Tour looking for more excitement

CARCASSONNE, France (AP) — Tired of watching cycling races where nothing ever seems to happen? The Tour de France thinks it has some solutions to liven up the action: Shorter mountain stages, intermediate bonus sprints, and a Formula One-like grid start. “Spectators are becoming more and more demanding and they want to see real excitement,” says Luca Guercilena, general manager of the Trek-Segafredo team. “Endurance is a big part of cycling. But if we’re able to mix the strain of longer stages with shorter legs that allow space for more attacks, a good mix could be the winner.” While mountain stages in the Tour are traditionally more than 150 kilometers (100 miles) or longer — sometimes beyond 200 kilometers — this Tour features two legs that are relative sprints by comparison. Stage 11 last week, a 108.5-kilometer leg from Albertville to the La Rosiere ski resort, saw elite riders such as Alejandro Valverde attack from far out, forcing Team Sky to increase its pace far earlier than it would have liked. Stage 17 on Wednesday from Bagneres-De Luchon to Saint-Lary-Soulan Col du Portet in the Pyrenees promises to be even more unpredictable at just 65 kilometers over three grueling climbs, including an uphill finish. “It’s not really been done before so it’s going to be tough. It’s basically up, down, up, down, up — 2 1/2 hours full gas racing,” says Geraint Thomas, the Team Sky rider wearing the yellow jersey. “I’m sure it will be good to watch, maybe not to race.” On longer mountain stages, the top-placed riders usually wait until the final climb to swing into action, saving precious energy in the preceding hours for what they hope will be a decisive attack with the finish line approaching. “What eventually you want to see is that the race goes on and that the best case scenario is that the big boys make the clash between each other. ... It is the future of cycling, I think,” says Tom Steels, the Quick-Step team sports director and a former rider who won nine Tour stages over his career. “In stage races, the shorter they are, the better it is.” With Sky dominating the Tour in recent years and easily chasing down any attacks from far out, the shorter stages should lessen the British team’s ability to maintain control. “On a 200-kilometer stage, riders probably won’t attack on the first climb. But if it’s 110 kilometers, anything can happen, even for the GC contenders,” says Franco Pellizotti, the Italian who at 40 is the oldest rider in this Tour.