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@gbj_tester
You seem to ignore the fact that GC in stage races is a small part of professional road racing, and for some of us the least interesting since we don't know the result until nearly two years after the event.
If the wheels are designed with big tyres (in the context of road racing, 25mm counts as big) in mind, there is no aero penalty, and no weight penalty since it's easy to build to 6.8kg with big tyres and deep wheels. That's why you now see a lot of 24-25mm tyres in use throughout the year, following a long period when 22mm was the biggest tyre in the bunch and 19-20mm was not unusual - DSs have finally starting believing in science. For most of us it's just a handy by product that you also get better ride and handling from the bigger tyres, but in a 6hr road race you shouldn't underestimate the contribution they also make to overall performance.