2x Alpe d'Huez?

[Susan Westemeyer]

http://www.cyclingnews.com/news/tour-de-france-2013-finale-with-two-climbs-up-alpe-dhuez

So what do you all think of this proposal, and more importantly, how would you like to have your opinion in a news story on Cyclingnews? We are looking to write a story on fan reaction to this proposal.

Whatever you are willing to have made public under your user name in that story, please write it in this thread.

Thanks.

Susan

 

[pedaling squares]

Why not? The Tour needs to break out of the mold it has built around itself, and replacing one legendary finish with another is a safe way to start. If time gaps were minimal before this stage and bonus seconds were available, it could be an amazing finish to three weeks of racing. Bring it on.

 

[Race Radio]

http://www.cyclingnews.com/news/tour-de-france-2013-finale-with-two-climbs-up-alpe-dhuez

So what do you all think of this proposal, and more importantly, how would you like to have your opinion in a news story on Cyclingnews? We are looking to write a story on fan reaction to this proposal.

Whatever you are willing to have made public under your user name in that story, please write it in this thread.

Thanks.

Susan

I have heard that it is the opposite, they will descend down the main, wider, road.

I know of three options

-The one lane road from Villard Reculas. They could use this road but no way they let fans on it on the same time. It is simply too narrow. It also takes out a key access method. During the race, when it is chaos everywhere on the Alp all the teams, police, race support cars etc. use the road from VR to access the race route.

-There are two semi paved roads that lead to Maronne and the Col de Sarenne but again these are super narrow and poorly paved

-Col de Sarenne is the most obvious choice. It is decently paved and has enough room for some fans....but it is past the resort, not before it

I was on the Alp in 2004 when they did the TT. It was pure chaos. The ASO said clearly they would never do it again. Perhaps they have changed their minds.

 

[Libertine Seguros]

I like the idea of not always finishing on the Champs Elysées, but frankly this whole "do the same legendary climb twice" shtick is getting old, especially considering there are huge numbers of climbs as good as if not better than anything they ever use, going completely unused - Mont du Chat, Larrau, Burdincurutcheta, Orgambidesca, Errozate, Arnostegi and so on.

The Tour is incredibly repetitive, always uses the same climbs. Sure, moving the finish away from Champs d'Elysées is novel, but using Alpe d'Huez just reeks of predictability. "We want to do something special in the mountains!" "OK, Alpe d'Huez again then. All OK with that?" It all reeks of being a bit "safe". "We're moving away from Paris!" "OK, but we don't want to do anything too crazy. Make sure we use somewhere that people who don't know anything about cycling have heard of" "OK, that means Alpe d'Huez or Ventoux I guess".

After the waste of an opportunity that the Corsica stages are, a TTT when they get back onto the mainland and now this idea, this route looks like being absolutely awful. I bet next they'll come up with the revolutionary idea of ignoring the western and eastern Pyrénées entirely and instead making a big deal out of the incredibly unexpected announcement that they'll be climbing the Tourmalet.

 

[Ferminal]

I have heard that it is the opposite, they will descend down the main, wider, road.

I know of three options

-The one lane road from Villard Reculas. They could use this road but no way they let fans on it on the same time. It is simply too narrow. It also takes out a key access method. During the race, when it is chaos everywhere on the Alp all the teams, police, race support cars etc. use the road from VR to access the race route.

-There are two semi paved roads that lead to Maronne and the Col de Sarenne but again these are super narrow and poorly paved

-Col de Sarenne is the most obvious choice. It is decently paved and has enough room for some fans....but it is past the resort, not before it

I was on the Alp in 2004 when they did the TT. It was pure chaos. The ASO said clearly they would never do it again. Perhaps they have changed their minds.

Whatever they do I think they'd have to upgrade the road they choose. It sounds like neither the road from Villard Reculas or Saronne are good enough for the full entourage - with Crostis as precedent it just wouldn't be possible.

