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2020 Tour de France route rumors

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The Tour is so centered around a total of 6-8 climbs in the Pyrenees and Alps. Are there really no other towns/regions/ski resorts other places in the Pyrenees or in the Northern/Southern Alps willing to pay to host a stage finish? The only innovations to Tour routes happens on stages outside the Alps and Pyrenees.
The Basque Pyrenees were willing to pay, but they have been moved back to 2021, apparently. I guess ASO wanted to be in/near Pau the day before the first "rest" day. Which makes sense logistically. Otherwise they would have been in no mans land a day before the transfer to the La Rochelle area.

The thing is, they can keep the same starts and finishes and make much more attractive courses. Laruns via Spandelles E and Soulor N, for example.
 
So, how many times had Val Thorens hosted a finish before this year?

Wouldn't call that so much of an innovation. The Tarentaise valley are covered with high altitude ski resports. It doesn't make much of a differece if they use La Plagne, Val Thorens, Couchevel, Les Arcs or Tignes (north). Pretty much all the same, although Val Thorens is higher and slighly tougher.
 
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The Basque Pyrenees were willing to pay, but they have been moved back to 2021, apparently. I guess ASO wanted to be in/near Pau the day before the first "rest" day. Which makes sense logistically. Otherwise they would have been in no mans land a day before the transfer to the La Rochelle area.

The thing is, they can keep the same starts and finishes and make much more attractive courses. Laruns via Spandelles E and Soulor N, for example.
Okay. Hope we'll see a stage in the Basque Pyrenees in two years then.

Agree on the latter. ASO could definetely more on the stage design given the same start and finish towns. Another example would have been to use a Mont Cenis-Iseran combo on this year's stage to Tignes. A small change, but if they did several of these type of changes each year, it could make a difference.
 
Can you link the page on the race design thread that you did this on? Would be interested to see it.
I never formally posted it as the GTs are pretty major undertakings and I had some other designs I was having much more fun with, I might post just the profiles shortly in the same fashion as I did for the fantasy doping draft Tour rather than a several thousand word writeup.
 
maybe the only positive point is that 2021 course it's not unlikely the pyrenees will be the last mountain range and the bask stage will have an important place (final mountain stage)? In combination with the Andorra stage rumoured for 2021, at least the pyrenees could have a somewhat better format. (although lately ASO is not really having the one year alps-pyrenees, next year pyrenees-Alps rithm anymore)

but sorry, it's really disappointing to use the same stage as 1 years ago. I mean, I understand that with 21 stages year in year out, they have to repeat things sometimes. But just copy past from last years route? really? I hope rumors are wrong here. It seems that the pyrenees since Prudhomme having even less creativity than before. Did it happen that Tourmalet (and peyresourde) was not in the route (or even twice in the route) since Prudhomme is the boss?
 
maybe the only positive point is that 2021 course it's not unlikely the pyrenees will be the last mountain range and the bask stage will have an important place (final mountain stage)? In combination with the Andorra stage rumoured for 2021, at least the pyrenees could have a somewhat better format. (although lately ASO is not really having the one year alps-pyrenees, next year pyrenees-Alps rithm anymore)

but sorry, it's really disappointing to use the same stage as 1 years ago. I mean, I understand that with 21 stages year in year out, they have to repeat things sometimes. But just copy past from last years route? really? I hope rumors are wrong here. It seems that the pyrenees since Prudhomme having even less creativity than before. Did it happen that Tourmalet (and peyresourde) was not in the route (or even twice in the route) since Prudhomme is the boss?
They miss one of the two like every other year?

But they'll really try to make up for it sometmies by having both Peyresourde and Peyragudes in the same year.
 
Like most people I really liked the idea of the basque design. Concerning ASO and lack of creativity with the pyreneers I agree. To be fair the Col du Portet finish last year was new however misused in a combination with the idea of that feeble short stage.

Except for that I agree the variety is shockingly low and that it would be an outright disgrace for the race if they were to just copy the stage from last year to Laruns. I personally would prefer Hautacam (MTF). Not necessarily innovative but its been a while.
 
Wouldn't call that so much of an innovation. The Tarentaise valley are covered with high altitude ski resports. It doesn't make much of a differece if they use La Plagne, Val Thorens, Couchevel, Les Arcs or Tignes (north). Pretty much all the same, although Val Thorens is higher and slighly tougher.

