Originally Posted by
bicievino
I echo this.
I think the current homologation and commercial availability requirements are a good balance of fairness and innovation.
Folks see, for instance, the Velobike NZ "horny bars", and everyone has a shot at using them instead of just the NZ team. But the technology of the sport still advances instead of being cast in amber.
As I stated in my original post...standardizing ONE event rather than everything might be interesting. With races being won my a few tenths of a second, this may expose the "marginal gains" that wealthier teams/countries have the advantage of. I think in actuality having one standardized event (as well as depending on the theoretical event) will result in similar standings with larger margins of victory. As a consumer and amateur, these "innovations" further distance similar populations from the top tiers of the sport even though the equipment, in theory, is available for purchase.