"The 33"-Road Bike Racing - Why no TTT's in the Tour?

I really liked watching the team time trials in the Tour. Is there a reason why there isn't one in this year's Tour or in last year's Tour?

Last year's tour featured two prominent favourites, both of whom had vastly superior TTT teams. It's also occasionally nice to mix it up. But to miss two years is blasphemous! The prologue in London is going to be very cool, and quite interesting to see if Wiggins or Millar can pull one off.

ask here (http://www.aso.fr/aso/contacts_us.html).

Because they don't want the tour to be too popular.

Remember a couple of years ago when they decided to have the ttt but reduced the amount of time between teams to reduce the effect the ttt had on the overall standings? Even if the first place team won by 30 seconds, the gap was only (as I recall) going to be 10 seconds, then down the line? They got criticised so much for it that they decided to take it out entirely.

The Postal/Disco factor. That team was so strong that they didn't want Lance to get too much of an advantage. I think it was the race for the sixth win where they did this.

Work hard, but we'll take away your advantage.

I thought that was the definition of a race. First one across the line wins, and everyone else gets out of the way.

What cracked me was the explanation...they didn't want the race decided in the ttt...but it's still a team sport. The strong teams kill the weak ones. Whether it's a ttt or a mountain stage, it does not matter.

It certaintly left many of us shaking our heads.

It certaintly left many of us shaking our heads.

I recall something similar about "not wanting to give the 'super-teams' too much of an advantage".

Well, if they're already super-teams...