I had a similar thought with regard to Olympic cycling events. When I see them just racing round a track with no potholes, distracted pedestrians, sign-posts in the middle of the track, or half-witted drivers eating their breakfast at the wheel, I always think "call that cycling? where's the challenge in that?".
Just, instead of an alligator, substitute a red-faced man in a white van waving a copy of the Daily Mail, racing round the velodrome. Even, in a similar spirit to different stroke styles for swimming, mix it up a bit with events featuring... a distracted posh woman in a 4x4, a spoiled rich kid in a high-performance sports car, and a sales-rep in an audi.