 

[Waterloo Sunrise]

I like the idea of not always finishing on the Champs Elysées, but frankly this whole "do the same legendary climb twice" shtick is getting old, especially considering there are huge numbers of climbs as good as if not better than anything they ever use, going completely unused - Mont du Chat, Larrau, Burdincurutcheta, Orgambidesca, Errozate, Arnostegi and so on.

The Tour is incredibly repetitive, always uses the same climbs. Sure, moving the finish away from Champs d'Elysées is novel, but using Alpe d'Huez just reeks of predictability. "We want to do something special in the mountains!" "OK, Alpe d'Huez again then. All OK with that?" It all reeks of being a bit "safe". "We're moving away from Paris!" "OK, but we don't want to do anything too crazy. Make sure we use somewhere that people who don't know anything about cycling have heard of" "OK, that means Alpe d'Huez or Ventoux I guess".

After the waste of an opportunity that the Corsica stages are, a TTT when they get back onto the mainland and now this idea, this route looks like being absolutely awful. I bet next they'll come up with the revolutionary idea of ignoring the western and eastern Pyrénées entirely and instead making a big deal out of the incredibly unexpected announcement that they'll be climbing the Tourmalet.

 

[Waterloo Sunrise]

I like the idea of not always finishing on the Champs Elysées, but frankly this whole "do the same legendary climb twice" shtick is getting old, especially considering there are huge numbers of climbs as good as if not better than anything they ever use, going completely unused - Mont du Chat, Larrau, Burdincurutcheta, Orgambidesca, Errozate, Arnostegi and so on.

The Tour is incredibly repetitive, always uses the same climbs. Sure, moving the finish away from Champs d'Elysées is novel, but using Alpe d'Huez just reeks of predictability. "We want to do something special in the mountains!" "OK, Alpe d'Huez again then. All OK with that?" It all reeks of being a bit "safe". "We're moving away from Paris!" "OK, but we don't want to do anything too crazy. Make sure we use somewhere that people who don't know anything about cycling have heard of" "OK, that means Alpe d'Huez or Ventoux I guess".

After the waste of an opportunity that the Corsica stages are, a TTT when they get back onto the mainland and now this idea, this route looks like being absolutely awful. I bet next they'll come up with the revolutionary idea of ignoring the western and eastern Pyrénées entirely and instead making a big deal out of the incredibly unexpected announcement that they'll be climbing the Tourmalet.

Cheer-up dear, it's nearly Christmas.

 

[Race Radio]

Whatever they do I think they'd have to upgrade the road they choose. It sounds like neither the road from Villard Reculas or Saronne are good enough for the full entourage - with Crostis as precedent it just wouldn't be possible.

The Crostis is a climb. The road from VR is essentially flat for 3-4 km. They will be going full gas. Lots of turns, shear drops. I can't imaging doing it with fans on the road.

 

[Libertine Seguros]

The Crostis is a climb. The road from VR is essentially flat for 3-4 km. They will be going full gas. Lots of turns, shear drops. I can't imaging doing it with fans on the road.

Ah, but the problem with the Crostis was not the climb, but the unpaved flat Strade Panoramica delle Vette at the top, with crazy drops and poor condition roads; if weather was inclement it would have been carnage.

 

[Grand Tourist]

I don't like it. There's something magical about the T de F Paris finale & I don't think a mountain stage finish would add anything to the race. I'm all for innovation & I think some of the things they've tried over the last few years have been really good - ie the cobbles in 2010 & the short mountain stage this year.

 

[Ferminal]

Ah, but the problem with the Crostis was not the climb, but the unpaved flat Strade Panoramica delle Vette at the top, with crazy drops and poor condition roads; if weather was inclement it would have been carnage.

I'm actually referring to reason why the UCI blocked it. No support cars might be ok for a final climb like Zoncolan/Angliru, but 30km out from the end of a stage it was deemed to be unsporting. So I think they would "have" to upgrade the chosen road to Alpe d'Huez purely for sporting reasons, if not organisational ones.

