Sagan wrote:
Only memorable thing that happened this year was Froome running up the mountain. But the race directors had his back so the time he lost and the rules he broke were all for not.
Many of you guys obviously know a few things about bicycle racing and the Tour de France in particular, but most of you are young cubbies who don't go back to the days of Eddy Merckx. The fact is, the tour organizers have made many changes over the years to prevent a dominant rider like Chris Froome from quickly building up a big led and eliminating all drama and suspense. In the days of Merckx and earlier, the top rider often won by margins far greater than what you see today.
The biggest changes: First, the total number of stages and total distance of the Tour were reduced; then, the number and length of time trials were reduced; more recently, the high mountain stages have been changed to have fewer hors categorie mountaintop finishes. And there are ever more stages designed for bunch sprint finishes, though as noted above, Chris Froome and green jersey winner Peter Sagan, each with one teammate, were able to take advantage of crosswinds and breakaway for one stage finish that might otherwise have been taken by the sprinters.
But the top riders and their teams keep getting more sophisticated about how to leverage their advantage into a commanding lead. There is really no answer to this. For one thing, there are no real parity rules as you see in the major American team sports, and teams with wealthier backers almost always do better.
Best just to enjoy the colorful spectacle and beautiful aerial views of France.