98th Tour de France presentation

[Ferminal]

The fact that Super Besse becomes a topic for discussion sums up Le Tour.
Please God, they pull a surprise or two out of the hat.
Looking forward to Saturday.

It's funny how they count it as an MTF...

It's really just a 1km ramp.

Did they count Station des Rousses as an MTF this year?

 

[Lupetto]

http://www.letour.fr/2011/TDF/COURSE/fr/le_parcours.html

 

[roundabout]

Hmm, you would have expected to see more TT in there, but i like it.

 

[Ferminal]

Wow, 2 proper MTFs in the Pyrenees and two more in the Alps. Astonishing.

However, Stages 1, 8 and 9 will make or break the Tour.

The finish in Lourdes, is that uphill (seems like they only traverse Aubisque that day) or dead flat?

Oh cool, the Alpe stage is only 109km, taking in Telegraphe and Galibier before it.

 

[Moondance]

I just hope those rumours that have been gong around about 2 ascents of the Alpe d'Huez on the same day a true. Would be very juicy.

 

[Ferminal]

Stage 9
Finish looks to be uphill

Stage 12

Stage 13

Stage 14

 

[Climbing]

Umh... well it's not the Giro, but I expected a worse course.

 

[Jan the Man]

As suspected- boring and formulaic. Now for Saturday...

 

[Ferminal]

Stage 17
Yay for 10minute breakaway stage (what happens with no bonifications).

Stage 18

Stage 19

 

[Ferminal]

They are the only profiles available, I will laugh so hard if stages 3-7 are all locked in bunch sprints.

How bad is the MTF up the weak side of Galibier going to be? Or we can dream that the climbs before will do something. It could actually be "ok", almost 5,000m of climbing. I'm not familiar with Col Agnel (high point of the race?).

 

[Moondance]

4 MTFs. As much as we could've expected. A couple of those actually look pretty tough.

Pretty interesting all round.

 

[roundabout]

On second thought

Luz-Ardiden - awsome, absolutely awsome yet it's the first high mountain stage ?

Lourdes - about as bad as expected

Plateau de Beille - looks a bit like the stage from 2004, good

Pinerolo - a gift to people like Rodriguez, but it makes the next stage better

Galibier - very good

Alpe - ok as it is isolated, hopefully one day they will repave the Sarenne

In total - horribly unbalanced, but only 1 bad mountain stage

 

[Ney the Viking]

They are the only profiles available, I will laugh so hard if stages 3-7 are all locked in bunch sprints.

Certanly looks that way. Snoozefest all the way to tourmalet (besides a slightly interesting TTT), then a few exiting stages, transport to the alps with breakaway stages, some exiting alp stages and then the ITT.

So yeah, nothing new and exiting, but some tough mountains and 4 proper uphill mountaintop finishes.

 

[Von Mises]

Stage 17
Yay for 10minute breakaway stage (what happens with no bonifications).

It can still create caps in GC, short (3-4km) but steep (over 10%) climb and then just 7 km downhill.

 

[Green Machine]

I wonder from what side they will climb the Galibier? Usually climbing the Galibier has been pretty uneventful when it has occured in the Tour. It is not steep enough. But it could be that they will climb it from another direction this time...

 

[therealtimshady]

poor route as usual. i can predict what will happen now, all the favourites will ride defensively until alpe dhuez where no one will be able to break each other and it is decided on the final time trial.

does the tour learn nothing from the giro or vuelta, needs at least 4 proper mountain top finishes. at least the zoncolan and maybe the angliru will be present this year

 

[Ferminal]

It can still create caps in GC, short (3-4km) but steep (over 10%) climb and then just 7 km downhill.

Possibly... we can hope!

Will not happen if they ride the Tour like they did this year.

 

[auscyclefan94]

Nice if they gave guys who could tt and climb a chance like Menchov and Evans a chance. presentation starting!

 

[Ney the Viking]

poor route as usual. i can predict what will happen now, all the favourites will ride defensively until alpe dhuez where no one will be able to break each other and it is decided on the final time trial.

does the tour learn nothing from the giro or vuelta, needs at least 4 proper mountain top finishes. at least the zoncolan and maybe the angliru will be present this year

Enlighten me to which ones of the four tages 12, 14, 18 and 19 that isnt a proper mountaintop finish? I am not saying its an exiting route, but it's not like there is just two MTFs.

 

[roundabout]

It's a bit formulaic, but certainly not easy. All it lacks is an ITT about 70 km long.

 

[auscyclefan94]

Will be interesting if they do something similar to Contador of what they did to landis for the 2007 presentation.

 

[therealtimshady]

Enlighten me to which ones of the four tages 12, 14, 18 and 19 that isnt a proper mountaintop finish? I am not saying its an exiting route, but it's not like there is just two MTFs.

only plateau de beille, luz ardiden and alpe dhuez. however what always happens is that barely any action happens until the final mountain stage every year

 

[Ferminal]

I wonder from what side they will climb the Galibier? Usually climbing the Galibier has been pretty uneventful when it has occured in the Tour. It is not steep enough. But it could be that they will climb it from another direction this time...

The MTF is the "easier" (longer but not as steep), the next day it's up the steep side.

Tourmalet -> Luz Ardiden is the Queen stage if you ask me.

 

[Ney the Viking]

Nice if they gave guys who could tt and climb a chance like Menchov and Evans a chance. presentation starting!

You mean "nice if they gave people that can't climb with the best, enough ITT kilometers to compensate".

 

[Ney the Viking]

only plateau de beille, luz ardiden and alpe dhuez. however what always happens is that barely any action happens until the final mountain stage every year

Yes the stage to Galbier isn't as steep, but still climbing 1300 meters over 30km's isn't what I would call a breeze. *shrugs* edit: I mean they do climb almost 5000 height meters in that stage alone, but it's the day before alp'd'huez so yeah nothing will happen, you're right. I am sorry

And the action thing is hardly a fault of the organisers is it? I mean it is the riders that decide to go all brokeback mountain