 

[William H]

I'd finish with a pursuit race up the Alpe. Release the riders at intervals according to their standing on GC, first over the line wins the Tour

 

[cineteq]

I want to see a decisive stage at the end of the race, and if it's 2xAlpe then be it. I'm tired of seeing a stage for sprinters on the last day. That's not to say that I don't love Les Champs but put that stage somewhere along the race but not at the end.

 

[jens_attacks]

stupid idea.but yes the final stage to champs d'elysees should be erased from the face of the earth.

 

[sublimit]

The chaos of drunk Dutch/running Californian fans will **** the stage up X 2.

Once up maybe is a decent idea during the race but twice on the final stage is a recipe for disaster.

 

[The Hitch]

I think its a great idea.

That's not to say that I don't love Les Champs but put that stage somewhere along the race but not at the end.

Put it on Bastille day.

 

[Libertine Seguros]

I'd finish with a pursuit race up the Alpe. Release the riders at intervals according to their standing on GC, first over the line wins the Tour

Would work in short Tours without large GC gaps, but I think that when you have people who won't be starting until 2 hours after others have finished it will be a bit of a pointless exercise until you get to the international trackstand championship that is the competition for the lanterne rouge.

 

[cineteq]

I think its a great idea. Put it on Bastille day.

Am I dreaming? Finally, I agree with The Hitch on something!!! Love your idea!!!

 

[The Hitch]

Am I dreaming? Finally, I agree with The Hitch on something!!! Love your idea!!!

Im pretty sure you wouldn't be agreeing with me if I had put the opinion down first

 

[Dutchsmurf]

In my opinion some things shouldn't be changed. This sounds like a change just for the sake of changing something. I agree that Champs isn't as exciting to watch and will most of the times end in a sprint, but I somehow find that a fitting end to the Tour.

Now about doing l'Alpe de Huez twice. I don't really see the point. For it to work you either need a very short stage or a reasonably big time between the two climbs, making the first one pointless. You can't have the leaders starting the second climb with the slower groups still on their way up after all. In races with 2 climbs near the end we often see the last groups still on their way up the previous climb when the leaders already finish.
In my opinion if they want to do something like this, there should be better places for it in France. Maybe not with a climb as well known as l'Alpe de Huez, but still.

 

[Fus087]

To me, the Tour has to end in Paris. It always has, and it always should. And recently, it has always ended on the Champs-Élysées. I am not in favour of ignoring that tradition for the 100th edition.
Alpe d'Huez x2 isn't the most novel thing, but I can live with it. Just not on the last day. Make it a short-ish stage on the Saturday (we saw this year that short stages can be awesome too, even if that had special circumstances). Then, move everything to the capital.

Hold the final ITT on the last day. Finishing on the Champs-Élysées.

Everybody still remembers 1989 because of that stage, and how many of you think that the last French Tour winner was Fignon?
I did until looking it up, that's how deep that stage is ingrained in memory (for the record, Hinault was the last Frenchman to win the Tour).

I don't have a finished blueprint of how that final ITT should be, but the 1989 edition looks like a good start: Start in Versailles, go to Paris - maybe with some token hill on the way. Make sure to pass below the Eiffel Tower, over the Île de la Cité, maybe even over Montmartre. Finish with one or two loops on the Champs-Élysées. If the race will be decided by seconds, it will be a great finale.
If the Tour is already decided, it will still produce awesome footage.

 

[Anonymous]

On one way I like it, nice climax to the tour, and certainly provides an exciting finish on the mountain for the fans who can get there and the gc contenders, and climbers.

But the tours not just about them, the tour is about the domestiques, the sprinters, the young riders, the ones who just dream of completing the tour, and Paris is something special. Every rider who goes up the Champs Elysees is cheared on by the crowd.. The lap of honour is a chance for them to celebrate, great their fans, say hello to family and freinds along the route, take in the atmosphere of how ever many hundreds of thousands of fans are on the roadside, have their photos taken.. and to meet their family and loved ones.. where the hell are they going to put all the riders wives and girlfreinds on Alpe D'Huez.

