":76,"category_description":"Full battle coverage of the Tour de France 2025, Stage guides, live results & route maps. Track every climb, sprint, and yellow jersey battle.","cat_name":"Tour de France 2025","category_nicename":"tour-de-france-2025","category_parent":0}],"tag_info":false,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/franceletour.com\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3093","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/franceletour.com\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/franceletour.com\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/franceletour.com\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/franceletour.com\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3093"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/franceletour.com\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3093\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3095,"href":"https:\/\/franceletour.com\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3093\/revisions\/3095"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/franceletour.com\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/3094"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/franceletour.com\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3093"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/franceletour.com\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3093"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/franceletour.com\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3093"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}