[thaumasiotes]

> But of course, this was done in response to past serious crashes that occurred because the asphalt melted. So, it's sort of a damned if you do damned if you don't scenario for the organizers.

Well, not entirely. You always have the option of repaving the roads with cobblestone or something.

[subscribed]

Cobblestones?

They're very slippery when dirty or wet. Seems like a much worse option.

[albumen]

Or just have the cyclists use fatter tyres.

[dgoldstein0]

That would also require fatter wheels. Which together have higher moment of inertia which makes for slower bikes (as more energy is required to get the wheels to the same speed).

Not exactly what people want in a race.

[adrianN]

You can buy faster bikes than what is allowed at the Tour, so the only concern would be making records incomparable.

[Dah00n]

And yet fatter tyres are faster than the slimmer ones they used to run. No-one run slim tyres these days.

[webnrrd2k]

I could be wrong, but it turns out that somewhat fatter tires with lower pressure are faster because less energy is wasted by deforming slightly and rolling over small bumps, as opposed to thin high-pressure tire "bouncing" over pavement. There is less wasted vertical motion with the wider tires.

[baq]

Fatter wheel is better than a dnf right?

[throw1234567891]

Not really. If you finish second, you are the first to lose.