Where will they do that on Alpe d'huez.. how the hell can they have a lap of honour..

Ive been to Paris eight or nine times, and everytime its special. We dont go for the racing, the stage as a spectacle is crap, but we go to support the riders, cheering on the lantern rouge, handing a beer to Dave Millar, or the wife getting a kiss from Pettachi.. its all part of that final celebration. And not just the riders, the mechanics, the ds's.

For the majority of the peloton, instead of being a celebration it will just be pain, hurt and misery.

I also like the idea of a final day time trial.. again, its a chance to cheer on every single one of the riders who has managed to finish the tour.

 

[Libertine Seguros]

In my opinion some things shouldn't be changed. This sounds like a change just for the sake of changing something. I agree that Champs isn't as exciting to watch and will most of the times end in a sprint, but I somehow find that a fitting end to the Tour.

Now about doing l'Alpe de Huez twice. I don't really see the point. For it to work you either need a very short stage or a reasonably big time between the two climbs, making the first one pointless. You can't have the leaders starting the second climb with the slower groups still on their way up after all. In races with 2 climbs near the end we often see the last groups still on their way up the previous climb when the leaders already finish.
In my opinion if they want to do something like this, there should be better places for it in France. Maybe not with a climb as well known as l'Alpe de Huez, but still.

The loop is decent enough as l'Alpe is long enough that it shouldn't be a problem. Several races feature circuits at the end, the Vuelta and Giro included - Aprica-Mortirolo-Aprica has been done, as has Velefique-Calar Alto-Velefique. A stage of the 2008 Giro included a few laps of the Mendrisio Worlds course at one end and a few laps of the Varese one at the other.

In the unlikely event that it IS a problem, the commissaires will just pull the stragglers off the course, like you see at some smaller races with circuits; whether they be allowed to continue or not is another question. In this stage from the Settimana Coppi e Bartali you will see Emanuele Sella pass a few groups of stationary cyclists, stragglers who have been pulled off the circuit to let the leader lap them.

 

[gustienordic]

On one way I like it, nice climax to the tour, and certainly provides an exciting finish on the mountain for the fans who can get there and the gc contenders, and climbers.

But the tours not just about them, the tour is about the domestiques, the sprinters, the young riders, the ones who just dream of completing the tour, and Paris is something special. Every rider who goes up the Champs Elysees is cheared on by the crowd.. The lap of honour is a chance for them to celebrate, great their fans, say hello to family and freinds along the route, take in the atmosphere of how ever many hundreds of thousands of fans are on the roadside, have their photos taken.. and to meet their family and loved ones.. where the hell are they going to put all the riders wives and girlfreinds on Alpe D'Huez.

Where will they do that on Alpe d'huez.. how the hell can they have a lap of honour..

Ive been to Paris eight or nine times, and everytime its special. We dont go for the racing, the stage as a spectacle is crap, but we go to support the riders, cheering on the lantern rouge, handing a beer to Dave Millar, or the wife getting a kiss from Pettachi.. its all part of that final celebration. And not just the riders, the mechanics, the ds's.

For the majority of the peloton, instead of being a celebration it will just be pain, hurt and misery.

I also like the idea of a final day time trial.. again, its a chance to cheer on every single one of the riders who has managed to finish the tour.

I love the idea of a last day TT, it would produce all kinds of drama, but would also allow the race to finish in Paris. Since the race is starting in Corsica, it is highly doubtful that the race will pass close to Paris if not for finishing... What is the TDF without at least one stage in Paris?

 

[on3m@n@rmy]

I like the idea.

Another option would be to start at the top of Alpe, race down into Bourg d'Oisans, turn around and go back up. But I dont' like this option as much as the alleged one that is being considered.