Thanks to Eric for sending me this link on race radio at the Tour de France. Not what you would expect to see… somebody actually did study the difference between races with & without race radio. And with a different outcome than many would think.
I’m not certain 1991-1996 vs 2001-2005 TdF stages are otherwise-equal; you’re comparing pre-Lance to Lance days, and regardless of what you think of Lance himself, Bruyneel brought a different style of racing to the Peloton, that of everyone dying for the King. At least it’s my perception, possibly wrong, that pre-Lance it was more likely your GC guy didn’t have the entire team at his disposal, but rather you’d have your separate sprinters & breakaway guys… something not possible with a classic Lance/Bruyneel team.
Read & discuss. Interested to hear what others think.