Interesting route in Spain this year, with the nationals around Soria.
It opens up with three not massive but decently sizable climbs, most notably the
Puerto de Oncala before a
bumpy circuit around the city of Soria, likely with the same slightly punchy uphill finish as used in the 2004 Vuelta (although the PRC guys have a much better alternative, mind).
The Portuguese nationals should also be pretty tough, with a hilly course around Gondomar featuring three notable climbs. The first, on Rua Lameiro Pinheiro, is just 500m long but is just over 10% in gradient, close to the start of the circuit, then there's a bit of a plateau and a descent before 2,2km at 5,2%, 7km from the line, then a gradual descent and rolling route around town before the final 1,2km averages 6,4% (last 500m over 8%) which should help the puncheurs. This looks like a good circuit, although perhaps having the finish at the top of the climb may be a factor.
The French national championships are up in Normandie, in full Quatre Jours de Dunkerque territory, which promises to provide some entertainment as a result - possibility of wind, narrow roads, a small climb of 1,3km @ 6,5% and a péloton split between the goals of durable fastmen (Coquard, Bouhanni, Démare) and versatile attackers. Not one for the likes of Bardet and Pinot, mind. The picture I've posted there is from the women's championships, but the circuit is the same for the men, so the profile remains accurate.
Here's a more detailed look at the route - notably, it isn't very technical which will favour the sprinters.
The German national championships are in Chemnitz, which has a long tradition of cycling, dating back to when it was formerly Karl-Marx-Stadt and held the first Eastern Bloc World Championships. Back then (in 1960) they used the streets of the extended motor racing circuit at the Sachsenring, which has been reprofiled and rebuilt rendering it not possible at this point (although in the Race Design Thread I did propose something close). It was famous as the day Täve Schur gave up his ambitions of a third straight win to allow a teammate to take the rainbow stripes, and became a demi-God in the DDR. Here, however, there's a 19km circuit which begins and ends in the city (back then it was fairly common to see racing circuits used in the vicinity - just look at the Lasarte-Oria course used for the San Sebastián Worlds - about as flat a circuit as was humanly possible in País Vasco), with only the one real ascent to bear in mind, this being 2,1km at just under 5% and almost exactly halfway through the circuit. However, while the 9km descent is very shallow, it runs almost all the way to the line and though it has few real sharp corners, there are few long straights so it would be possible to get out of the sight of the péloton here - the sprinters may well still prevail but they'll have to work hard for it.
The Britons are going for something which combines a few points I've brought up here - the combination of an old racing circuit with the Spanish "a few climbs, then the bumpy circuit" route - they're going to the Isle of Man, home of course of Mark Cavendish and Peter Kennaugh. It's
a difficult course as a result, with the men doing 2 laps of the fabled Isle of Man TT course before 10 laps of an urban circuit, with the women doing 1 lap of the long hilly route and then 6 laps of the urban circuit. Certainly more likely to be one for the likes of Lizzie than the Barnes sisters, but the latter are clearly on much better form at present. That said, the small climbs on the short circuit are within their remit if The Women's Tour is anything to go by, so they may need to be distanced on The Mountain first. And among the men, hope for a home win must surely rest with Kennaugh, as this is unlikely to be inside Cav's remit. I couldn't find a profile so I drew it on Cronoescalada.
The Belgian national championships are, because there is no kind and loving God, on the outskirts of Antwerp, that god-forsaken city that is the ruiner of all things good on two wheels. On the plus side, however, as they're looping around to the southwest around the areas of Hoboken and Wilrijk, the course may be absolutely pan-flat, but the organizers have had the opportunity to include two kasseistroken in the course, which also has eleven thousand corners and pieces of street furniture, because let's face it, it wouldn't be racing in Belgium without that.
It doesn't look like the cobbles will be especially challenging, being mostly fairly well-maintained and aligned city cobbles, but it's still a nice additional wildcard of a challenge on a course where technical skills will likely be the most selective factor in making breaks rather than anything else. The Belgian nationals are usually very well-raced with so many Classics men on hand, though, so they'll probably be able to make something good out of this.
The Dutch are, well, they're trying to make things selective. Their championships are in 's-Heerenberg, in the east of the country, and not far from Nijmegen, one of the only places outside of Limburg where a genuine natural hill can be found for racing on in the Netherlands. 's-Heerenberg allows for a hill of sorts, although only at the bottom are the gradients especially selective, it does at least give a pretty solid platform for attacking from. The main climb is called Peeskesweg and is
1,1km @ 4,9% with a max of 8%. This isn't too bad at all by Dutch standards of hills, and with the run-in then resulting in some narrow twisty routes around Stokken it could be more selective than you might anticipate.
The Russian championships this year do not court the same controversy as last year's in Sevastopol'; this year they are in Voronezh, with a course that undulates in and out of the banks of the river of the same name. No detailed parcours that I can find, but it looks like it will be a tricky circuit with at least a couple of short climbs and technical corners, although a wide open start/finish.
The Italians have gone for an approach similar to the Brits and the Spaniards, with a route with some obstacles followed by a circuit. Only there's a twist: here the circuit is harder than the initial route.
Bouncing around the Piemontese countryside just south of the Valle d'Aosta, this will be a tough and selective national championships with a nice difficult climb mid-circuit. Can't find a profile for this exact side of the multi-faced Salita della Serra (it's a ridge which lies between Ivrea and Biella with at least 3 passes) but the official communication says it's 3,4km @ 7,0% with a maximum of 13% - plenty enough to be selective in a national championship like this. Certainly interesting to see if Cecchini can triple up; she won at Supergà a couple of years ago but several times up a climb like this could leave her vulnerable to the likes of Elisa; for the men, it seems this is one for the Nibalis of the world, but also perhaps Ulissi, Rosa, Felline and co. can be key players, as opposed to the likes of Nizzolo and Viviani who will likely not be contending.
The Swiss championships above are on a 30km loop beginning before several laps of the 12,6km circuit shown there. The first 2,5km are at around 7% before a very gradual descent back into the town makes up the remainder of the course. The women will be doing a shorter circuit of 7,8km which includes the first 3/4 of the climb then a short plateau to rejoin the men's course. This actually means the punchy/climby riders will be better served in the women's race than the men's.
. A joke of a competition.
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