Correct if am I wrong, but

La Plagne was last used in 2002

Val Thorens in 1994 prior to last year

Courchevel in 2005

Les Arcs in 1996

Tignes in 2007 prior to last year

it's not an innovation as such, but also not an area that the Tour visits very often
 
I was actually trying to do a Tour for the Race Design Thread that ticked all the modern ASO tropes but still managed to innovate, and I had a Pau-Loudenvielle stage in that - which was actually an intermediate stage ahead of two significant mountain stages, with the easy side of Aspin and the Col de Lançon the only climbs. Ironically, ASO themselves are breaking with the rules I set to make an ASO-type route next year, with their early mountains. The idea behind my route was to fill all the ASO tropes.
  • Backloaded mountains? Check.
  • Overseas start? Check.
  • Only one long ITT? Check (I also put a mid-length one in, to make it more like 2008 in distribution of TT mileage)
  • At least one MTF at an iconic summit? Check.
  • Pau and Luchon as stage hosts? Check.
  • Maurienne valley? Check.
  • At least one short mountain stage? Check.
  • At least three of the most common summits in the Tour's history? Check.
Even despite hamstringing myself thus, I still cobbled together a route that I was both happy with and felt would be innovative even given that it was travelling through fairly well-trodden areas, and not all that badly paced.

the thread for backloaded mountains is actually here

https://forum.cyclingnews.com/threads/2020-giro-route-rumors.34470/page-11
 
Stage finish in the Catalan Pyrenees the day before the Loudenvielle stage.

Port del Comte (via Font Romeu)



La propera edició del Tour de França passarà per Catalunya. Serà el 3 de juliol amb una etapa que tindrà arribada a Port del Comte.
Tot i que la presentació oficial de la propera ronda es farà aquest dimarts , avui s'han conegut ja els primers detalls i la confirmació de que la principa ronda ciclista internacional tornarà a trepitjar terres catalanes en la propera edició.
La Seu d'Urgell serà el punt de sortida de l'etapa del 4 de juliol. Els ciclistes que arribaran a Catalunya per Font Romeu, marxaran de La Seu en direcció Tarbes



via Geraards @ Velowire
 
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Stage finish in the Catalan Pyrenees the day before the Loudenvielle stage.

Port del Comte (via Font Romeu)



La propera edició del Tour de França passarà per Catalunya. Serà el 3 de juliol amb una etapa que tindrà arribada a Port del Comte.
Tot i que la presentació oficial de la propera ronda es farà aquest dimarts , avui s'han conegut ja els primers detalls i la confirmació de que la principa ronda ciclista internacional tornarà a trepitjar terres catalanes en la propera edició.
La Seu d'Urgell serà el punt de sortida de l'etapa del 4 de juliol. Els ciclistes que arribaran a Catalunya per Font Romeu, marxaran de La Seu en direcció Tarbes



via Geraards @ Velowire
That would be this?

port-del-comte-solsona-profile.png
 
Stage finish in the Catalan Pyrenees the day before the Loudenvielle stage.

Port del Comte (via Font Romeu)



La propera edició del Tour de França passarà per Catalunya. Serà el 3 de juliol amb una etapa que tindrà arribada a Port del Comte.
Tot i que la presentació oficial de la propera ronda es farà aquest dimarts , avui s'han conegut ja els primers detalls i la confirmació de que la principa ronda ciclista internacional tornarà a trepitjar terres catalanes en la propera edició.
La Seu d'Urgell serà el punt de sortida de l'etapa del 4 de juliol. Els ciclistes que arribaran a Catalunya per Font Romeu, marxaran de La Seu en direcció Tarbes



via Geraards @ Velowire

It is reasonable certain that the 3rd of July stage starts in Millau, so I don't think so.
 
Possibly, that's not the only route though. In any case, no way they have the second Nice stage + Orcières + Lusette-Aigoual + this + Balès-Peyresourde-Loudenvielle + Tourmalet-Aubisque-Laruns all in the first week, and this rumour doesn't fit in with the others at all. Aigoual has been all but confirmed for Stage 6 by the local mayor anyway, and no way they get from there to Port del Comte for Stage 7.
 
It is reasonable certain that the 3rd of July stage starts in Millau, so I don't think so.
Yeah. It was posted on AS.com, also, but their TDF map doesn't line up with the credible rumors at all. I mean:

 
In this day and age posters on internet forums seem to be more concerned about finding legit sources for rumours about potential gt stages than actual newspapers.
For newspapers, speed is important, while posters are more concerned about their reputation.
Anyway, I don't think the route presented in the article was intended to be reliable. Just to give some visual content to the news.
The situation would probably be different if it was about football, though.
 
I never formally posted it as the GTs are pretty major undertakings and I had some other designs I was having much more fun with, I might post just the profiles shortly in the same fashion as I did for the fantasy doping draft Tour rather than a several thousand word writeup.

Oh, but that goes against the most reliable phrase that I know. That a Libertine Seguros post says a (several) thousand words :)
 
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