04.07.26 TdF TTT dropped riders on slight downhill (15h edition, possibly others)

[Robyklebt]

Very weird and until now unkown behaviour in the TTT. Not sure it's connected to the change in the number of riders you need to wait for, somehow seems unlikely that should have an effect on who can keep up and who not, but I've never experienced anything as weird as today.

Km 14 -1
Team FL, Erpelding with 66 TT, second best (best 67 but more downhill) in the team can't follow, is dropped. 47-73-50-66. At the same time Wijkstra with 52 downhill and 49 TT can keep up.
Tukhtahuaev: Dosmagambetov 71-83-56-58. again second best TT man in the team, best with 61
Quickstep: Waiting for Buchwald 48-48 downhill TT, but with 63-61 followed by 53 as best TT skills usually a guy like this was never dropped. On steep downhills, -5 or so, it could happen, not on -1/-2/-3 in my experience.
Kebede was dropped too, but with 43 TT was sort of expecting that, but turns out it was probably this -1 that killed him too with 45 downhill.

Km 19 -2
Big Donkey: Vigni with 61 TT and 49 downhill dropped. Best TT guy, don't remember his setting there, but probably was on high. Energy looked fine. Not dropped on the preceding -3, but on the "easier" -2

Very weird, of the 4 guys mentioned here normally I wouldn't expect a single one to drop on those km, and never noticed anything like this before. Auvergne TTT for example, I finished with my 9 riders together, there were downhill km too, including the this time around fatal -1 and -2, but in my team nothing at all happened, in others don't know, but nobody mentioned a strong rider dropping on the -1, -2 there.

Seems it can only be connected to the change? But why would it? Anyway, a check might be good... and riding most TTTs in the traditional system just to be sure might be good too