2015 Tour de France Route

[Dazed and Confused]

Well that's it, right? Like, what incentive do TT specialists have to come to the Tour at all? To bag 1 stage instead of chances in 3? To wear the Maillot Jaune for a maximum of 2 days until you get to the Mur de Huy? I mean, sure there are tons of riders who don't have a specialty and go for the breakaway win all the time in the Tour, so maybe the TT guys should be happy with that, in that sense. But really what ASO is doing is giving a strong disincentive to TT riders to try to make it past stage 9.

There are not many incentives for them, but they will come for the prologue and hang around and help their teams, perhaps get a stage win from a break etc.

The issue I have is this: how can we crown the strongest rider without a real test in a long ITT? It is the only discipline where the riders are forced to perform 100% on own merits. No tactics, no defensive games, no wheelsucking (well, its officially called cheating in an ITT), no pacing by team. Ride at close to 100% for about an hour and let the time tell the story. A long ITT is not only needed for GT route balance, but without it we could have some questions about the validity of the winner imo.

 

[Eshnar]

Too bad about no Champs due to the supposedly dangerous descent, (though that's only the W side, no? - why no Cayolle instead of Allos then?) but good to have a second descent finish in (Montvernier). I was worried about that one as Thomas V. didn't list it yesterday.

what's the first descent finish, if SJM is the second?

 

[veji11]

found it in a couple of forums out there...

Col St. Michel - Allos - Pra Loup

Bayard - Ornon - Glandon - Montvernier

Chaussy - Croix de Fer - Mollard - Toussuire

Telegraphe - Galibier - Alpe d'Huez

And there are rumours about time bonuses to be back.

Re the Pra Loup stage, I suppose this would mean they had to give up the idea of going through the "Col des Champs". Shame

The Gap-St Jean de Maurienne Stage looks really interesting with a tricky final : Long hard classic "alp style" climb in the Glandon and then shortish final hill (3 ks at 7% but with 20 hairpins, so lots of accelerations) with a flat top, then a descent. If it's 185ks as advertised, the direct route is too short but a variation that fits exactly is if they take the first 70% of the Alpe d'Huez upt to the village of Huez and then turn towards the Glandon. It would fit exactly the length. It would mean a very interesting final 85 ks : 1st cat up to Huez ( 8ks at 8,5%) then descente, than HC (22ks at 5% but very irregular from that south side with some flat and even descent bits) then descent, 5ks of flat, than the final hill (3rd C with 3ks at 7% but all the hairpins), a few ks of flattish, descent and 2 ks of flat to St Jean de Maurienne. Could be a fantastic stage although I fear the "Grand Bornand 2013 syndrome", where it gets sacrificed by favorites putting all their eggs on the MTFs of the next 2 days.

 

[ILovecycling]

Stages 19 and 20 favor Quintana and he "always" seems to be at his best in the third week of a GT, regardless, but I wonder how many minutes he'll be behind at that point.

The 2013 route suited him much better, IMO.

I don't think that it is that bad to out weight 50km pan flat TT that was in 2013.
The worst news for him would be the time bonuses IMO.first week wont never be ideal for him of course.

 

[18-Valve. (pithy)]

what's the first descent finish, if SJM is the second?

Gap via Manse

 

[veji11]

time bonuses would be a disgrace, I despise them, GT cycling is "real time" cycling. yuck 7/8 MTFs + Time bonuses + no real ITT would turn the tour into a subpar Vuelta. Can't believe they would do this horror.

 

[Eshnar]

Gap via Manse

oh right, totally forgot that stage

 

[fauniera]

Bayard - Ornon - Glandon - Montvernier

I still have hope to see Col du Chaussy instead of Montvernier. Would be 186 km, could easily be 185 km (depends of the the exact location of start and finish). That would be a fine stage.

 

[veji11]

I still have hope to see Col du Chaussy instead of Montvernier. Would be 186 km, could easily be 185 km (depends of the the exact location of start and finish). That would be a fine stage.

a finish via Montvernier using the first 8ks of l'Alpe would be 185 ks as well and be really interesting : the first 2,4ks of Montvernier you have 17 hairpins (every 140meters), this is deadly. Means placement at the bottom is key and constant acceleration/deceleration makes it a lot harder for a weaker rider to pull a Peraud TDF 2013 and suck the wheel.

look at what it could look like on openrunner 4185912. I really like that stage if it ends up like that.

 

[fauniera]

It's not bad, but i would prefer Chaussy. But i guess Prudhomme will go for this:

 

[vladimir]

It's not bad, but i would prefer Chaussy. But i guess Prudhomme will go for this:

I thought Montvernier was on the way up to Chaussy but I'm obvioulsy missing something

 

[McLovin]

It's not bad, but i would prefer Chaussy. But i guess Prudhomme will go for this:

OF course he will, even just for taking something like this on camera.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZaQbCrSqoQk

 

[OlavEH]

Is it money that makes ASO use the area around Bourg d'Oisans and the surrounding area so much? Alpe d'Huez, Glandon, Galibier, and in the last years Toussuire, are far more used than the rest of the Alps. There are quite a few interesting climbs also other places in the Alps, but these are rarely used. In most cases it's someting I would classify as semi interesting like Risoul 1800 or Allos-Pra Loup.

 

[Eshnar]

Is it money that makes ASO use the area around Bourg d'Oisans and the surrounding area so much?

Of course it is. What else.

 

[veji11]

OF course he will, even just for taking something like this on camera.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZaQbCrSqoQk

You have to admit, from a tv point of view it was glorious !

 

[fauniera]

I thought Montvernier was on the way up to Chaussy but I'm obvioulsy missing something

If you climb Chaussy via Montvernier you will have to descend the north side via the road of Col de la Madeleine. If you only climb Montvernier you can descend towards the south, which makes more sense, but is a much shorter climb. Of course they could use the hairpins above as the descent from Chaussy.

 

[Dazed and Confused]

You have to admit, from a tv point of view it was glorious !

yep, excellent tv production and film making right there.

 

[Netserk]

Time bonuses Ugh, the horror.

 

[Bavarianrider]

When will the presentation start?

 

[Netserk]

11:20, so in forty minutes AFAIK.

 

[fauniera]

"New for the 2015 Tour" says Inner Ring, so Montvernier it is.

Roads to Ride: the Lacets de Montvernier

 

[OlavEH]

Of course it is. What else.

Boring. One stage in this area each year is Ok, 3 is far too many.

I'm suprised that there aren't more ski resorts which are willing to pay to host a a MTF in the Tour. Especially in the Taraintaise valley you have a whole bunch of these (Meribel, Les Menuires, Couchevel, La Plagne, Arc, Tignes). In addition to Avoriaz, Isola 2000, Flaine, Risoul, Chamrousse, etc in the rest of the Alps.

Personally I would have like to see a Joux Plane-Avoriaz stage and a Roselend-Arc 2000. In addition to Mont du Chat with a downhill finish to Chambery.

 

[hrotha]

So... a gazillion MTFs, even a couple of walls, and practically no ITT? Good god.

 

[webvan]

ok, we're live !

 

[gregrowlerson]

When will the presentation start?

Can't believe you're willing to watch this.

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