EddieH wrote:... but what do the elite really think. I would imagine those with a real turn of speed like it and the old fashioned tough fit and brilliant navigators don't.
Little Hoddy, who from his post evidently enjoyed it, probably accepts that in this company he is not in the brilliant navigator camp but should dispute not being tough and fit. In fact both wins (Tove and Magne) in the close finishes may have had a lot to do with being tough and fit.
That apart, I'm pretty sure the thinking has a lot more to do with the audience than the runners.
The expert summariser (Mårten Boström) said in the broadcast it was probably good for the sport to occasionally have a high profile first past the post race.
The domestic broadcasts apparently did well for viewers. This is a link to the image that was tweeted: https://pbs.twimg.com/media/DBBU6O8XoAEGMkk.jpg
I haven't seen anything about the internet figures.